lionfish

trueirishfan616

Reefing newb
im just starting out with this whole salt water tank stuff. i really want a lionfish in my first tank. are lionfish a good fish to have with a reef tank?
 
Lionfish are considered "with caution" reef safe. IMO, it depends a lot on the type of fish you will be keeping with it. A lionfish is a predator and can strike pretty quickly if necessary. So if a fish can fit in the lionfish's mouth there is a possibility it could try and eat it. Sticking your hands in the aquairum is also something to think about when you have a lionfish in the tank. They do tame rather well and it wouldn't necessarily be attacking your hand but would be looking for food that it may think is in your hand. I have seen people work in tanks with the lionfish and they generally do their own thing while your hand is in the tank. They are beautiful creatures. I would read all I could about them and make an educated decision on what kind of reef I wanted to create with that fish.
 
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They won't harm the corals, but any fish smaller than them, plus any shrimp will more than likely become lunch. But they are very neat fish, so if you want one just keep that in mind and plan accordingly
 
If they eat shrimp, how does anyone keep a CUC in their tank with these lionfish? Just curious. Any questions I ask are simply for knowledge reasons. I dont wanna come off as questioning your advice.
 
That is where some of the "with caution" comes in. They could eat some of your clean up crew but doesn't mean they will. Fish are just like people and have different personalities. From what I have witnessed especially with the Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish they generally won't mess with the clean up crews or even other fish but there is never a guarantee.
 
My wife is terrified that the Lionfish will sting me and kill me. I've tried explaining to her that they wont kill me, but the sting will certainly suck. LOL
 
Well if your allergic to bees I wouldnt get one. I have had a zebra lionfish for almost a year now and its all about reading his cues, he lets me know when he wants me out of HIS tank :)
 
I've had 2 dwarf zebra lion fish key word was (had). do research before you get one, mine were picky with what they ate, having to buy live ghost shrimp every other day was a pain. I think I over fed the second one which might be why he dead. the first one I think was a sick one from the start, he only lived 2 days.
They are very neat to watch swim and eat. I would like to get another one, but I'm still a bit leary about getting one. We go on week long trips once a year and I don't want somebody having to come feed him. LionfishLair.com - Welcome to the Jungle... is a great forum to check out. tons of knowledge.
 
I'm not allergic to bee's...but I am scared to death of them. NO idea why I am, but always have been. LOL. Anyway...I'm looking forward to getting some sweet fish here in about 2 months for this project. I've been reading up on the the cycling thing with saltwater. I just managed to find a 125 gallon with an RO system for 500 bucks. I think it's a good deal.
 
is the tank drilled? I got my 125 with stand a couple old school lights 2 emporer 400's that went out already a heater two powerheads for 250. I wish I would have drilled before I set up though. Only reason I ask is because hte drilled ones go for more money
 
It is not drilled. To be honest, I have NO idea how a refugium works so I'm just gonna go with a HOB protein skimmer and use my HOB filters(with no media). It has all the lights and heaters and stuff. I will probably just replace the lights because they're old school lights.
 
It is your business but I would strongly encourage you to use a sump with a 125g tank. You don't have to use a refugium and just use a bare bottom sump with a protein skimmer inside the sump. Like I said it is up to you but it will save you some possible troubles down the road.
 
+1 everyone....a sump for a large tank is convenient. I can't picture not having one for my 125g. Not that you can't do it, of course. But definitely makes things easier plus you can hide all of your equipment in the sump.
 
Another thing thats great about a sump is most of the detritus settles down there being the lowest point in the system. The skimmer would run more efficiently and it's a lot easier to clean out the sump than the DT.
 
Personally I love lionfish. I own a Russell Lionfish and he is very active and eats anything I feed him. However, he was a tank raised lionfish and did not need to be weaned unto frozen food. If you do get a wild lionfish it does take PATIENTS to get them to eat frozen foods. There are lots of articles out there on how to get them to eat frozen foods. Each lionfish personality is different. Some species will remain hidden in the rocks and only come out to feed. They are also nocturnal. So, you wont see them much during the day. However, my lionfish swims up to anyone who approached the tank. So, each species/fish has there own habits and personality. As for stinging, my lionfish always turned his spins away from me or even kept them folded. He was aware that I was a not a threat and did everything not to hurt me. They are smart fish. Problems with lionfish is lock jaw. They are very prone to getting lock jaw due to lack of diet and vitamines. You will need to feed a wide verity of foods. I feed mine squid, mysis shrimp, scallop and silver siders. Of course, they are all raw and soaked in garlic guard. I use am IM needle to inject the liquid vitamins into the food (you can get these from any veterinary hospital). He is hand feed. Besides lock jaw they are very hardy and rarely get sick. I would not recommend putting him with small fish, shrimp, triggers, puffers or eels. He gets along fine with tangs, foxface, butterflies and pretty much anything else he cant eat. I hope this helps.
 
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