20 replies to this topic

[Managuense]

Hey all. I went into Midland the other day and fell in love with the Lionfish they had in stock.
I was wondering what requirements i needed to have to house one. I have a 3x18x18 here that i can use. Will this suffice for space??
Should i use live rock or limestone for decor??
Will it be a bad move to add some Coral???
What type of filters should i use. On the 3 footer currently is a large overflow filter and an internal filter, will that be enough or should i use a cannister??
I have a dual light on the tank with white lights, not sure of the brand as it was given to me. What should my lighting be???
And lastly what can i put in there to live with him successfully???

I am new to marines and this is my first marine tank. So any advice will be muchly appreciated

Cheers
Kyle

[golden_dase]

There's some threads regarding new marine tank set-ups in this topic/forum.. Might be worth reading them as they cover most of your answers.

And also try Manta Marine Aquariums in Malaga. They have a great looking "Lionfish display tank" in their shop and I'm sure they will gladly answer your lionfish questions!

[Managuense]

Thanks Golden_dase, will have to check out Manta Marine.

Kyle

[Iamsam]

I was wondering what requirements i needed to have to house one. I have a 3x18x18 here that i can use. Will this suffice for space?? depends what sort of lionfish, is it a dwarf or what?
Should i use live rock or limestone for decor?? live rock as it is not only decor but also acts as a filter
Will it be a bad move to add some Coral??? yes, lionfish need lots of food hence high nitrates; and corals like 0 nitrats
What type of filters should i use. On the 3 footer currently is a large overflow filter and an internal filter, will that be enough or should i use a cannister?? canister, the more the merrier in this situation
I have a dual light on the tank with white lights, not sure of the brand as it was given to me. What should my lighting be??? with fish only that will be fine
And lastly what can i put in there to live with him successfully??? again depends on the type of lion

[Managuense]

thanks for your help Sam, it wasnt a Dwarf Lion. Not exactly sure on what type. Aaron might know. I do know that it wasnt a Volitan.

[golden_dase]

Click here:

http://images.google...a...=1&ct=title

There's pics of about 300 lionfish!

[Managuense]

Aaron just informed me that its commonly called a White Fin Lion

[golden_dase]

Kyle

This link will tell you all you need to know about the White Fin Lionfish, including water conditions etc..
http://groups.msn.co...inlionfish.msnw


HTHs!

Cheers!
Kevin.

[Managuense]

thanks for the link Kevin. all i really need to know is, will my 3x18x18 be big enough for him. I wouldnt mind a Lunar Wrasse either but it would outgrow the 3 footer.

[golden_dase]

thanks for the link Kevin. all i really need to know is, will my 3x18x18 be big enough for him. I wouldnt mind a Lunar Wrasse either but it would outgrow the 3 footer.

Your tank should be fine for the Lionfish coz it's a small lionfish species. Maybe some clownfish or a Tang as well?

I'm awaiting my custom built 3fter to be completed by Morley Aquarium. It will be overflowed & sumped and i will be moving most of my current fish over from my 5fter!

By the way, I bought my Lunare Wrasse from Aaron.

[Managuense]

yea i know you did Kev i was working that day with him. Although i was only filling in for someone who was sick.

Cheers for the help Kev.

Can't wait to start setting it up

[golden_dase]

Oh.. you were the guy that served me (getting the salt) ?

[Managuense]

hahah yea that was me

[golden_dase]

Cool! It's always great putting faces to names!

Anyways, good luck with your tank mate! Post pics when ready!

Cheers!
Kevin.

[Iamsam]

i might get shot for this but i reckon a lunar wrasse should be fine in your tank for quite a while if you buy a nice small one, also i like GD's suggestion of clowns but just ge carefull of what sort, occelares clowns might be a bit small and get chomped where else if you get a nice big pair of something like gold banded marron clowns which grow bigger,and are more ballsey

[dazzabozza]

Gday Kyle

All advice so far has been great.

Pterois radiata will grow over 20cm which is still quite large compared to the dwarf species. Over time it'll out grow your 3' tank. U can slow its growth rate though by feeding it less. My lions got fed every 2-3 days. The radiata are more sensitive to poor water quality compared to the Volitans and with the feeding habits of predatory fish it can be difficult to maintain low nitrates. So as much filtration as possible is a must. I had 2 filters (Eheim 2217 and Weipro FE-8039) equaling about 2000Lph on a 600L tank. Hosted at most about 10 predatory fish and even that was a struggle to keep on top of. Yours being a smaller tank the levels can change quite fast.

Create some caves as most lion species like to hide. Ask Az to demo that it is feeding. If its still on live feeders u may find it harder to wean it onto frozen foods after relocating it home (new habitat, fish more stressed etc) so better to have this done in the shop already. I managed to get mine onto large pellets eventually which was a plus.

Allow plenty of room for you to work around the tank when it comes to maintenance, changes to aquascaping etc. If you're too confined the last thing u want if your lion to rush up and greet your hands/arms and not have enough time to remove them. The plastic claw type arms are handy.

Tank mates can be anything that won't fit in its mouth. I've never had an issue with another fish bullying lions. Crabs make an excellent cleanup crew for any food that hits the substrate and the lion might ignore.

If you stick with fish only u can leave the tank in permanent 'hyposalinty' (google it ). Its a good way to keep the tank parasite free (whitespot/ich mainly). Corals won't survive in this environment longterm though. If u do want to keep coral u could try rics/morphs and/or zoanthids. They don't chew up too much space, don't mind nitrates and low light. Maintaining marine tanks is very similar to fresh with the exception of having to keep a very high pH (similar to keeping tang cichlids), monitoring salt density levels and trace levels such calcium, iodide etc if keeping coral.


Cheers,
Dazza

[Fox]

Great posting Dazza.

I'll have a chat with you on Sunday Kyle, I dont know a lot about marines, but what I do know I can certainly pass on.

Oh and Kevin.. We will have more marines in today or tomorrow. Oh, We have a Fu Man Chu Lion coming in, I believe these guys are hard to get, might be worth a look Kyle.


CHeers
Az

[Iamsam]

Oh, We have a Fu Man Chu Lion coming in, I believe these guys are hard to get

fu man chus are great lions but watch out as the are in my opinion one of the hardest lions to get to eat frozen food, fine if you want to feed live food (not that i would recommend that)

[Fox]

Meh.... Fu man Chu was cancelled at the last minute. Just got the phone call.

[Managuense]

Thanks for the great advice Dazza. I will be planning on moving the marine tank to a 4x2x2 by the end of the year hopefully so this tank will be its temporary home.

Thanks to all who have been helping me.

And i look forward to speaking to you on Sunday Az haha.

Cheers
Kyle