Lions at LFS

[thoroughbred]

Every time go into my LFS the first thing I do is go check out the lionfish (my favorite). The first few times I went(about 2 months ago) they all looked good, they had volitans and fuzzys. But the last few weeks every time I go they look worse and worse. They have zebras and volitans in there now, the 2 zebras both have super clowdy eyes which Im worried about. Also lately all the lions have just been squeezing together in the top corner of the tank pointing straight up. Anyone seen this behavior from lions before? And what do you think is wrong with them? Also would you buy one of the zebras and try to treat the clowdy eyes or would you not buy from the tank at all?
ps: 1 of the volitans looks healthy and floats by himself most of the time. Would it be ok to buy him?

 

[v-lioness]

Also lately all the lions have just been squeezing together in the top corner of the tank pointing straight up. Anyone seen this behavior from lions before?
Many times this is normal behavior, even hanging upside down in a tank is normal.
And what do you think is wrong with them?
Lions do not always ship well, the cloudy eyes could be from poor water quality during shipping or a bacterial infection.
Also would you buy one of the zebras and try to treat the cloudy eyes or would you not buy from the tank at all?
What I would do is, if I really wanted to buy one of these lion, I would buy it BUT have them hold it 7 - 10 days. You can work with the lion, Feed it, try to wean it over to frozen foods and even treat. many LFS will work with you on this, especially if you are a regular.
If you can get the lion on frozen foods you can orally treat, if not see if they have a quarantine, buy the meds from them and treat it with the meds in their quarantine tank. I would treat with Kanamycin/K-mycin for 5-7 days, pretty easy to do.
I would just hate for you to buy it, bring it home, and it die on you. My cowfish was it horrible shape at my LFS, it took me two weeks to get this fish on any food, it had a bacterial infection, plus Ich....lol Yup I treated it for 7 days and quarantined right there, it took me a month but I finally got it to where I could bring it home and yes, it was still quarantined at home. I did not want to lose this cow because of stress when it was weak. If I worked there, it would be easy, but I don't, they are just used to me...lol
ps: 1 of the volitans looks healthy and floats by himself most of the time. Would it be ok to buy him?
As long as you have the proper size tank, go for it, but still quarantine.
Are you thinking about a zebra plus the Volitan?
Kaye
My email: saltwater2@comcast.net

 

[lion_crazz]

Kaye's advice is right on. The most important thing she said though was to always quarantine, no matter how healthy he might look at the LFS.

 

[thoroughbred]

Im still trying to decide if i should go with an assortment of dwarfs or a single volitan. Thanks alot for the advice. I thought there might be a lack of oxygen in the tank but i guess not.
By the way, You have the book "the The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner no? That was the first book I bought when I wanted to start a tank and I think its awesome. But in the lionfish section he says he recommends a minimum tank size for 30-40 gallons for adult pterois, just wanted to know what you thought about that because everyone around here would totally disagree.

 

[jon321]

Me personally, if the lionfish was feeding I would buy it. Once feeding, lionfish are rediculously hardy and in my experience are the last fish to get a disease and generally fight it off themselves.
And about the 30-40g for a volitans. I think what Fenner means is thats the minium tank PERIOD to keep a volitans in, but this will REQUIRE an upgrade to a larger tank as the fish grows and/or 30-40g per voltians but is refering to a larger tank. For example, 3x40g=120g so you could keep 3 volitans in a 120g tank.
Jon

 

[v-lioness]

I have read that in his book, look this article on lions by Anthony Calfo and Robert Fenner / http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/cav1i2...lionfishes.htm they talk about tank size.
Me personally, if the lionfish was feeding I would buy it. Once feeding, lionfish are rediculously hardy and in my experience are the last fish to get a disease and generally fight it off themselves.
It is easier to get away with this when it comes to Volitans, but I would not recommend it with a Zebra, they are just not as hardy.
Kaye

 

[thoroughbred]

This is the quote straight out of his book:
The bigger the tank, the better; I recommend a good 30 to 40 gallons per adult Pterois, and half that for other species.
That tells me that a volitan can live for life in a 30-40 gallon tank...And I have read questions on wetwebmedia when someone questioned if that was tank size or space in a tank. He then went on and told the person 4 dwarf lions would be fine in her 65 gallon...
Ive never heard anyone say a tank that small would be good for a volitan so Im getting confused.