Dwarf Lion fish in a 110 reef tank?

walkerbrody · 11/30/2008, 09:25 PM

I have a 110g reef tank. A local pet shop has a 1 1/2" dwarf lion fish, and i've always wanted one. I have one large cleaner shrimp but im not terrably concerned about it. I am however concerned about my 7" hippo tang, green mandrian, and pair of b/w clowns I've had for several years.
What is the liklihood of the lionfish killing one of my other fish?

dancewithethan · 11/30/2008, 09:36 PM

I used to have similar fish, shrimps, and a dwarf lion. it never bother other tank-mate. I got live fresh water feeder-fish from LFS and keep it in my small fresh water tank, and used it for feeding about once per week. the dwarf lion loves it. it goes for the head first(whole). from my experience, it doesn't like to eat dead things.

Moonstream · 11/30/2008, 09:40 PM

dont know about the tankmates question, would guess the tang will be fine, but not so sure about the clowns or mandy...

as for feeder fish, they are BAD. lionfish can't digest guppies or goldfish's thick skulls, and besides that, they hold little/no nutritional value and are very, very likely to be sick because of the horrible conditions they are kept in.

most people either feed live ghost shrimp (a FW shrimp that can be esily kept in an unheated fish bowl) and/or try to wean onto frozen krill...

amstar · 11/30/2008, 09:40 PM

fresh-water feeder fish will eventually kill your lionfish. I believe feeding them live freshwater fish leads to fatty build up on their livers.

kube · 11/30/2008, 09:58 PM

my dwarf fuzzy lion does fine with my clown fish, though he did eat a fire goby that was 1/4 inch longer than him, all i could see was his tail sticking out his mouth, they got a big mouth

walkerbrody · 11/30/2008, 10:03 PM

I've read about the issues with feeding freshwater fish to marine animals. I was concidering trying to acclimate mollys to saltwater, I was wondering if that would cure the issues. If not I will try krill and frozen silversides.
My clowns are 4"+ and the mandrian is near 4" I think they would be fine for a while anyway.
Im not worried about the lionfish eating them, im more worried about envenomation. The clowns can be a little pushy to new fish.

phurst · 11/30/2008, 10:04 PM

I had an adult voltan and a juvenile voltan in a 120 reef. They never bothered any of their tankmates, including chromis, damsels, clowns, a mandarin, a six-line, clown gobies, and other small fish. They wiped out all my shrimp, but as long as they were well fed, then never bothered anything else. I'd guess a dwarf would be OK as long as you keep it full.

buttons buster · 11/30/2008, 10:32 PM

I had a dwarf lion that was extremely docile and never harmed any other fish.

You should be perfectly fine .

vito is hooked · 12/01/2008, 04:46 AM

Hit or Miss... Anything that can fit in it's mouth, will, eventually be gone, if a fish get's to close to it's mouth it's a gone'r, mine ate , coral cat's, neon goby, damsel. Carnivore, Period. Just my experience...Good Luck!

andrewkw · 12/01/2008, 04:50 AM

I have my dwarf in my 112 reef. Got him really small and have fed him nothing but pe mysis and peppermint shrimp to get him started.

As far as he's concerned fish are not food. However it did take a month or so to get him on frozen and another 2 months until he started eating with the group. However when I target feed my corals I leave some food out for him. He's well fed and has had many fish swim right up to him and he's never looked like he will eat them.

That being said when gets full grown I will probably move him out. One thing about predators is they grow fast!

miniwhinny · 12/01/2008, 07:40 AM

I have a fuzzy in 29 with a 6 line and a green bar goby and a cleaner shrimp and she's never bothered them...but then she "was" a pig and eats RODs food like it's going out of style.

I say "was" because she's dying

whah,whah. 2 weeks ago she accidently stung me (youch) and she hasn't eaten since or come out of her cave since. I'm sad - she's stavng to death.

eros · 12/01/2008, 11:27 AM

My Dwarf Fuzzy has been great but my Volitan has caused me some headaches. Mostly I blame myself because the Volitan only ate his tankmates when he wans't fed for a few days. Get a small fish, wean him to frozen ASAP while in quarantine, keep it well fed and you shouldn't have any problems.

