Dwarf Lion Fish

I'm considering purchasing a sole dwarf lion fish for my 29 gal nano. Currently I have zero fish. I have 2 choices at my LFS: dwarf zebra or dwarf fuzzy. I'm also wondering about reef custodians: snails and hermits? Would he go for these even though they have a tough shell? Can they be taught to eat frozen shrimp, silverfish?

Any particular care needs, tips etc?

I do know that all scorpion fish species are venomous, so what to do and not do?

Thanks

 

I personally think the tank is too small for them. They can be taught to eat frozen with time.

As far as not getting stung while you're in the tank:
No fast movements
Never turn your back to the fish
Gloves can help
Always keep an eye on the fish

 

a dwarf lion really shouldn't kept in anything smaller than a 40gb if its going to be housed alone, if you plan to have other fish with it then 55 would be the minimum imo, they don't swim around alot in fact they usually just hang out on the rocks but they do get big, 6"-7" plus they are messy fish and really add to the bio-load so I don't think a 29 would be able to handle it just for that fact even if he is the only fish ever to go in there.

 

There are many opinions as to the minimum tank size for various fish, however, our opinion (and experience) is that most dwarf lionfish can be kept successfully in such a such as yours, esp. it it is to be to sole inhabitant. Granted, a 40B would be better, but your 29 is definitely doable (you'll have to be sure to keep up on the water quality). In fact, we currently have our yellow morph fuzzy housed in a NC28.

Lionfish aren't messy fish, however, they DO present a decent bioload to the system based on their mass. Other than that, they're actually easy on the system since you only feed them 3x a week, and they're generally target-fed, so there's no wasted food to decay, assuming they aren't fed food items that are too large.

Since this will be your first lionfish, I'd DEFINITELY go with a fuzzy (Dendrochirus brachypterus) over a zebra (D. zebra), as they're a lot more hardy, and much easier to wean onto non-living foods. Fuzzies also come in various color morphs: red, brown, yellow, or any combination thereof.

I highly recommend giving these articles a read...they should answer most of your questions:

Lions, and Turkeys, and Devils, Oh My! Lionfish in the Home Aquarium

Tools of the Trade: Equipment & Techniques to Convert your Fish onto Frozen.

Take a gander at the articles, and hit us back with any additional questions that may arise.

HTH

 

my apologies, when I said messy I meant that they add a decent bio-load to the tank, not that they are messy eaters.

listen to Greg though he knows what he's talking about when it comes to lionfish

 

I agree it is doable. I had one successfully for a year or so, awesome personality and easy to care for. Coolest fish i've ever owned. Tought him to eat frozen food the second feeding, one thing I learned. If you target feed him be very careful, mine got to the point every time I put my hand in the water he would race over to the general area of my hand. He knew I gave him food, in a tank that small be careful, you could get stung easily.

 

It'll be tricky making the rockwork so it has a cave to sleep/hide in while having room for it to swim around once full grown. I wouldn't try it in something less than a 40b.

 

hmm mine doesn't hide in a cave, he actually just finds any ole spot on the side of the rocks and just literally hangs there, occasionally he'll swim to the other side of the tank and then find another spot on the side of the rock and I have all kinds of caves and over passes that he could go to but he never has lol

sometimes he'll just hang out under the outflow of my filter swimming against the current like a salmon lol

 

I'm with Gary, think it's doable BUT you'd have to keep up on it. Get a decent sized skimmer probably rayed for twice the size tank at least. Avoid allowing uneaten food to decay in the tank which again shouldn't be too hard as they are target fed. Well gotta go for now aaa is on the way to pick me up. Long story. Good luck!

 

Tony,

It's likely that when you see your fish "swimming upstream" in the return flow, it's probably using the flow to loosen the cuticle around its face prior to shedding it. You may see the lion contorting it face (yawning, gill flaring, etc) as well during this time, which also aids them in shedding.

Our volitans would sit right in front of one of the CL returns and let it blast her in the face to loosen the cuticle.