Dwarf lion and snowflake eel questions?

i had both a lion and a snowflake in my tank and they did fine together...just no smaller fish.

 

Just a reminder...a 75 gal is too small for P. volitans. if you 'scape it right, you could squeeze a Russel's (P. russelii) into the tank, but you'd do best sticking to a medium-bodied species (P. mombassae, P. antennata, P. radiata, or P. sphex) or a dwarf species of lionfish.

Think of a P. volitans as a 12"+ cube of fish as an adult, and consider that the fish must be able to turn around comfortably.

 

IMO, 75 gallon is a perfect size for a volitan and a snowflake.

my experience with snowflakes. if you have plenty of liverock they wont try as hard to escape, i had one in a 55 gallon tank for over a year with a completely open top and a ton of rockwork and he never escaped. although it varies for each individual eel. and sand is a necessity for the eel, personally i think bare bottom tanks are extremely ugly unless you are forced into it because you have a high flow sps tank. also a reef tank will require a clean up crew, and eels tend to like crustaceans so that can cause a problem with hermit crabs.

the lion will probably be fine, he wont try to eat the eel and unless you try to put any other fish in the tank it should be rather peaceful.

altogether i think its a great idea for a tank.

 

+1, the average 75 gallon tank is 48" x 18" x 21", plus rockwork, nowhere near enough room for a full grown volitans.

 

rockwork is unimportant, if he has a volitan hes not going to pack the tank full of rockwork. i think it will be more than enough room for the lion.

 

post #1 advised for lots of rockwork to make the eel feel more comfortable, the OP wants both, which IMO, can be done if he chooses a different species of lion.

 

To the O.P. trust me you will not get better, more experienced advise about Lionfish then you will from Renee/Greg.8)

 

haha got me there, all he needs is a tight fitting cover, about 60lbs. of rock and both will be very happy. also some pvc pipe under the sandbed will make an eel feel more at home than any amount of rockwork.

 

We've tried to stick lions in all sorts of tanks. Heck, we even kept a volitans in a 55g for 10 years. When we put the latest big boy in a 100g, we felt a little guilty for cramping him all those years. Their swimming pattern was just so graceful and he actually swam when he had the increased space. Our recommendation comes from actually keeping one in a 55g, 65g and a 100g.

The odds are your eel will get mean when it reaches upward of 20". There's a chance it won't, there's a better chance it will. We had it for 15 years and got to see a whole spectrum of personalities coming out as he grew up. Ours was a model citizen until one day it bite a toby puffer, Mexican pink wrasse (bite it's face off), Christmas wrasse and a butterfly. Then it bit my husband while he was working in the tank. Then he came out of the water and bit my husband while he was working above the tank. If you think one is nice.... wait 6-10 years.

 

Wow talk about biting the hand that feeds you.