My technique for weaning worked very well. I impale a silverside with fishing and tie a loose knot in the end. I drop the fish in the tank and manipulate it with the fishing line until the fish grabs it. When he pulls on the fish the knot in the fishing line tightens which releases the fish from the line. This method has worked great for me.

bkvreef · 12/01/2008, 01:51 PM

I had a dwarf fuzzy for 6 months in my 110g. It never bothered any of it's tank mates: sailfin, 2 percs, coral beauty, 5 chromis.

As far as not eating live food. I feed mine krill off of a feeding stick all the time. It took a little time to get it acclimated to it but after a week it did great eating the dead krill.

My understanding is that if you constantly feed it live food then it will have more of a tendency to look at it's tankmates as food. This is not based on any scientific study just makes sense to me.

walkerbrody · 12/01/2008, 02:18 PM

Thanks for all the information. I'll go get the lionfish after work today.

11/30/2008, 09:25 PM	#1
walkerbrody lost ball in high weeds Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Gadsden, Al Posts: 504	Dwarf Lion fish in a 110 reef tank? I have a 110g reef tank. A local pet shop has a 1 1/2" dwarf lion fish, and i've always wanted one. I have one large cleaner shrimp but im not terrably concerned about it. I am however concerned about my 7" hippo tang, green mandrian, and pair of b/w clowns I've had for several years. What is the liklihood of the lionfish killing one of my other fish? __________________ "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." — Henry Ford Current Tank Info: 265 mixed reef, 110 fowlr, 40g fuge, 75g sump.

11/30/2008, 09:36 PM	#2
dancewithethan Ethan M Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: San Rafael, California Posts: 673	I used to have similar fish, shrimps, and a dwarf lion. it never bother other tank-mate. I got live fresh water feeder-fish from LFS and keep it in my small fresh water tank, and used it for feeding about once per week. the dwarf lion loves it. it goes for the head first(whole). from my experience, it doesn't like to eat dead things. __________________ Good things come to those who’re patiently wait - Ethan - Current Tank Info: Tank:~ 70 Gs Cadlight + 20 Gs sump\| Lights: 36" ATI Sunpower Dimmable T5x6 39W \| Skimmer: Octo\| Vortech M1 return\| GeoReef Cal Reactor \|2 MP10 VorTech + MaxSpect GyreXF150\|Neptune APEX Controller\|Skimz Bio Pellets\| Emperor Aquatics UV 18W Sterilizer

11/30/2008, 10:03 PM	#6
walkerbrody lost ball in high weeds Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Gadsden, Al Posts: 504	I've read about the issues with feeding freshwater fish to marine animals. I was concidering trying to acclimate mollys to saltwater, I was wondering if that would cure the issues. If not I will try krill and frozen silversides. My clowns are 4"+ and the mandrian is near 4" I think they would be fine for a while anyway. Im not worried about the lionfish eating them, im more worried about envenomation. The clowns can be a little pushy to new fish. __________________ "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." — Henry Ford Current Tank Info: 265 mixed reef, 110 fowlr, 40g fuge, 75g sump.

11/30/2008, 10:04 PM	#7
phurst Richmond Reefer Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Richmond, VA Posts: 5,837	I had an adult voltan and a juvenile voltan in a 120 reef. They never bothered any of their tankmates, including chromis, damsels, clowns, a mandarin, a six-line, clown gobies, and other small fish. They wiped out all my shrimp, but as long as they were well fed, then never bothered anything else. I'd guess a dwarf would be OK as long as you keep it full. __________________ _______ Pearson _______ Current Tank Info: Various tanks of various sizes with various gear.

