Getting a Lionfish

[sjgsm]

I'm about to buy a Volitan Lion from the LFS and was wondering if there are any precautions i should take. Also i was wondering about their acclimating habbits and early feeding. Any info really would be appreciated. Will be interested to see if he will eat the 2 pesky damsels in my tank aswell . Got them as a cycle fish and could never catch them since lol. Thanks ahead of time, Lance.

 

[xdave]

Watch out for those spines! He'll probably be a lot better at catching those damsels than you, he does it for a living.
Is he going into a 35 gallon? That's pretty small. Mine got 15" long with an 18" finspan at a year old. This is one of the last fish I'd want to try to move. Fish tend to flop around when you catch them, and he's poisonous.

 

[sjgsm]

haha no... i must have forgotten to update my info, i switched the 35g for a 55g, they say the sting is alittle worse than a bee sting, I used to catch bees with my hands and shake them lol.... so anything else such as how long they tend to stay stressed after acclimation or anything? thanks

 

[sjgsm]

anyone? want to hear any info before i go get it in about 40 minutes

 

[hatessushi]

A volitan lion gets to big for a 55gal. I would get one of the dwarf lions. that's what I intend to do in a 55gal myself.

 

[nereef]

a volitan will easily outgrow a 55 gal. tank, since the tank is only a little over a foot wide, and it won't be able to turn around in it.
as for capturing, the lion should be scooped instead of netting to save spines from breaking. i would drip acclimate the lion.
one side note: lionfish are venomous, not poisonous.

 

[jon321]

I wouldnt consider it equal to a bee sting. Ive been stung by many bees and wasps and it hurts, but nothing more than some "%&*#^&*%" can fix....when I got stung by my volitans, well, I can promis you I will NEVER let it happen again!
Jon