unique lionfish tank

brannahale

brannahale

New Member
Alright we decided to keep a lionfish trank...without rays or sharks. Now we come to our next problem. We want a Black V. Lion. What are good companions? So far people have said anglers, frog fish, hawk fish, leaf fish, tangs, and eels. Are there any other fish, besides triggers, that can accompany the lion fish? Also can we mix a radiated lion with a V. lion?
Next question what eels can be mixed with other eels. Everyone says SFE are the greatest but I was just wondering if there were other species that could be mixed.
Thanks again everyone.
 
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usirchchris

Guest
Howdy...can't answer all your questions, but will cover a couple. lions and triggers are terrible tank mates. The lion is slow moving non-aggressive..everything the trigger is not. The long flowing fins of the lion are too tempting for most triggers and in time it would most likely become a chew toy for it. In regards to other fish and tank mates...anything that can fit in the lions mouth, will most likely end up in the lions mouth. The Volitan grows to be a very large fish so keep this in mind..they grow fast as well.
 
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usirchchris

Guest
huh, well only 1 thing I missed I guess. SFE are probably the most common and inexpensive, and are easy to care for, thus making them a popular choice. Personally I would look for something a little more unique, but watch out for expert only eels like the black/blue ribbon eel. I had a volitan many many years ago with a mexican dragon eel...they got along fine for many years till I had to move and give them away.
 
fmarini

fmarini

Member
branna-
if you do a google search for my last name (marini) and lionfish you'll find an article about keeping lionfish in which i list whole section of compatible fish.
Anyway- yes a P volitans and P radiata will be compatible as long as you purchase them at similar times and similar size. Just remember, in 1yr the P volitans will easily be twice as big (15"), as the adult P radiata.
As for other compatible fish- its easy w/ lionfish-
"ANY fish that does not fit into the mouth of the lion, or does not harass a lion is a safe tankmates".
Lionfish only harass a fish they can eat- otherwise they leave everything alone.
That said, a P volitans has a huge mouth. however i successful kept large tangs, large wrasses, large angels, planktonic triggers (like bluechin, pink tail, etc), and other scorpionfish w/ lionfish for about a decade. As for eels, my faves are zebra eels, and they work great, but again as long as the lionfish is considerably bigger than the eel- the eel many not potshot it
Last please remember that lionfish are not really aggressive fish- they are predatory, and are whimps- so harassing fish, like puffers, triggers (crunchers, like ballistoides, etc) will shred these fish.
 
erifish3

erifish3

Member
Originally Posted by usirchchris
http:///forum/post/3225241
huh, well only 1 thing I missed I guess. SFE are probably the most common and inexpensive, and are easy to care for, thus making them a popular choice. Personally I would look for something a little more unique, but watch out for expert only eels like the black/blue ribbon eel. I had a volitan many many years ago with a mexican dragon eel...they got along fine for many years till I had to move and give them away.
I have a 24" mexican dragon eel with my v. lion and i've never had any problems.
 
skate020

skate020

Member
with a lion you could go for SOME angels, which depends totally on the angel itself, like some will go mad at the fins, others will just leave them, generally if you wanna get an angel with one get a fast growing one, and buy it when its a little smaller than the lion so it wont have the courrage to attack the fins. also if you bought a slow growing angel, the lion will grow VERY quick and that angel will be a goner!
zebra eels and SFE eels go well together:) they are also good with lions.
as for triggers, some of the planktonic may work yes, as it has worked for a few people, but it is a big riskk, foxface is a good tankmate, as are most or all tangs.
filefish will also work, well only the tassle cos they grow quite nicely.
im not sure about the marine betta.
but anglers id stay well away from, if its a small one the lion could tryeat it, and if its a larger one then the angler is going to eatt everything else in that tank, so anglers is a bad idea unless its just lionfish and angler, even there its a risk
 
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saxman

Guest
filefish will likely be fin nippers, as will boxfish and puffers.
besides foxfaces and tangs, soldierfish/squirrelfish make good tankmates for lions.
you can indeed mix lion species as long as they can't eat each other. one caveat regarding P. radiata is that they don't ship well, and many are in pretty rough shape by the time you get them home, so give them a super good going over if you see them.
 
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usirchchris

Guest
Originally Posted by erifish3
http:///forum/post/3225427
I have a 24" mexican dragon eel with my v. lion and i've never had any problems.
Awesome, that's a great little eel. My favorite for an obvious reason
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by FMarini
http:///forum/post/3225307
Last please remember that lionfish are not really aggressive fish- they are predatory, and are whimps- so harassing fish, like puffers, triggers (crunchers, like ballistoides, etc) will shred these fish.
This is vital info and not mentioned nearly often enough. It is so common for folks to assume that lions and triggers are meant for each other. I don't think they should be labeled "aggressive fish"...like at the intro to this section of the forum.
Note to usirchchris: One of the cable networks had "The Bubbleboy" episode on the other night. Outside of Fox's "24", its the last regular TV program I can remember recording.
 
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usirchchris

Guest
Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/3227239
Note to usirchchris: One of the cable networks had "The Bubbleboy" episode on the other night. Outside of Fox's "24", its the last regular TV program I can remember recording.
 
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