Lionfish in Nano Reef..

jlp.xiii · 06/18/2015, 05:35 PM

Okay so I currently have a nano reef (40 gal breeder) tank that houses the following:
- Small mated pair of Oscellaris clowns (1-2 in ma )
- Two tiny bluefin damsels
- One Molly Miller blenny
- One tiny yellow tang (who is about to move to his permanent tank)
- One Haddoni carpet (approx 5 in across)

I have about 1600 gph of flow but.. No skimmer as of yet. I've just been doing frequent water changes. I have a friend who prematurely ordered a dwarf zebra lionfish and I'm going to be taking it in. My question to y'all is.. Do you think it will be fine in this tank? It won't be any longer than two inches. I definitely have the funds to just tear this tank down tomorrow when the fish arrives and go larger if I need to but only if I NEED to. That includes a skimmer, lol. Anyways, any advice would be great! Thanks.

Genera · 06/18/2015, 06:40 PM

If the fish don't fit in its mouth then they might be fine. The damsels may or may not pick on the lion and the anemone probably won't eat a venomous fish but who knows. Maybe you could tie in a 10-30 gallon to the main system with maxi-jet pumps, vinyl tubing, some clips, and stick a piece of rock or two in there. If you've been in this hobby for a while you might have a few extra tanks laying around. (I have 7 empty tanks and various equipment)

BigBlueTang · 06/18/2015, 09:46 PM

Bye bye damsels. Once the dwarf grows another inch and is feeding well, the damsels are gone.

IMO it SHOULD do fine in that size tank, since it is not a big swimmer. Keep it well fed and you wont have problems! Post some pics when you get him

jlp.xiii · 06/18/2015, 11:16 PM

Yeah I have several in storage, lol. I didn't think about that idea.. I'll give it some thought. And yeah I figured he would get the damsels but that's not always a bad thing.. They're mean little demons. Lol.

I'll definitely post some pics once I get him in and acclimated tomorrow! Thanks for all your help.

jlp.xiii · 06/22/2015, 05:08 PM

UPDATE: Well, after waiting until today to for the LFS the lion was ordered from to tell me it was finally in, I got there and the poor guy had died. I had actually gotten excited about owning one as I hadn't really given it much thought. So now I've ordered my own from a different LFS and it should be here in about a week. I will post an update as soon as I get it acclimated.

06/18/2015, 05:35 PM	#1
jlp.xiii Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Louisiana Posts: 28	Lionfish in Nano Reef.. Okay so I currently have a nano reef (40 gal breeder) tank that houses the following: - Small mated pair of Oscellaris clowns (1-2 in ma ) - Two tiny bluefin damsels - One Molly Miller blenny - One tiny yellow tang (who is about to move to his permanent tank) - One Haddoni carpet (approx 5 in across) I have about 1600 gph of flow but.. No skimmer as of yet. I've just been doing frequent water changes. I have a friend who prematurely ordered a dwarf zebra lionfish and I'm going to be taking it in. My question to y'all is.. Do you think it will be fine in this tank? It won't be any longer than two inches. I definitely have the funds to just tear this tank down tomorrow when the fish arrives and go larger if I need to but only if I NEED to. That includes a skimmer, lol. Anyways, any advice would be great! Thanks. __________________ Got anemones, gotta 'lotta 'nemones, gotta 'lotta fishes wanna eat me in the coral reef. #DraketheClownfish Current Tank Info: 40B Reef, 55G freshwater "pond" Last edited by jlp.xiii; 06/18/2015 at 05:42 PM.

06/18/2015, 06:40 PM	#2
Genera Blink and you're dead. Join Date: May 2015 Location: MN Posts: 531	If the fish don't fit in its mouth then they might be fine. The damsels may or may not pick on the lion and the anemone probably won't eat a venomous fish but who knows. Maybe you could tie in a 10-30 gallon to the main system with maxi-jet pumps, vinyl tubing, some clips, and stick a piece of rock or two in there. If you've been in this hobby for a while you might have a few extra tanks laying around. (I have 7 empty tanks and various equipment) __________________ Ah, Minnesota, The Land of 10,000 Lakes (Actually, there are 11,842 that are 10+ acres) Current Tank Info: n/a

06/18/2015, 09:46 PM	#3
BigBlueTang Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Location: Boulder, Colorado Posts: 1,430	Bye bye damsels. Once the dwarf grows another inch and is feeding well, the damsels are gone. IMO it SHOULD do fine in that size tank, since it is not a big swimmer. Keep it well fed and you wont have problems! Post some pics when you get him __________________ 75 gal, 20 L using as sump, MP40Qd , Eheim 1260 Return,Royal Exclusiv Bubble King Mini 160,Kamoer FX-STP Calcium Reactor Setup, ATI Sunpower 6x54W

06/18/2015, 11:16 PM	#4
jlp.xiii Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Louisiana Posts: 28	Yeah I have several in storage, lol. I didn't think about that idea.. I'll give it some thought. And yeah I figured he would get the damsels but that's not always a bad thing.. They're mean little demons. Lol. I'll definitely post some pics once I get him in and acclimated tomorrow! Thanks for all your help. __________________ Got anemones, gotta 'lotta 'nemones, gotta 'lotta fishes wanna eat me in the coral reef. #DraketheClownfish Current Tank Info: 40B Reef, 55G freshwater "pond"

06/22/2015, 05:08 PM	#5
jlp.xiii Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Location: Louisiana Posts: 28	UPDATE: Well, after waiting until today to for the LFS the lion was ordered from to tell me it was finally in, I got there and the poor guy had died. I had actually gotten excited about owning one as I hadn't really given it much thought. So now I've ordered my own from a different LFS and it should be here in about a week. I will post an update as soon as I get it acclimated. __________________ Got anemones, gotta 'lotta 'nemones, gotta 'lotta fishes wanna eat me in the coral reef. #DraketheClownfish Current Tank Info: 40B Reef, 55G freshwater "pond"