Lionfish in a Reef Tank? Is it possible?

[capnbob]

Howdy,
I think I'm almost ready to start getting my reef tank going. Right now I have a 46 gallon FOWLR tank that's been set up for a couple years.
I'd really love to get a Lionfish, even if it means getting rid of all my other fish. But I'm concerned about the compatibility in a reef tank. Am I asking for trouble if I had a 46 gallon reef tank with a Lionfish in it?
Any tips are much appreciated!
-Bobby

 

[zeromus-x]

I had a dwarf lion in my tank with mushrooms, leathers, and polyps... he never bothered a single one. For a 46g, a fuzzy or zebra dwarf might be your best bet.

 

[aw2]

I've seen quite a few reefs with Lionfish, including a guy I know who has 2 Volitan Lions in his 150gal. cube reef.
The only thing to be concerned about is that they're messy eaters, even a Dwarf Lion, which you'd have to go with. You'd have to make sure the filtration and protien skimmer were up to par, to handle the extra load.

 

[ophiura]

I wouldn't do a larger species of lion in a 46g reef due to size, but a dwarf would be fine (assuming you are careful of other fish that it may eat, or that may pick at it). But AW2s comment is the big one - in general they are not compatible solely because of the amount of waste they put out (and take in). This tends to result in poor water quality, which results in poor coral growth. But if you stay on top of it, then it is generally OK. They are no direct threat to corals or other inverts (excepting things like shrimp that they might eat) and are, IMO, "reef safe."

 

[jdragunas]

i agree... they don't eat corals, but they can cause bad water parameters for corals.

If you have proper filtration, and do enough water changes, though, you should be ok.