Considering a Lionfish

[Mat Recardo]

I have had a tropical tank setup for a while now but have never braved the
realms of marine fish (horror stories mainly).

I have considered getting a single lionfish in a fairly small tank (1 to 2
ft width) as it is a fish I have always loved and wanted to get. The local
aquarium shop has them in stock at a reasonable price and i think maybe now
is the time to start the ball rolling.

I am aware that lionfish consider anything that fits in its mouth as dinner
(barring snails and hermit crabs) so i may end up popping a couple of crabs
in to help with the algae maintenance.

Can anyone give me any pointers on marine fish (specifically lionfish) or
are there any good sites i can refer to?

Also, does anyone know of a begginers guide to marine on the web somewhere?

I don't want to rush things and risk the fish but i understand i can get
pre-balanced water to aid in the setup of a new tank.


Regards,

Mat Recardo


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[Jandtplus3]

Mat;

I've never heard of "pre-balanced" water, but I always suggest to artifically
cycle your tank by using ammonia from the hardware store (as long as it's plain
ammonia).
I currently have a lion fish in my 72g tank. I would suggest making sure that
your tank is large enough for it to swim around. Also, you need room for your
hands in case you need to move something inside so that you don't get hit with
the poison.
The only bad thing about lionfish is that you need to either train them on
frozen foods or constantly purchase feeders. I haven't been lucky enough to
train mine so I'm usually purchasing 13 rosy-reds each week. There have been
some people that don't recommend feeding fresh water fish to marine fish, but
I'm not a scientist so I dont' know about that.

As long as your tank is prepared and large enough, you should be okay.

Good luck.

[RickS]

Lions get very big and fairly quickly too. I suggest you look at some of
the dwarf varieties for such a small tank. As far as food goes, they will
generally eat just about anything (frozen or live) as long as its moving or
floating by. Once it hits the bottom of the tank and sits there, it won't
be eaten. Fresh water fish as feeders are considered to not have any
nutritional value for a sal****er fish and supposedly the bones/liver/etc.
are not good for them. I don't know for sure, but I use those only once in
while. I feed mine a variety of frozen chopped seafood and even Formula I
frozen cubes

[gerry.challoner]

Lion fish are one of the easiest marine fish to keep. The most important
thing is to make sure he is eating dead food before you purchase.
Mine eats frozen lance fiss, frozen prawns and earthworms among other
things.
"Jandtplus3" > wrote in message
...
> Mat;
>
> I've never heard of "pre-balanced" water, but I always suggest to
artifically
> cycle your tank by using ammonia from the hardware store (as long as it's
plain
> ammonia).
> I currently have a lion fish in my 72g tank. I would suggest making sure
that
> your tank is large enough for it to swim around. Also, you need room for
your
> hands in case you need to move something inside so that you don't get hit
with
> the poison.
> The only bad thing about lionfish is that you need to either train them on
> frozen foods or constantly purchase feeders. I haven't been lucky enough
to
> train mine so I'm usually purchasing 13 rosy-reds each week. There have
been
> some people that don't recommend feeding fresh water fish to marine fish,
but
> I'm not a scientist so I dont' know about that.
>
> As long as your tank is prepared and large enough, you should be okay.
>
> Good luck.