Dwarf lion in a reef?

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I have a 2" fuzzy dwarf in my 90 with a cleaner, fire, two coral banded and two peppermint shrimp. My fish are all 3 inches or over. The cleaner shrimp chases the lion down for cleanings.

I have not yet got the lion to take food, but I am only trying frozen. I did see him eat a bristle worm!


Before him I had another fuzzy dwarf that would eat out of my hand. If you get to this, Make sure the back of the tank is covered..........mine decided to chase a moth after lights out and jumped out.


Never had any problems with a fuzzy dwarf..........but I did have a panther grouper that was 2" when I got him, finally ended selling him when he reached 7 " and start eating EVERYTHING!

 

[Something Fishy]

I have a dwarf lionfish, have had him in my reef tank for well over a year now, & he has a lovely temperament, never a problem. I feed him "feeder fish", originally the cheap freshwater type but I was advised that salt-water ones contain better nutrients so now I use feeder mollies which I keep in a large saltwater bowl with an airstone.

Dwarfy knows his limits - some of the feeder fish themselves are too large for him, & he's never shown any interest in his other tankmates, including quite small bi-colour blennies, porcelain crabs & a coral-banded shrimp. He does eat tiny shrimps, but I only tried that once before learning that lesson

 

[Skimmy]

i loved my dwarf lion i had in one of my old reef setups too, until i got stung cleaning my tank...my fault though...he was just curious, looking for a hand out...but bad news for me as im deathly allergic to bees so off to the hospital i went...they scolded me, now i have an "epi pen" (ephinephrin shot) that i carry around in my car....but one of the more painful things i've experienced..:shock:

 

[Something Fishy]

My dwarf lion is off his food.

Usually he takes one "feeder" molly per day, but he hasn't wanted one for 4 days. There's actually one swimming around in there at the moment, the first time that hasn't been pounced on immediately. I feed him with a small net, but for 4 days he hasn't even shown any interest at all.

Should I be worried yet?

 

[Skimmy]

you shouldnt feed them every day, they have slow metabolisms, you should feed them once every couple/few days...

 

[DisturbedReefer]

Everything I have read says with caution. I am aware of the obvious caution...."if it will fit in its mouth it will eat it". I have never owned a lion due to the fact that I have always had smaller fish and did not think they were reef safe.

LFS did not think they would bother any invert other than small shrimp.I am looking for a new fish to replace my lost tangs.

Anyone have one in a reef with success?

LFS just received some juvenal spotted dwarfs in (2-3")and I have one on hold until I can do a bit more research. From what I have found this species can get 6-8". LFS thinks that could take 2-3 years. I know oscars are cute as juvenals, but do not stay that way long, what about lions, how fast do the grow?

I think all my fish would be safe to start out. Chromis is about 2.5-3" and could be at risk down the road. Clowns are both 3-4"+ and growing. The cleaner shrimp I have is huge.

Anyone have any thoughts?

TIA,

I have kept Volitans, and now 2 Radiata's and a yellow fuzzy dwarf lionfish in my reef. I have the same cleaner shrimp that I have had for the past three years. I did loose one cleaner shrimp, however, I beleive it was do to a molt malfunction. The volitans just got too big for their and my own good, so I switched to the smaller lions. Best thing I could have done, they are all beautiful fish and really look impressive in a reef. I would venture a guess that the Chromis and the Clowns could and probably will become snacks in the near future. Not sure if my cleaner shrimp is surviving by pure luck or that they really do just tolerate his existance. HTH

 

[steve-s]

Should I be worried yet?

Is the fish showing any sign of bloat?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Something Fishy]

No, this may sound strange, but he appears to have gone yellow. Usually he is a clear white/grey colour in between the orange/brown stripes, but those bits appear now a sickly looking yellow. I don't think he's gonna last to be honest, he looks so weak. Would quarantining at this late stage be of any use?

 

[steve-s]

Would quarantining at this late stage be of any use?

It would be if the problem where an internal infection/blockage which is usually the most likely when overfeeding this species or using inappropriate food types. You have been doing both actually...

Placing the lion in a lowered salinity (19-23 ppt) while treating with an easily absorbed antibiotic like Maracyn II for SW would be the most likely course of action. Unless you are able to get ahold of Gentamycin Sulfate or Kanamycin Sulfate (www.fishyfarmacy.com) which would be better still. If the problem is an infection which is quite likely, it must be treated without delay.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Something Fishy]

It would be if the problem where an internal infection/blockage which is usually the most likely when overfeeding this species or using inappropriate food types. You have been doing both actually...

Thanks for the advice. It's academic now as the fish passed away...

As far as I'm aware I didn't overfeed him though... I would give him the option of a tiny feeder fish (always the smallest, the ones he preferred) once a day, but I neglected to add earlier that he didn't eat it every day, he would either be interested or not, more often than not he'd only take it on the second or third day.

Regarding inappropriate food types - he would never take anything but a live fish. My LFS recommended when I bought him that I abstain from giving him a live fish for a week & then he would adapt to other food, which I tried, but I had to revert to feeder fish when he was obviously on a hunger strike.
He hungrily devoured the fish when I gave in, I couldn't let him starve.

I set up a small saltwater tank with an airstone & populated it with baby "feeder" mollies, on the advice of my LFS that they would meet his nutritional needs as freshwater feeder fish wouldn't...

Thanks

 

[steve-s]

As far as I'm aware I didn't overfeed him though... I would give him the option of a tiny feeder fish (always the smallest, the ones he preferred) once a day, but I neglected to add earlier that he didn't eat it every day, he would either be interested or not, more often than not he'd only take it on the second or third day.

Your posts above where quite misleading in this regarrd. It eluded to quite the opposite. This species should not be fed more than twice weekly. Feeding too often is one of the leading causes of this species early demise along with live foods. It's good to hear it did not eat daily but be sure if you attempt this fish in future only feed twice weekly at most.

Regarding inappropriate food types - he would never take anything but a live fish. My LFS recommended when I bought him that I abstain from giving him a live fish for a week & then he would adapt to other food, which I tried, but I had to revert to feeder fish when he was obviously on a hunger strike.
He hungrily devoured the fish when I gave in, I couldn't let him starve.

I set up a small saltwater tank with an airstone & populated it with baby "feeder" mollies, on the advice of my LFS that they would meet his nutritional needs as freshwater feeder fish wouldn't...

Only after several generations of SW raised mollies would you have a viable food source. The nutritional value of the animal offered comes from the food they eat (fatty acids, lipids etal...). Even then I would not recommend the practice. Live foods cause more problems than they solve with this species or others like it. Not only for the long term nutritional concerns but health problems of the food source itself. The one often missed problem is whatever problem the feeder fish might have (disease/bacteria/parasite) is subjected on the fish being fed. As a short term solution this is something that can be done or better still ghost shrimp but frozen foods should be the long term goal, not maintaining live foods. It takes alot of patience and being repeatitive but the long lived health of your fish will be worth it.

Cheers
Steve

 

[Something Fishy]

Thanks for the advice. I honestly don't think I'll attempt keeping another one, I loved him but it wasn't an ideal experience. Personally I dislike using live fish as food, I always felt quite guilty about it, & I lack the expertise to successfully change the diet of a very stubborn fish. Thanks for the tip on the feeder mollies too.