lionfish male/females

[jenniesweet]

im wanting to get some lionfish 2 or 3 of them tank mate 1 male and 2 females most likely fuzzy dwarf or the mid body size
but how do u tell if they are male or females and do i have to get all at same time?
tank size is 125gl 72x 18 x21 tank is empty of fish due to ich it been empty of fish for 6 weeks now been ghost feeding.
most likely be putting a eel of some sort(snowflake or wolf). a saddleback butterfly 3'", porkfish 3" and a tang (dont know which one yet)

 

[valentino82602]

In that tank size I would not put more than two.Look at the stripes on the pectoral fin and the overall length of the fins. Females have less than 6 stripes with shorter fins, males more than 6 with longer fins. Males have larger heads when mature. You can sometimes request male and female fuzzy's from your LFS. I would not go with a tang in a 125 with the rest of your list, tangs are very easy to stress, get ICK, then pass it to the rest of your tank. I would never own another tang again IMO. They just don't really do well in captive, they are meant for the open seas not a 4-6 foot tank and even 8 foot tanks are really IMO not enough. There are just too many issues with ICK. If you had ICK in the tank before, you will most likely get it with adding a tang to the tank. Also be careful adding that many fish to that 125, the lions are Territorial and the more fish you add the more the tank mates will become more aggressive. Butterfly's get rather large and pork fish do better in schools meaning you should add at least three, they are also nocturnal feeders and are more active at night so you would need plenty of hiding places for them in the day also they can grow to 15-16'' and will out grow the tank. you best bet is go with two lions "male and female" one snow flake and maybe the butterfly but that maybe pushing it.
What kind of filtration to you run, how many GPH and what are you going for reef, FOWLR. How long has your water been cycling for, ect, ect.