Lion Fish... Your thoughts please

[mng777777]

I have read several posts on here about the Lion Fish and felt like we really need just 1 more . My wife and I both really want a Lion Fish. I have read posts advising they can only go in a FOWLR and to keep them away from the reef, but everyone's complaint about them is that they eat the other fish. I have never read anything about them eating corals. My initial thought was they probably just tear up the CUC, but don't FOWLRs have CUC too? I would appreciate your thoughts on what makes them suitable for a FOWLR and not a reef? I am looking at a Dwarf. I really want a solution here. Please tell me what it is going to take to successfully keep one in my reef without it being the only thing left? We are willing to feed it live food, hand feed it, whatever it takes, but it's high on our want list.

My setup:
75 gal reef
125lbs LR
emerald crab
blue leg hermits
margarita snails
astrea snails
turbo snails
nasarius snails
oh and don't forget the bristle worms

I plan to add a variety of crab and shrimp as my tank matures, and mostly semi-agressive fish, but I also really want a Mandarin.

[sicklids]

emerald crab
blue leg hermits
margarita snails
astrea snails
turbo snails

plan to add a variety of crab and shrimp

all good food for the lion! that is why it isnt a good idea! any small reef fish also make good appetizers as well. you can feed all you want, but that lion isnt going to turn down any live fish at all! he may for a while, but eventually you willl notice your livestock disappearing one at a time.
nasarius snails

[sicklids]

refer to this thread: http://www.livingreefs.com/forums/re...-lionfish.html

[mng777777]

So am I to understand that people don't keep a CUC in their predator/fowlr tanks? How do you keep your LR clean? water change water change water change I guess?

[sicklids]

pretty much, that along with good flow and an extra filter to filter out all the junk in the water column! i dont have any cuc in my FOWLR predator tank, i tried but they didnt even make it to the bottom. i have some large hermits, but thats it.

[mng777777]

I went here, Lion Fish and read the whole page a few days ago and after reading a few parts like: "Dwarf fuzzy lionfish might be the best suited for a reef tank; they have small mouths, don't usually bother similarly-sized fish, and tend to stay to themselves." I came away pretty optimistic. I happened upon the page you just referenced, yesterday and thought, well there goes that plan. I typically am the type that has to learn the hard way but I am trying to avoid that here. I guess the burning question that still remains, is whether all lions are created equally, or if any of the dwarf species might be a candidate for my tank? I read that they generally prefer several small fish over one large fish when eating. My thought is that if I were dilligent about properly weaning and feeding it, that it would leave its tankmates and CUC alone.

[ccCapt]

Like what was already said, just about everything in your tank now would make a nice snack.
A lionfish by nature is a predator. You can't tame it. Just look at the size and structure of their mouths. It's like a large mouth bass. They open wide. It will eat any shrimp, crab or fish that it can fit in it's mouth.
They are reef safe as far as coral, but that's all.

[sicklids]

what can fit in a lions mouth WILL eventually end up there!

[mng777777]

ok, I give. I guess that the lion will have to wait till I can have a seperate predator tank. At this rate, between the wifey's desire for seahorses, my desire for Jelly's and our combined desire for reef and now predator, I don't know where we are going to make room for all these tanks. That's it, we are packing up and moving to a bigger house... I don't see another option here. I need about 2000 gallons, with baffling to protect the big fish from the sharks, the little fish from the big fish and the seahorses from everybody... oh and a snag free place for my jelly's. Shouldn't be too hard right?

[JAG107]

Just move to the ocean and live with the Snorks lol