I just got my fuzzy dwarf on the past sunday.
From what I continue to gather, tankbred is always best (generally) if you can find one. Use the same purchasing skills you would with anything else when looking for a lion. Look for movement, color, and appetite. Getting lions to eat (especially if you are looking for a smaller one like a dwarf) can be difficult.
Get used to him needing extra care at least in the beginning. Some people cant even get thier lions to eat LIVE food at first, let alone prepared food. and the only way to train them is time, patience and repitition. Feeding live is easy, just throw it thier way, tweezer it, or you can skewer it with a long stylet (clear) and target feed him. Use the stylet also with frozen foods at first and wiggle it to make it look alive and 'trying to escape'. After a while some lions eat chunks of meat just like your other inhabitants will, at feeding time, with no target feeding needed.
They need places to hide and feel comfortable. They like to hang upside down in caves and things of the sort so build your aquascaping to reflect that.
The smaller ones (dwarves) generally arent as active as the regular larger lions- although there are some exceptions.
I dont beleive any lion is 'easy to care for'. They are considered 'hardy' I think, but they need a well varied diet and a nice environment. Improper diet leads to fatty liver disease and (at least in dwarves, not sure about full size) can lead to loss of vision or 'blindness'
They are considered part of the NOT reef safe category. They will eat anything that will fit in thier mouth, and even if you dont mind losing a hermie crab once in a while, the shell can impact thier digestive system and cause trouble. However, many people keep them in thier reef. So dont get too attached to your little inverts (or smaller fishes) as they will become a meal.
They are venemous. Not exactly poisionous. The venom causes inflammation, pain, and a nasty wound. They can be fatal if the person is allergic (like an allergy to bee stings), although most are just a painful 'pain in the hand'
(poison = destructive and 'malicious')
(venom is more of an irritant- unless you are allergic.)
This is the information that I have gathered (basic stuff) from reading, conversing, and posting here.
If anything is incorrect please tell me/post the correct answer.
Just thought Id share some of the 'helpful but sort of obvious' care thoughts on lions.... dwarves in particular.
..... and the fuzzies are sooooo cute- so thats a bonus. (fu-manchu is cute too)
A board member by the name of V-Lionness has been helpful to me so far. hopefully he/she can chime in.
