sargassum vs sailfin

[dlsmith21]

We are finally getting the scorpion/angler for my husband's FOWLR tank with 2 anemones and 2 feather dusters. Our LFS guy ordered one of each of these guys for us to pick. I have a couple questions for anyone familiar with these fish. First off, which of the 2 is easiest as far as care and converting to frozen food ? The tank currently houses a volitan, cowfish, SF eel, hateful maroon clown, watchman and a scooter which was one of our first fish. I am definitely worried about the scooter with the new guy. The others leave him be and the lion actually likes to settle next to him at night. Do fish become accustomed to each other or do the big guys eventually view all smaller tank mates as food? Finally, as this is the last fish to go into the tank, would he get accustomed to the scooter or should I bring the scooter back to the LFS? I can't put him in my other tank as I have a mandarin and I don't want my pods wiped out. Thank to anyone that can help me.

On a side note...would my cow pick at the sargassum ?

[Monkeyfish]

I don't think I've ever heard of a sailfin angler.

IME it's fairly easy to get sargassum anglers to take frozen. Let it go hungry for 3 or 4 days and then offer it a piece of silverside that was thawed in tank water with a little Garlic Extreme or similar product. Use a feeding stick (air-line tubing, skewer, glass feeding rod etc.) and wiggle the food in front of him. Do NOT try and put it in his mouth; let him go after it.

The cow and maroon clown may pick at the angler. The snowflake eel may decide the angler's a meal when it (the eel)gets big enough. I generally recommend against putting an angler and lion in the same tank. Big risk of one attempting to eat the other.

Are all of those fish in a 75g tank? Cowfish can grow to be 20" long and volitan lions typically hit 10-12 inches in a year. That tank is going to get crowded. Also, if other fish pester the cow or he becomes severely stressed he may emit a toxin which can be lethal to the entire tank including the cowfish.

[dlsmith21]

The sailfin is a scorpion. The LFS guy ordered both for my husband to choose from. They are all going into a 150g when they get bigger. The biggest right now is the lion at about 4". So far everybody gets along great. They have all been in the tank for several months with not a problem (so far that is). I checked the compatability chart at fosters & smith and it lists lions and anglers as fine together. The clown I am iffy on. He is a mean lil bugger that attacks me or anything I put into the tank. I can't put him in my other tank as I have a pair of skunk clowns and I'm afraid it will be WAR if I try. Thanks so much Monkey for the reply. I wish my husband wasn't into the evil, mean, wicked and nasty fish. It's a pain trying to get anything to go with what he has so far.

[Monkeyfish]

If by sailfin scorpionfish you mean Amblyapistus taenianotus or rogue fish these guys can be difficult to get eating frozen. IMO you're better off getting the angler.

The angler and lion will eat anything that fits in their mouth including each other. They may coexist for quite some time, but the risk is always there.