Loinfish Questions

[ron s]

I have a new 150 gallon tank that has finished cycling. I have a small SFE now and I am thinking of a Lionfish for the 2nd addition. I was looking at colored Volitans at the lfs and wanted to know if lionfish change there coloring as the mature. They had one that I liked and it was the right size but the other larger colored Volitans that were with him were not as colorful as the small one. They were mostly white and orange with out the darker stripes. I was not sure whether it had to do with maturity or just a difference in coloring in Volitans.
I was also interested in Antennata's but the guy in the lfs said that they usulally don't live that long and are not as easy to get acclaimated to the aquarium and are hard to get trained to eat frozen. I was woundering if anyone has had this experience with Antennata's.
Also has any one had experience with dwarf Zebra's.
Thanks
Ron S

 

[topfish]

Hello Ron. No, Volitan lionfish don't change when they grow older. The one you want is a black volitans lionfish. Those other lions that are a reddish color are red volitans. They are the sam in hardiness, but look different. Volitans get up to 15 in.you can keep one in your 150, for it's whole life. Antennatas are hardy lionfish, and do well in home aquariums. They do acclimate good. They are not as hardy, as volitans, but are hardy. These lionfish get up to 8 in.I haven't had any experiance with dwarf zebras but I know that there are two types of dwarf lionfish. Zebra and Fuzzy. They are both the same thing (hardiness wise) but aren't as hardy as the volitans. They don't get that big, around 7 in. I'd go with the volitans, they are great and hardy fish. When you buy your lion, it may not eat right away. It may only eat live foods. Just wean him off it, and wean it to frozen foods.

 

[y2says]

You'll be happy with a volitan as I am. Very unique and elegant. Don't get frustrated at first if they only eat live foods. Mine now eat pellets, live, and frozen shrimp. Just make sure you don't get stung.

 

[ron s]

Well I got A Red Volitan Last night. He is about 3 1/2" and was alot more colorful than most of the other Reds I have seen. He had been at the lfs for a couple of weeks so I guess he was all ready trained to eat frozen because he ate a few pieces of frozen prawn this morning. I used an acrylic feeding prong that I just got online for $1.50 and it worked great. It is about 16" long and clear so the fish don't see it very well. He was a little shy at first but when I started wiggling it he came up and grabed it. It was very cool to watch him eat especailly that soon. Hopefully he keeps it up.