Dwarf lion 35 gal hex?

[harleychic]

Would a dwarf lion be happy in this size/shape tank?

[rayn]

Gallon wise you could be okay, but you would have to scape it accordingly. A smaller one to start with the possibility for future upgrade or not?

For scape I am thinking a center tower with caves built into it for perching.

[DoubleM 10]

if thats the size you wont see the lion active much. usually fish swim left to right. not up and down. in a hex i dont recall the fish having much place to go.

im pretty sure you will need to upgrade. i would go bigger

[MrTuskfish]

These hex tanks are tough to stock; they are very tall in comparison to their footprint. A grown dwarf lion could barely turn around in one.

[jarrod13]

^^ I agree, maybe you could do a fu man chu instead since they don't swim nearly as much

[rayn]

That is why I stated a small one. Once it grows there would need to be a upgrade inline.

[harleychic]

Thanks everyone, you pretty much told me what I already thought. My mom really wants a lion, and apparently she hasn't gotten addicted enough yet, she's more worried about how pretty the tank is lol, must be the interior designer in her.

[DoubleM 10]

^^ I agree, maybe you could do a fu man chu instead since they don't swim nearly as much

i beg to differ on this point. i have one and he/she swims an awful lot. he/she follows me across the tank regularly

[JohnniG]

are fu man chu expensive?

[MrTuskfish]

are fu man chu expensive?

Just check with a RC sponsor, like LA or BZ.

[namxas]

Heyas Matt! LTNS!

IME, lionfish will pretty much use most of the space afforded them, and the more space there is, generally speaking, the more active you lionfish is likely to be.

A 35 gal hex has very little footprint (21"), and really isn't suited for lionfish, IMHO. It's doable, but the aquascaping would be the key, as mentioned. To be honest, a std. 29 gal or 30L would be a much better fit.

JohnniG,

Fu manchus aren't really very pricy, but can be one of the more difficult species to get eating and weaned. However, once established, they're just a easy as any of the lionfish. Fu's really appreciate caves and overhangs, esp. early-on.

[rssjsb]

These tall tanks have very small surface area, so they need to be skimmed pretty heavily to be sure the water is getting oxygenated.

[seanothon]

These tall tanks have very small surface area, so they need to be skimmed pretty heavily to be sure the water is getting oxygenated.

+1

I lost a seahorse and a orange spotted filefish that i had eating spectrum pellets when I moved them into a 35gl hex. All the levels were perfect and they were only in the tank for a day. The water had taken on the milky appearance it gets when there is too little oxygen and then I realized what had went wrong.

[MrTuskfish]

Low oxygen= milky water? Huh?? All a little tank like this hex needs is a PH or adequate HOB filter to keep the surface disturbed; that will o provide plenty of gas exchange and oxygen.

Just my 2 cents. I wouldn't put much money into this tank. These little hex tanks are really "toys" (IMO); more suited for keeping a betta at the library than keeping SW fish. Even the type made by good companies are really impractical. 90% or so of the useable water column in never really used and equipment is tough to find. Many even have brass-like metal going down all the seams, instant corrosion.