pomacanthus13
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Leaf fish and lion fish, questions about their care
- Thread starter pomacanthus13
- Start date
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saxman
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Ah...being seduced by the "dark side"...I feel the ruination of yet another unsuspecting aquarist is at hand. muahahahahaha!
In all seriousness, "things with stings" are simply fascinating, IMHO...they must be, since that's all Renee (Cranberry here on SWF) and I keep these days.
There's a lionfish for almost every tank, and certainly a scorp for every tank. Scorpaeniformes are actually very passive fish, and tend to be the victims of aggression rather than the aggressors. Sure, they'll eat whatever they can swallow (as will most fish), but every fish needs to eat.
Tankmates to avoid are non-planktonic feeding triggerfish (Rhinecanthus, Balistes, Balistoides, Balistapus), large species angelfish, and puffers, all of which will most likely harass the lionfish to death. The size of your 55 gal tank limits most of these anyhow. Also, ornamental crustaceans (except hermit crabs) will generally be toast, as will fish that can be swallowed, particularly torpedo-shaped fish or eel-like fish.
If you're thinking leaf fish, I'd say you'll want to go with one or more of the dwarf lionfish species, as a good-sized medium-bodied lion species might "try out" the leaf fish for size. As a first dwarf lionfish, I highly recommend starting with a fuzzy dwarf (Dendrochirus brachypterus). They're hardy, personable fish, can be kept in M-F pairs or M-F-F trios, and come in three color morphs (brown, red, yellow, or any combination thereof). They are also the easiest dwarf to wean onto non-living foods.
Leaf fish are great little fish and also come in several colors, altho often, the bright red specimens tend to fade to a creamy, mottled pink over time. Most leaf fish can be weaned onto non-living foods, but every so often you can get a stubborn one that never weans. These fish also seem to take a bit more effort to wean than many scorps. A cool thing about them is that they are easily trained to take food from a small net, so if you end up with one of the stubborn fish, feeding live ghosties or guppies isn't too hard (you'd need to target feed the fish with a lion in residence). Leaf fish can also be kept in groups.
Here are a couple of articles that should be helpful to you:
Lionfish Care:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml
Scorp Care:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/scorpionfish.shtml
Weaning:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml
I STRONGLY recommend using a "stealth stick" for feeding your fish...they are the absolute best tool for the job.
Give those a read and hit us back with any questions you may have.
In all seriousness, "things with stings" are simply fascinating, IMHO...they must be, since that's all Renee (Cranberry here on SWF) and I keep these days.
There's a lionfish for almost every tank, and certainly a scorp for every tank. Scorpaeniformes are actually very passive fish, and tend to be the victims of aggression rather than the aggressors. Sure, they'll eat whatever they can swallow (as will most fish), but every fish needs to eat.
Tankmates to avoid are non-planktonic feeding triggerfish (Rhinecanthus, Balistes, Balistoides, Balistapus), large species angelfish, and puffers, all of which will most likely harass the lionfish to death. The size of your 55 gal tank limits most of these anyhow. Also, ornamental crustaceans (except hermit crabs) will generally be toast, as will fish that can be swallowed, particularly torpedo-shaped fish or eel-like fish.
If you're thinking leaf fish, I'd say you'll want to go with one or more of the dwarf lionfish species, as a good-sized medium-bodied lion species might "try out" the leaf fish for size. As a first dwarf lionfish, I highly recommend starting with a fuzzy dwarf (Dendrochirus brachypterus). They're hardy, personable fish, can be kept in M-F pairs or M-F-F trios, and come in three color morphs (brown, red, yellow, or any combination thereof). They are also the easiest dwarf to wean onto non-living foods.
Leaf fish are great little fish and also come in several colors, altho often, the bright red specimens tend to fade to a creamy, mottled pink over time. Most leaf fish can be weaned onto non-living foods, but every so often you can get a stubborn one that never weans. These fish also seem to take a bit more effort to wean than many scorps. A cool thing about them is that they are easily trained to take food from a small net, so if you end up with one of the stubborn fish, feeding live ghosties or guppies isn't too hard (you'd need to target feed the fish with a lion in residence). Leaf fish can also be kept in groups.
Here are a couple of articles that should be helpful to you:
Lionfish Care:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml
Scorp Care:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/scorpionfish.shtml
Weaning:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml
I STRONGLY recommend using a "stealth stick" for feeding your fish...they are the absolute best tool for the job.
Give those a read and hit us back with any questions you may have.
pomacanthus13
Member
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pomacanthus13
Member
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saxman
Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pomacanthus13 http:///t/393445/leaf-fish-and-lion-fish-questions-about-their-care#post_3500308
Wow! Thanks for all the info!
You're welcome! I did kinda cheat tho...(my wife and I "own" Lionfish Lair).
As far as size differential goes, I'd be thinking about 3/4 of the lion's size would be a good rule of thumb. Torpedo-shaped fish and long, thin (eel-like) fish would need to be larger than that as they are easily swallowed.
Originally Posted by Pomacanthus13 http:///t/393445/leaf-fish-and-lion-fish-questions-about-their-care#post_3500308
Wow! Thanks for all the info!
You're welcome! I did kinda cheat tho...(my wife and I "own" Lionfish Lair).
As far as size differential goes, I'd be thinking about 3/4 of the lion's size would be a good rule of thumb. Torpedo-shaped fish and long, thin (eel-like) fish would need to be larger than that as they are easily swallowed.