Lion fish

Hey Bpayh!

How is the decision process going here? Any other questions/thoughts?

 

Yes craig that is true however, I have rarely seen this to actually kill a lionfish. I also fed him black mollies which do not have a high fat content.

 

lions eat mainly inverts in the wild, thier digestive system is no set up for fish only, I've seen better results with feeding squid,clam meat, urchins, crabs, shrimp, ect...when i say ive seen.... i have know 3 friends ive setup with tanks who have had thier lions for over 4 years now and no illnesses on the diet i just described, when compared to the others who feed fish i know of only one person for sure that kept it alive for more than 3 years. You usually have to starve them for 4-7 days to get them to eat prepaired foods, smaller guys cant fast as long, big ones hold out for a long time usually. Preaired foods will give your lion a longer life almost garaunteed. Even people who own lions lonterm are getting an impossibly small veiw of what works, you have to observe multiple specimens (or do lots of research) longterm to get a small glimpse of what works. mollies are much better than guppies (and are super breedable)

 

Battle of the brains...........

 

Back in the day.. when i had a 120 gallons FO i had a lion fish (pterois volitans) and i kept a small 10 gallon tank with black mollies to feed him. but that 10 gallon was salt water, mollies do fine in saltwater also and i fed them the same thing i fed my SW fish. A home made mush of all kinds of good things for them. The lion fish did fine for a very long time, it fed on the mollies and once in a while it did feed on the frozen stuff to. So i had a good experience with the lion fish... very cool fish.

Marc.

 

Forcing fish in a small tank is not impossible. However in the interest of providing the best living conditions it is better to give them sufficient swim space and the volume of water will make the tank more stable. I'm sure there are even people who can keep even sharks in a small tank. But is it the right living condition for this animals? This reminds me of the goldfish in a bowl fad.

 

I normally feed my lion ghost shrimp and i usually throw in some damsels for him to pick on when he gets hungry.

 

[quote author=reiple link=board=Fish;num=1101609239;start=15#15 date=12/01/04 at 15:15:42]Forcing fish in a small tank is not impossible. However in the interest of providing the best living conditions it is better to give them sufficient swim space and the volume of water will make the tank more stable. I'm sure there are even people who can keep even sharks in a small tank. But is it the right living condition for this animals? This reminds me of the goldfish in a bowl fad.
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Aquariums are already ipossibly small in comparison o the ocean.....I had a single lion in a small tank for many many years.....he seemed perfectley content. Forming thoughts that fish have the smae sort of emotional processes that humans do is proposterous, their concept of a small tank is justy that...no more no less....no depression or anything. If it isnt stressed by the enviorment i say its fine. Besides ild rather live in my bedroom my whole life than wander the streets scavaging for meals and fearing for my life every second. What about you a; nice cozy bedroom with regular meals (be it small but safe and secure non-theless)....or hunting animals for food constantly watching over your shoulder to the point of paranoid insanity....The sheltered life of blissfull ignorance for me (if i were a dwarf lionfish... )

 

I can and do keep a SFE in a 15 gallon tank (or sump!). It's not emotional or psychological issue with the animals that causes them bad health or bad growth, it's the physiological aspects (example - Tangs require lots of space to swim around, Sharks need long tanks to swim back and fourth).
I'm sure you are an experienced aquarist SeA_SpLeNdEr and can easily keep a dwarf lion (which grows up to 5" only?) in a small tank. But it would not be advisable to many.
My recent overloaded (fish wise) tank is a good example. Had I not placed big fishes, then the fishes would have survived the power outage (18++ hours). The tang, trigger, foxface and adult lemon damsel died after 12++ hours. The clownfish (1&quot and psuedochromis survived. Yet the two eels survived - they extended themselves up to the water surface when the oxygen dropped dangerously.

IME and IMO.

 

I agree, sorry to hear of your loss.... i just read your post on the storm. Very intimidating stuff. Eels are indeed hardcore! Had one survive in a sump for bout 2 months w no food. Yes having a dwarf lion in anything under 35-40 for a newbie is risky. But ofr the sake of recomendation if one is set on a dwarf, the fuzzies stay small and are tough as nails when fed properly with excessive filtration (biological and heavy mechanical). If you have a little bio-wheel or a filter recomended for less than 2x's your tank size....i would shy away from messy carnivores (triggers,lions,puffers,frogfishes,ect.). overkill filtration....