Nice fish, but looks like a big accident waiting to happen...

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I kept a dwarf zebra lion for some time in my reef tank andit never went after the shrimp or crabs etc. That doesn't look like a dwarf though, it looks like a baby volitons wich will get big and WILL eat everything it can fit into it's mouth.

Nice Volitan Lionfish. I kept two wich grew to about 8" long maximum growth is about 12-15 inches long. I kept them on a diet of silversides and sqid. Fast growers but they never touched the corals in my tank.They did suck up all crabs, shrimp and fish small enough to fit in their mouths. Small fish were 2-3 inches in lenght :eek:. Good luck with your lion, they are a beautiful addition and great entertainment at feeding time :biggrin:

wow, so 8" lions would eat all the fish? my guy is about 2" right now, i am getting a big tank in a matter of months, so i think he should be ok. any tips on feeding? i want to try and trarin him to take food from tongs, its pretty tough with all the shrimp trying to grab the food.

Perhaps i will slide in a divider at feeding time.

Neat fish :cool: Don't you have a little tang in there as well? Just wondering what happened to him.

thanks.
i dont want to get flamed, but ya, i honestly think he was already messed up when i bought him at big als.. i truly dont think it was stress of the tank (well im sure a bit of stress to an already sick fishdoesnt help), but ya that little guy didnt make it :(

Feeding
 

The next time you go to a grocery store, pick up a bag of silversides from the frozen fish isle. Lions love them. All you have to do is cut them up into proper sized chunks for your little guy. I would dangle the fish by the tail and my lions would come to the surface and take them.

Another item you can pick up from the frozen fish isle is a pack of squid. You will have to thaw them out partially and cut them into small enough chunks for the size of lion you have.

One more thing about the frozen foods: package them well or they will get freezer burnt.

Lastly, try to stay away from feeding your lion goldfish. It is great to see a lionfish feed like it would in the wild, but it is cruel to the freshwater fish and not very nutritious for the lion. It might take a couple of weeks to get the fish accustomed to taking prepared foods so be patient and in time it will happen.

Hope this helps.

Re: Feeding
 

thanks for the tip. i actually have a pak of silversides, i tried dangling it tonight, but he wouldnt go for it... It's also quite the challange to keep my cleaner shrimp away at that time... guess i'll just have to feed them first.

i need a better feeding stick, we aren't stickin our hands in lol. I'll pick up some squid as well..

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I had to have Deb train mine for me. She started him off withlive ghost shrimp, then gradually changed to dead host shrimp, then changed to silver sides and mysis. She added the food with her hand so that the fish knew her as the feeder.

Hmmm.... I found that dangling silversides was good bait for the cleaner shrimp that the lionfish then devoured... :evil:

Check out Seahorse Fanatic's experience with his former Lionfish if you really want a "hands in" experience... My GF got stung once as well... just a glancing brush against her, but hurt like a SOB... I don't encourage much activity in a Lionfish tank that involves putting your hand in... :eek: