my new addition
 

allright, here is my new lion fish. what do you guys think?

http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y27...8/6d3d9cd7.jpg

he sure is purdy....... :mrgreen:

Those dwarf's are reef safe? Won't they eat your inverts?

apparently they are reef safe, there is a chance he would eat shrimp and other small inverts. My shrimps are the same size as the lion, and my fish aren't bigh enough to fit in his mouth.

he isn't a dwarf either, so i've heard...

whoever told you lions are reef safe was pulling your leg.

look it up....

Followed your "advice" & looked it up.

From: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/20...ture/index.php

I have found these fish to grow fairly quickly when fed properly, and they will easily become 10 inches long within one year [Figure 13b].

Figure 13a. A juvenile Russell lionfish, similar to what is commonly seen at local pet stores. This little 4 inch juvenile possesses long flowing pectoral fins and will grow into a foot-long fish eater within one year. Photo by Frank Marini.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...lsLionfish.jpg



Figure 13b. The same lionfish 1 year later. Sure, I feed them well, but look how big they get. Russell's lions are eating machines, and will easily outgrow a 55 gallon aquarium within 8 months. If you noticed that the body of this fish is getting thicker and the pectoral fins are appearing shorter, you are correct. Older Russell's lionfish have fat, squatty bodies and relatively short pectoral fins. Photo by Frank Marini.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...c/Lionfish.jpg

From Scott W. Michael's Marine Fishes guidebook:

Every description of every species of lionfish (dwarf & otherwise) states:

"Will eat ornamental shrimp & smaller fishes."

It may be small now, but how about a few months from now when your shrimp & fish are small enough to fit into the mouth of a growing lionfish? If you google image search or check in Scott Michael's book, the Zebra dwarf lionfish looks totally different (with regard to markings), while the Russell's lionfish is what your pic looks like.

Anthony

Oh lionfish are reef safe allright - they won't go after corals, just don't keep ANY shrimp... mine stalked and ate every shrimp I had, and anything else that was alive and would fit in it's mouth. You have a volitans lion there BTW and when an adult will consume about 1/4 pound a week of silversides if he's to stay healthy. So unless your reef is over 300g and you don't want to keep any shrimp or small fish with it, I wouldn't recommend them as that kind of nutrient load would be unsuitable for some of those beautiful corals you have there... one more thing... I thought mine would be incapable of eating a shrimp that was nearly as long as it... WRONG! Was I surprised when I saw the poor shrimp get gobbled and then die a slow death at the hands of this peaceful looking predator... which LFS told you it was "reef safe"?

Lions and angels, I've never heard reef safe, but never an outright no. Always with caution.

no lfs told me it was reef safe, i looked it up. but yeah, it will eat shrimps, so it is a risk. my shrimps asre bigger than him almost. at any rate, im watching him closely, everyone is afraid of him lol

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

reply
 

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..

reply
 

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:

Re: reply
 

i was actually thinking of getting gfhost shrimp at petland last night... they are the right size... perhaps i will do that. as for doing it by hand..i dunno, i dont want my hand near him haha

thanks!!

well, i put in a tank seperator, to keep him away from my shrimps and fish. and I bought 3 live ghost shrimp.... man did he gobble those guys up!! LOL

got him trained now, fed him with a turkey baister. Bought 10 little Danio's yesterday, he eats them like mad.

one day of using the baister and he knows its his food source now. If i just bring the baister anywhere near the tank he gets excited and goes for it, didn't think he would recognize through the glass. Now he takes peices of dead silversides as well from the baister!