Lionfish tank question

[yellowtang03]

I currently have a 75 gallon FOWLER tank with a 4" Russell's lionfish in it. It has about 70 lbs of live rock and has a good skimmer and a 30 gallon sump. I want to add a one spot foxface and possibly a dwarf lion or another medium size fish. What would everyone's recommendations be on tankmates? I really like the foxface. Also the rock is somewhat stacked against the back of the tank so will that be ok for the lion or should I lay it all flat? Thanks for any advice!

[namxas]

Aquascaping for a lion setup should really include some caves and/or overhangs for the lionfish to rest if they so choose. I try not to use the back of the tank to support the rockwork, as I like to be able to see behind them, and if a rock shifts, there's less chance of breaking the tank panel.

A 75 gal is a tad tight for a Russel's but it will work. I'd try to keep most of the rock about half the height of the tank with a higher spot near one of the ends. This will allow the lion to fully extend its fins in the upper part of the tank, which makes it easier for them to swim around.

I think you could keep a S. unimaculatus in that setup, but as with the lionfish, we're at the bare minimum here in terms of room, so your husbandry will need to be spot-on.

I'd consider keeping a largish scorp, such as Scorpaena brasiliensis, or maybe a Rhinopias or Inimicus sp. stingfish to round out the stock list. I'm not so sure I'd trust a Russel's with a dwarf lion unless it's close to full-grown.

The thing to remember when it comes to tankmate size is figure about 75% of the lion's size, unless the fish in question is torpedo or eel-shaped. If this is the case, I'd be looking at a minimum of 1.5x the lion's size, as those shapes are easily-swallowed.

HTH

[jr_83]

You might as well close this thread now because that's pretty much all that can be said.

[yellowtang03]

Ok I will move some of the rockwork around for te lion. Also when u say husbandry what do you mean? I will look into the fish you mentioned. I really like my russells and it is very observant..it comes to the glass everytime I come in the room and just follows me. I def don't wanna get rid of him.

[jarrod13]

By husbandry he means tank maintenance, water changes and that kind of stuff. The reason he says that is with a heavily stocked tank the bio load will be high, even though you only have one fish at the moment lionfish produce a lot of waste and are hard on the water quality.

I agree with Greg, if you want another fish I would only go with one more medium sized fish. A foxface will outgrow a 75 pretty quickly

[yellowtang03]

Ok what if I upgraded to a 120 gallon tank? Would I be able to have more fish? Or if I didn't have the lionfish what cool medium sized fish could go in the 75?

[yellowtang03]

Just thinking, if I was to trade my russels lionfish for a Mombasa, radiata, or antennata would I be able to have more fish in my 75 gallon? Those are the only other lions I really like. I know they r medium bodies lions and stay quite a bit smaller than the russels. If so what other fish would you say would go with a medium bodied lion?

[namxas]

A medium lion would fit very well in that setup, in fact, you could keep a couple of them if you wanted, or keep a medium and a dwarf (I recommend the fuzzy).

[yellowtang03]

So the 75 would be good for a medium body lion like the Mombasa? Could I do a few other fish along with it then? Maybe 2 mediums and a angel or something? Thanks for the reply!

[namxas]

You could try a dwarf angel with the lion as long as the size differential favors the angel (at least 50% of the lion's size).