Dwarf Lionfish & Damsels

[revfred]

I am a newby with a 55 FOWLR. I introduced my first fish into the tank about 3 weeks ago (4 damsels). My desire is to get a lionfish this weekend. Will the damsels and the Lionfish leave one another alone or should I get rid of the damsels?

 

[jim672]

Lionfish will eat anything that fits into their very large mouths. It's likely that the lionfish will eat the damsels.
Beyond that, putting a lionfish in a 55 gallon tank might cause you some water quality problems. Lionfish are messy eaters and create alot of waste.
I'm guessing your tank has been set-up for 3 weeks, right? If so, I certainly wouldn't add any other fish until your cycle is complete and your water quality stabilizes.
Jim

 

[revfred]

I have cycled my tank with raw shrimp as opposed to the damsels. My tank has been finished cycling for about 1 month now. It has been set up for about 2 1/2 months.

 

[toungetwster]

The lion....will do fine with the others as far as temperment. But he will eventually eat them...once he figures out that they will fit in his mouth. A dwarf lion would do well in a 55 gal.

 

[mightyoxjuice]

I would remove the damsels if you can catch them. I had a dominoe damsel with my volitan lion and the lion would not eat him.

 

[brinkdrum]

The Damsels have to be a considerable size in order to introduce them with a lion. The lion also has to be one of the dwarf species....fu-manchu, zebra dwarf, fuzzy dwarf. I'm going to assume that the damsels are small, so its a no-go. The lion, when big enough would make a quick snack of them.

 

[broncofish]

I had a domino, 2 sabea clowns, and a fire fish with my lion for a year. Of course my lion got to the point where it would only take silversides, and was way to lazy to bother with stuff that went faster than his lazy pace. Also the lion, and fire fish were added at the same time, and the lion was tiny. Moved the lion to his own tank, and he died