QUICK RESPONSE PLEASE! Lionfish/snowflake combo?

[Josh_Canada]

this coming tuesday i will begin cycling an unpurchased tank. minimum tank size and optimum layout for a snowflake eel and lionfish combo tank. would enjoy a more active volitan, but enjoy the looks of antennea(s?) dwarf. i have heard a long shallow/narrow tank is optimal for both, to give bottom dwellers more practical space per gallon. also, could i feed them both off of a similar diet?

regards,

josh

[DoubleM 10]

well i have alions and eels i would say a 110 gallon. make sure its a long on. and kinda deep so the lion can turn around. anything bigger than that ur good IMO

[Josh_Canada]

what about feeding? also im not sure if your reffering to one or multiple lions?

[DoubleM 10]

i referring to 1 maybe 2 V. lions. the SFE will be just fine in a tank that size. the SFE will take well to frozen.

its the lions that will be some time and patience with to get to eat frozen

[DoubleM 10]

and for the annetta lions i would say 75 gal or so for 1 and a SFE

[Josh_Canada]

i have heard of a seafood medley sold at local grocery stores (squid, octo?, shrimp, fish) can be soaked in a suplement to feed either.

thanks so much for the help

[DoubleM 10]

that is true. you will need to ween the lion off of feeders the A lion will be harder than the V lion because they ship poor. so lions take some patience

[Josh_Canada]

well there are 5 local in good health, so i hope it does well. also, what to use for substrate dont want them to get their bellies scratched up?

[DoubleM 10]

i use regular carib sea live sand.

do you have a tank yet?

what state u in?

[Josh_Canada]

with their ligthing, is an anenome(s?) able to survive? i would be buying whichever corresponds to maroon clownfish. this would not be for a while after introduction of eel/lion. further more, would a anenome even faise and eel/lion? maroons grow fairly large and nasty, but would it still be on the smaller of the A lions menu? thanks again

[Josh_Canada]

i'm actualy in Alberta, Canada

[Josh_Canada]

i have yet to purchase anything

[DoubleM 10]

so the lions at the store dont mean to much. once your tank has water and rock and such. you will need to wait about 1-2 months before you tank is cycled.

how much experience do you have in the saltwater hobby?

[Josh_Canada]

i understand the cycling progress, the store is small and i doubt the fish will be gone when a lr tank cycles. i have no experience in saltwater but have done a great deal of research.

[Josh_Canada]

i assume both the eel and lion need a proper drip acclimation

[olemiss reb]

A volitan or antenatta will make short work of a maroon clown. while maroons grow big and mean, volitans grow bigger much faster. Clowns are no where near fast enough to evade a lion.

[DoubleM 10]

i would not hget a clown. i had a clarkii that bullied a full grown fuzzy lion. clowns are damsels. damsels are territorial. plain and simple. all fish should get a drip acclimation fro 45-60 min including float time.

traut me when i say thier is no amount of reasearch tha wil prepare you what your getting into lol :lolspin:

just be as patient as possible. lions are not all that easy to make sure they have a proper and happy life.

yes they can live on feeders. is it good for them NO.

they need something better than freshwater animals. frozen mysis. silversides and the like.

mine took 3 months to wean but he did and now for a dwarf he is 8 in

hes one of 3 lions lol. they all are different and take things at their own pace. i would not trade them for any other fish. they are great once they feel at home

matt

[Josh_Canada]

is live food a must? I could breed mollies as i have heard they acclimate to sw? also if you feed them sw food they gain proper nutritional value? also could i breed both snails and feeder fish in a 20 gallon, linked in with the inner workings of the main tank; (of course a larger filtration system is necisary to run both. this would also skip acclimation for prey if kept at same temps. correct?

thanks for the speedy responses.

[Catfisht]

I personally would start with the eel as they are much hardier than a lion. My first fish was a 6in snowflake that out lived 10 other fish as I learned this new hobby. I got to used to him being at the bottom all the time and for the first time I was trying to go topless on his tank because he never came up to the top so I figured it was safe and the first night he jumped and expired during the night. So if youre gonna have an eel make sure you have a top on your tank.

With the lion I would wait a little while and see if you can keep the eel and maybe another fish alive for a few weeks. Anemones are kinda touchy creatures, you gotta be careful of overflows, powerheads, rocks, pumps, and any moving parts. They also need fairly decent lighting. Anyway I wish you the best with the setup but make sure you take it slow. Im waiting right now for my big tank to cycle so my shark, stingray, and lions can have plenty of room to roam and it is a constant want to put them in right now but it needs to cycle so that im sure im not gonna kill them with the unstability of a uncycled tank.

[Josh_Canada]

must a tank adapt accordingly to the bioload of one before the other can be introduced?

[Josh_Canada]

also if introducing one at a time, which is less likely to get defensive when a tankmate is introduced?

[LisaD]

they'll ignore each other if there is not a huge size differential. I have an antennata lion, and love it, but would not consider this a beginner lionfish. For a large tank, go with a volitans, for a small tank, I'd recommend a fuzzy dwarf lionfish.

BTW, if you want the lionfish your store has, and have to cycle a tank, consider paying them to hold it for you.

[Josh_Canada]

thanks guys!

[namxas]

Josh,

If you haven't read Frank Marini's excellent LIONFISH CARE ARTICLE (http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php), give it a read. There's lots of great info in it.

Frank also has a really great new book out entitled Lionfishes and Other Scorpionfishes. It's a must-have if you're into lionfish. Amazon has it.

As far as feeding goes, check out Tools of the Trade: Equipment & Techniques to Convert your Fish onto Frozen (http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml). It's a pretty good read.

Personally, I'd stick with either Pterois volitans (volitans lion), P.russelii (Russel's lion/red volitans lion), or Dendrochirus brachypterus (fuzzy dwarf lion) as your first lion. All three are great fish...they wean fairly easily, and are pretty tolerant in terms of water quality. All of the "medium-bodied" lions such (P. antennata, P. mombassae, and P. radiata) tend to be poor shippers, are harder to wean, and are generally a bit more touchy.

Also, I'd get the lion first and get it conditioned and eating for you, then add the SFE as they're pretty much bulletproof and will be less work to add second.

HTH

[Josh_Canada]

What about keeping either with a peacock mantis shrimp?

[LisaD]

no, see my comment in your other thread.