Fu Manchu Lionfish

funkyman

funkyman

Member
I had never seen one of these before, but came across this awesome fish in a LFS today. As much as I wanted to buy him, I knew I should research him first. It appears they are very hard to keep captive from what I've read.
Does anyone have one of these? What have been your experiences, and what have you found works?
 
chris777

chris777

Member
I use to have one. I sold him to someone i know cause i was breaking down some of my other tanks but when i had mine all he would eat was ghost shrimp and didnt touch anything else i tried to give him over the 6-8 months i had him other then that i had no problem with keeping him. They are very nice fish none the less but it seems like they are hardest to get them eating and get them eating the foods you want it to.
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Chris, If yours only ate ghost shrimp then would it be considered "less aggressive"? Very interesting looking lion IMO. I want one. Ha! That size of tank is recommended?
 
funkyman

funkyman

Member
It said they only get up around 3", so a big tank wouldn't seem like a requirement. My primary interest is coral, but I do have a few fish. Royal Gramma, 6 Line Wrasse, and a magenta pseudochromis. I current;y have a 50 gallon, but will be upgrading to a 120 within a few weeks.
This lion fish is the first fish I've ever seen that I told myself "I had to have". I wonder how he would get along with the fish I already have.
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
i said the same exact thing. I would be worried about getting him to eat though. I recomend setting up a 10 gallon tank or so, or even in your sump; and going to another popular online site and getting white shrimp. you can buy 100 live white shrimp that will breed in your aquarium. That way you will be able to provide him with live food. I dont know how quickly these shrimp reproduce though.
The reason why i have not gotten one is because i can purchase one online for 35, but if my valentini puffer picks at him in my 29 or if he eats my corals in my 40, i cant return him.
and i saw one at my LFS for 50. but i would feel bad buying and then returning a 50 dollar fish.....
 
chris777

chris777

Member
Originally Posted by hot883
Chris, If yours only ate ghost shrimp then would it be considered "less aggressive"? Very interesting looking lion IMO. I want one. Ha! That size of tank is recommended?

Well if you are refering as less aggressive to fish. Mine wouldn't even eat or mess with live fish... I put live fish in there for him to see if he would eat that and he wouldn't even eat any live fish.
 
dvincent

dvincent

Member
I bought one three weeks ago and he only lasted two, he ate well and was always active, would also eat any fish that would fit in his mouth, I am not sure why he died, i can only assume he was not fed correctly at the LFS. Within the first few days i was able to convert him from live ghost shrimp to frozen mysis shrimp and silversides. at the same time i puchased a golden fuzzy dwarf that was always fed frozen and he is still doing great.
One thing i learned after i purchased both of my lions was that they can have serious problems if they are fed feeder fish (guppies, rosies, or goldfish). if you have to feed them live use ghost shrimp, and try to get them to eat frozen. when you go to the LFS be sure to see him eat and what he eats. hope this helps D.
 
guineawhop

guineawhop

Member
we had one at my store for a little while and he wouldn't eat for the first 2 days we had him. after that he was eating baby mollies. and the day before i sold him i got him to take a piece of krill. if i was to buy one i would make sure it eats before i bought it.
 
vejomatic

vejomatic

Member
Did you ever follow through on the fu manchu funkyman?
I saw one at ***** about 3 months ago i think they wanted $30 something for him. If I knew as much about saltwater then as I do now I would have tried him. Im still on the lookout for one as we speak. Im soo inclined to getting one that i'd buy a whole tank just for him
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
im still thinking of getting one........ even though i have the puffer. it is jsut that he is very peaceful and friendly. heck, he shares his food quite nicely. when my baby snowflake gets all mad the puffer jsut kinda backs off. but when i still had the clown in that tank the puffer would willlingly share his food with him..... maybe once i transport my snowflake, build up on live rock, ect. someday....
 
vejomatic

vejomatic

Member
Originally Posted by fishieness
im still thinking of getting one........ even though i have the puffer. it is jsut that he is very peaceful and friendly. heck, he shares his food quite nicely. when my baby snowflake gets all mad the puffer jsut kinda backs off. but when i still had the clown in that tank the puffer would willlingly share his food with him..... maybe once i transport my snowflake, build up on live rock, ect. someday....

touching

~mc
 
hot883

hot883

Active Member
Originally Posted by fishieness
whats with the smilie and the banging your head against the wall? lol
Do we want to know? It says "touching"
 
funkyman

funkyman

Member
I've been working on my upgrade to a 120 gallon tank over the past month, so any new aquisitions got put on the back burner.
 
glyle41

glyle41

Member
Had one untiil this morning he was eating feeder fish and a damsel every now and then. Found it dead this morning he was always hiding not very personable I think if I would buy another lion I would go with one of more bold varieties
 
fishieness

fishieness

Active Member
hmmmm... do you know why he died? depending on how long you have had him, i would guess taht the feederfish would be the cause of his demise. beutiful fish though.
 
vejomatic

vejomatic

Member
Originally Posted by fishieness
hmmmm... do you know why he died? depending on how long you have had him, i would guess taht the feederfish would be the cause of his demise. beutiful fish though.
agreed:
Originally Posted by fishieness
The reason why i have not gotten one is because i can purchase one online for 35, but if my valentini puffer picks at him in my 29 or if he eats my corals in my 40, i cant return him.

Originally Posted by fishieness
your just jelous because i have raised a puffer that shares nicely on the playground

You soooo got PWND!

back to your court mr. fishieness....

~mc
 
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