12/01/2008, 04:46 AM	#9
vito is hooked Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Port Charlotte FL Posts: 845	Hit or Miss... Anything that can fit in it's mouth, will, eventually be gone, if a fish get's to close to it's mouth it's a gone'r, mine ate , coral cat's, neon goby, damsel. Carnivore, Period. Just my experience...Good Luck! __________________ IT'S THE SAME THING-ONLY DIFFERENT Current Tank Info: 300gal with 180gal Ref/Sump M/H lighting 2-175 watt 10.000 K 3 150watt 15.000 K 8 blue actinics 4 Purple OCTOPUS Extreme-X200 Skimmer Max Flow 4200gph Return

11/30/2008, 09:40 PM	#3
Moonstream Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: NYC Posts: 2,581	dont know about the tankmates question, would guess the tang will be fine, but not so sure about the clowns or mandy... as for feeder fish, they are BAD. lionfish can't digest guppies or goldfish's thick skulls, and besides that, they hold little/no nutritional value and are very, very likely to be sick because of the horrible conditions they are kept in. most people either feed live ghost shrimp (a FW shrimp that can be esily kept in an unheated fish bowl) and/or try to wean onto frozen krill...

11/30/2008, 09:40 PM	#4
amstar Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Dayton Ohio Posts: 745	fresh-water feeder fish will eventually kill your lionfish. I believe feeding them live freshwater fish leads to fatty build up on their livers.

11/30/2008, 09:58 PM	#5
kube Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 79	my dwarf fuzzy lion does fine with my clown fish, though he did eat a fire goby that was 1/4 inch longer than him, all i could see was his tail sticking out his mouth, they got a big mouth

11/30/2008, 10:32 PM	#8
buttons buster Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Sacramento Posts: 1,428	I had a dwarf lion that was extremely docile and never harmed any other fish. You should be perfectly fine .

12/01/2008, 04:50 AM	#10
andrewkw Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: St. Joseph Island Posts: 1,069	I have my dwarf in my 112 reef. Got him really small and have fed him nothing but pe mysis and peppermint shrimp to get him started. As far as he's concerned fish are not food. However it did take a month or so to get him on frozen and another 2 months until he started eating with the group. However when I target feed my corals I leave some food out for him. He's well fed and has had many fish swim right up to him and he's never looked like he will eat them. That being said when gets full grown I will probably move him out. One thing about predators is they grow fast!

12/01/2008, 07:40 AM	#11
miniwhinny Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 816	I have a fuzzy in 29 with a 6 line and a green bar goby and a cleaner shrimp and she's never bothered them...but then she "was" a pig and eats RODs food like it's going out of style. I say "was" because she's dying whah,whah. 2 weeks ago she accidently stung me (youch) and she hasn't eaten since or come out of her cave since. I'm sad - she's stavng to death.

12/01/2008, 11:27 AM	#12
eros Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Reno, Nevada Posts: 878	My Dwarf Fuzzy has been great but my Volitan has caused me some headaches. Mostly I blame myself because the Volitan only ate his tankmates when he wans't fed for a few days. Get a small fish, wean him to frozen ASAP while in quarantine, keep it well fed and you shouldn't have any problems. My technique for weaning worked very well. I impale a silverside with fishing and tie a loose knot in the end. I drop the fish in the tank and manipulate it with the fishing line until the fish grabs it. When he pulls on the fish the knot in the fishing line tightens which releases the fish from the line. This method has worked great for me.

12/01/2008, 01:51 PM	#13
bkvreef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Dayton, Ohio Posts: 439	I had a dwarf fuzzy for 6 months in my 110g. It never bothered any of it's tank mates: sailfin, 2 percs, coral beauty, 5 chromis. As far as not eating live food. I feed mine krill off of a feeding stick all the time. It took a little time to get it acclimated to it but after a week it did great eating the dead krill. My understanding is that if you constantly feed it live food then it will have more of a tendency to look at it's tankmates as food. This is not based on any scientific study just makes sense to me.

12/01/2008, 02:18 PM	#14
walkerbrody lost ball in high weeds Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Gadsden, Al Posts: 504	Thanks for all the information. I'll go get the lionfish after work today. __________________ "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't--you're right." — Henry Ford Current Tank Info: 265 mixed reef, 110 fowlr, 40g fuge, 75g sump.