Lion fish in reef tank

aidos

aidos

Member
i dont know if this is a question for reef or aggressive tank people so i'll post it on both.
i want to know the compatiblity of these fish in a reef tank
1x FuManCh Lion fish
1x Blue Hippo Tang
2-3x Lyretail Anthias
1x Cleaner Common Wrasse
1x Yellow Longnose Butterfly or copperband butterfly
1x Oriole Angel
i know that these fish will have to be as big or bigger than the lion when i buy them, aside from that will they get along fine??
is there enough room for these in a 64 gallon tank??
will the lion eat CBS, or pepermint shrimp?? im guessing they will so what type of inverts can you have in the tank with a lion?? what would happen to my clean up crew??
in the case of not being able to have shrimp because of the lion would i be able to get a Snow Flake Eel aswell, considering there is enough room??
any help is greatly appreciated
 
lionfish28

lionfish28

Member
cleanup crew=fine
Blue tang=No
fumanch lion=hard to ween (get a fuzzy dwarf lion)
shrimp=NO
eel=fine(have lots of rocks)
 
conogre

conogre

Member
The above reply is pretty well accurate, and I'd agree as well on getting a Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish as opposed to a FuManchu.
The Fu's are very hard to wean over off live food, while the Fuzzies are relatively easy.
In a tank containing live corals I'd suggest only having one fuzzy dwarf lion....I have a pair that have spawned in excess of 50 times, with the egg masses being free floating and highly caustic to any LR or corals they may come in contact with before being sucked out by the skimmer.
Oh...a Chainkink eel is better for a smaller tank than a snowflake, as they are considerably smaller.....they are very closely related.
Mike
 
harlequin

harlequin

Member
Too small of a tank for a blue hippo tang. You are talking a fish that likes swim space and gets pretty big. Also skip the cleaner wrasse as well, chances are it will either starve to death or get eaten and either deprives the real reef of a fish that should have been left there.
 
thedraven

thedraven

Member
Blue hippos are infamous for being highly susceptible to disease and parasites (more so than other tangs), and get fairly large. They require a minimum tank of 90 gallons, preferably 120. Keep in mind these fish are free swimmers and so need the space or get quickly stressed.
 
aidos

aidos

Member
any good ideas of other fish that would suit the type of set up that i am trying to create???
 
chandler04

chandler04

Active Member
Get a nice skool going, like a bunch of anthias or a skool of cromis. Radiata are actually cool lion fish, and they dont get terribly huge. Lions are reef safe, and I believe they do not eat corals. They are prettier than dwarfs too. The butterfly is TOTALLY out, cuz they chomp down on corals big time. O, you want 3 lyretail? Get those, and one will become male. That would be a nice center piece, as well as the lion. No cleaner wrasse, no butterfly, angel might not be reef safe either. Get a yellow tang if yer tank is large enough, or evena purple. Umm, wat size tank DO you have?
 
aidos

aidos

Member
i'm getting a 64 gallon tank, so at the mo, im just trying to plan the type of set up that i would like and get a good range of fish together that will get along.
so far these are the fish im thinkin of goin with
1x Fumanch lion fish
3-4x lyretail anthias
2x tomato clowns
1x Red Head Solon Fairy Wrasse or Velvet Multicolor Wrasse
and maybe a 1x yellow tang but my tank is a little too small.
also
how would any of these gobies cope with the lion fish, will they get eaten:
Tiger Watchman Goby
Sleeper Banded Goby
Sleeper Gold Head Goby
or what others would be better??
and
what type of clean up crew am i gonna be able to have with a lion fish present, ie types of crabs, snail, shrimp that it wont eat??
 
conogre

conogre

Member
I'm pretty sure someone told you this already, but a FuManchu is NOT a good choice for a newer hobbyist with a newly set up tank.
True, the colors are brilliant for the size, but heep in mind that these hide more than any other lionfish, mutch more like a scorpionfish, and they are largely nocturnal, like an owl or a bat (count off the number of times you've seen EITHER abroad in the daytime in your LIFE!).
Lastly, the Fus can be much harder to train off live feeders, again being very much scorpionfish-like.......if you shop very carefully, you can find Fuzzy Dwarfs and Zebra Dwars in a bright red vaiant, or in a Fuzzy, bright yellow and orange as well.
Clean up crews aren't difficult with dwarf lions as long as you rule out shrimp.
Here's some personal suggestions that work well with lionfish .....larger brittle/serpent sea stars, any of the carnivorous sea stars (these may require additional meaty feedings, but are great for removing left over pieces of shrimp, squid, etc. from the weaning over period), emerald crabs, Sally lightfoot crabs, arrow crabs, decorator crabs,dwarf lobsters (red or purple are the most commonly seen) and any and all marine snails.
Many of the larger sleeper gobies will work, with larger being the operative word(small species are considered live food of choice).
Larger blennies, conversely may be too agressive for smaller lionfish and may attack and kill them.
IF you check and see what your local LFS's policy on tang trade-ins, a smaller specimen would be fine.......many LFS will take tangs and angels beck in trade as larger specimens are easily saleable.
You didn't mention how you're planning on decorating/aquascaping your tank, but I'd suggest LOTS of LR.
Mike
 
aidos

aidos

Member
i'm wanting to have a reef setup so i will have around 100 pounds of live rock.
if it is that hard to train the Fumanch off live food i think i will have to go the fuzzy dwarf. although i haven't asked the supplyer if they have been trained off already, so it may pay to cheak that.
but as long as the fish i have listed will live well together then i am happy.
cheers
 
chandler04

chandler04

Active Member
Gobies might be a no go. Seriously, u should look into a radiata lionfish. They stay small, will stay in the open, possibly easier to train than dwarfs, reef safe, and they are cooler looking.
 
conogre

conogre

Member
Chandler04 is correct on the appearance of a radiata and in the fact that they stay small enough for a tank that size.
On the other hand, the Radiatas IMO are considerably more delicate, something to be factored into newly set up tanks.
Lasty, you seem to have your heart set on a reef tank, which means nutient import/export has to be considered.........the more fish you have and the larger they are means that you'll be facing less than optimum water quality with higher nitrates and phosphates.
Depending upon the types of coral you wish to keep, you may well find that in a tank the size of yours the occupant list may have to be cut in half.........I base this on many conversations with reefers and my own experience with an ex, as I KNOW I don't have enough willpoer to pull it off.
With MY fish, I'm more of the Italian grandmother type...."Eat! Eat! Eat! Ican see your bones!", and eat they do, as well as grow with the average lifespan now running 5 years+.
Mike
 
aidos

aidos

Member
i'm not really interested in the large lions, i'm really after a dwarf so that it allows me to have other fish in the tank such as anthias, and i dont want such a large fish.
but i may have to cut the size of my list.
 
conogre

conogre

Member
Understood....you may well be fine then.
I've got leathers and some mushrooms growing in a couple of the tanks, even with my tenedency to push the envelope on overstocking............hey, the tanks weren't overcrowded when I put the fish in them but it's amazing!
I feed my fish, do my water changes and the darned tanks seem to be shrinking day by day.:thinking:
Mike
 
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