20 gallon salt tank

[fishymissy]

Have you decided what tank you're going to go with?
Either way, in a small tank you wouldn't want a "wall" of rock...you want enough to make a nice cave or ledge for your dwarf lionfish, and a place to hide behind if needed. Depending on which tank anywhere from 15 to 25 lbs of rock should do the trick.
BTW....I'm not the only one who says a dwarf can live in a 20g......(and no, I don't have a dwarf lionfish and if I did, he would NOT be in the 20g I DO have, as he would eat all my fish!)
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Jeez, I keep forgetting to ask you this....do your parents know that the lionfish is venomous? If they don't, it's really important that you tell them. If you get stung they need to know so they can help you! BTW, the first thing you should do if you are ever stung is to put the area under the hottest water you can stand (NOT SCALDING), this will help to break up the venom. If you experience any of the following you need to get to an emergency room right away: trouble breathing, irregular or racing heartbeat, extreme swelling, hives, rashes, dizziness. Again, it's very important that your parents know about this!!!

 

[grouperhead]

the only way a lion could be life threatining is if you were to have a serious alergic reaction. there are no reported deaths from lionfish, so theres really nothing to worry about. im still against putting a lion in a 20g, but theres no way i can stop you from doing it. to me that lion in a 20 is like you living in a small bathroom or laundry room.

 

[bluto]

I agree the lion shouldn't go in a 20g (or 29 quite frankly).
But with regard to the venom...there probably ARE people out there who are deathly allergic to it, just like there are people who die from bee stings. The fact that there aren't any/more instances of severe lionfish reactions probably has to do with the fact that FAR more people come into contact with bees FAR more often than they do with lionfish.
In other words...if lionfish were an insect and could fly (this is starting to sound like a Cheech and Chong movie), we'd probably hear alot more about allergic reactions and people dying form it.
JMO.
Bluto

 

[bluto]

One more thing to add...
Bubba, as far as the messy eater's thing goes...I understand that you have 3 oscars in a 90g and they're messy too, but trying to keep water quality stable in a 20g saltwater tank is a LITTLE different than keeping a 90g freshwater tank. You could probably drop your oscars into a puddle of rainwater in the street and they'd live. Lionfish are VERY hardy as far as marine fish go...but I still think you're asking for trouble.
JMO.
Bluto

 

[bubbagump]

my parents know about the lions being poisines and i made a discion about the liona and tank size: well i'm going to go with the 29 and going to keep 2 clowns, a spotted hawkfish and a scotter blenny. well these fish bother shrimp hermits ect.? and could i maybe add another ifsh to this combination? and today at lfs the guy there knows his stuff when it comes to fish and said that it would take 3-6 months for the tank to cycly with 4 damsles. is that true on how long it will take for it to cycly? and do you have to use damsles? could you use 2 clowns instead? and anpther fish to go along with the 2 clowns during the cycly?

 

[bluto]

I cycle with raw shrimp, so I don't know about damsels...but the basic chemistry is the same regardless of what method you use.
Patience IS a virtue in this hobbby...but 3-6 months seems a little slow to me. My 90g cycled in 5-6 weeks with a LR/biowheel/raw shrimp combo.
Bluto

 

[fishymissy]

Definitly cycle with a raw piece of shrimp! Cycling the tank with live fish is not necessary, this way the fish don't go through the stress of it and then you don't have to worry about removing the unwanted damsels either! Add you rock at this time too so that it will cure in the tank at the same time!
The time a tank cycles can vary....but I would think that 3 months is a bit much.....
The hawkfish "might" go after the shrimp, but I think it depends more on the size of the fish and the size of the shrimp. None of the fish mentioned will bother hermit crabs.
Good luck!

 

[bubbagump]

could i add anything else to that combonation of fish?

 

[joe's reefer]

ya the fish should good maybe a filter with a 280 per galln flow like a emperor 280 would be great and about 30 lb of rock with a ls bed <img src="graemlins//uhuh.gif" border="0" alt="[U-Huh]" />