Lion and Longhorn Cowfish

[cotton0627]

I have a friend that had a volitan lionfish and a longhorn cowfish. The two fish lived peacefully and there were never any problems, but my LFS cautions me against it....anyone have any input, I am thinking about getting a cowfish.
(added after original post)
I do not plan to keep them in such a small tank.

 

[mike j]

both of those fish will need a tank larger than a 29 gallon, regardless of your paramaters.

 

[jordan 150]

stick with the lion it will out grow the tank but what can you do you already have it. The cowfish if he dies he will release posion that will kill your lion then ure down to fish.

 

[mike j]

jordan, most fish stores will allow for a trade in so he might not have to stick with the lionfish. But you are right, he will outgrow the tank, as would a cowfish in a tank that size. Try to trade in the lion for a couple of clownfish or else upgrade your tank in the near future.

 

[tankstolove]

It can be done in a much larger tank. Both boxfish and volitan are compatable though both grow to be large fish. As long as you understand that you need to upgrade before you get the cow fish you can do it. I know this was already said, I just wanted to support the feed back givin'.
Good Luck!

 

[cotton0627]

Thanks for the advice guys, but I guess I should have stated in my first post that I never intended to keep them in this tank. I realize that if not the cowfish, the lionfish DEFINATELY needs a larger tank, and I plan on upgrading in the coming months as he is still a 3" juvenile. I am going to use the 29gal as a hospital tank or an acclimation tank. I know that the cowfish releases toxins when it dies, but wouldn't that also affect any other fish that would be kept with it? My question is, more specifically, since the cow is very passive and lions tend to be aggressive (I believe he killed all my clowns with the exception of one) would the two fish be compatible? TIA
P.S. tankstolove...thank you for answering my question at hand.
Does anyone else have any feedback to support or challenge this answer?

 

[seahorseguy]

ihave heard that you can detox the poison in the cowfish. I was just wondering if it is true.

 

[moby da goby]

cotton, I keep a juvenile cowfish in an 80 gallon tank with about 5 other community type fish. The only problem I had was the first week my rather snotty territorial sebae clown chased little boxer around like mad. My lfs also cautioned me, saying the slightest bit of stress would cause him to release toxins and kill everything. Never happened. I think if he was a much larger fish, 5-8 inches, maybe then it would affect the other fish. Unfortunately I don't keep any lionfish so I cannot say how they would get along. Boxer just hung out near the top of the tank picking at the seaweed mostly. I think my only caution would be that the lionfish may look at a small specimen as an appetizer at first.

 

[fishymissy]

Even though lionfish are labeled as aggressive, they really aren't. They will not go around harassing other fish....not their style. What they WILL do is eat any fish or shrimp that can fit into their very large mouths.
As long as the cowfish is as large or larger than the lionfish you shouldn't have any problems with the lionfish wanting to eat the cowfish.
A word of warning.....cowfish are extremely prone to ich, you will have to watch for this. It might be a good idea to use the new tank (once it has been cycled) as a QT for the cowfish. Use the hyposalinity method if the fish shows up with ich. This way too the fish can get used to the tank and settle in before introducing the lionfish.
Good luck!