Dwarf Lionfish and Puffer...Suggestions? Experiences?

[MMaddox]

Only the dorsal spines on the lionfish will have venom...and these would have to pierce a puffer's skin to inject the toxin. Even if the puffer bit one of the spines it wouldn't get poisoned.

[MatthewLaw]

thanks for the help...i am learning a lot in this thread (as most threads here).

anyone have recommendations with 'regular' dwarf lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra) v. fuzzy dwarf lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus)?

[Pandora114]

Greetings All- As my 50g tank continues to cycle I am constantly thinking of how I would like to stock this tank. I came upon the idea of a Dwarf Lionfish as the 'center fish' for the tank but would like to put a puffer in too.

Any experiences with this type Lionfish? What puffers would you suggest? This will probably be a FOWLR tank (due to inhabitants)

Thanks. -Matt

Didn't read the whole thread

Answer: NO NO NO

My mom did this. She had a lion fish and a GSP...well the lion fish ate the GSP.

Lion Fish went belly up the same night.

nuff said

[MatthewLaw]

hmm maybe a larger puffer would have prevent this situation (since harder to eat?) or does that not really matter unless the puffer was a Blackspotted?

[Pandora114]

hmm maybe a larger puffer would have prevent this situation (since harder to eat?) or does that not really matter unless the puffer was a Blackspotted?

Not in a 50g with a Lion in there as well.

Anything bigger would require a bigger tank. Puffers AND Lionfish are territorial. You'll need plenty of space to prevent them from attacking each other. If the Lion doesn't eat the puffer and dies, the puffer will harrass and nip at the lions fins till it dies from stress due to lack of space.

[MatthewLaw]

oh wow....that is a serious issue!!

for the lionfish, did your mom have a lot of LR?

What else did your mom with the lionfish?

[Pandora114]

She had a 100gal and I think she had about 30lbs of LR...mabe...I don't remember much it was when I was like 10. I just remember seeing, a Lion, a Clown, a Damsel and a GSP (was about 2inches If I remember right). One day clown dissapeared, a week later the damsel, a week after that the GSP, 12hrs after the GSP the lion fish was belly up.

Lion fish are gorgeous, just don't keep anything in the tank that's smaller than it. And if you want a bigger puffer you're gonna need a bigger tank because of territory and bio-load issues. You wouldn't want one that gets bigger than 6". Trying to find a full grown GSP would help...

Both the DLF and GSP require 30 Gal/piece for territory/Bioload.


http://www.myfishtank.net/saltwater-fis ... -lionfish/

Honestly, I'd go for one or the other with some colorful inverts to fill the eye candy gap, especially in just a 50, if you count in the displacement from the LR and sand, you don't have that much room in there for two territorial fish like that.

[DeFishy]

Lionfish i find are tricky to get to eat frozen (or it might just be mine, picky). You might also have to feed them on two separate sides of the tank to avoid competition. My puffer and Lion get along fine so far, but I do my best to discourage any closeness between the two. (Tapping on the glass a little helps, and the divider works if they're getting too close). I've heard that while dwarves a smaller, they do require better water conditions.

[MatthewLaw]

Thanks for all the help!!! I would definitely FIRST purchase the DLF and get him eating before adding any other fish (whether puffer, large clown, etc) to the tank.

I was at a LFS today and saw a porcupine puffer, clownfish and two DLF in a 30g tank. Everyone seemed rather happy!

Granted the owner of the LFS told me that a porcupine puffer needs about a 50g tank to grow to his/her full size......so either he is lying to sell that puffer OR he really doesn't know his marine livestock requirements!

Would anyone suggest having a relatively low amount of LR in the tank for the DLF or a higher amount (greater than 1lb = 1gallon)? The lower-LR method might give more area for the DLF to swim around. Regarding filtration, my biowheel and PR would be more than adequate WITHOUT large amount of LR.

THanks for your help!

[Pufferpunk]

Tanks at the LFS are only temporary housing. You can't judge tank size or compatability from what you see there.

[MatthewLaw]

I understand that the tanks at the LFS may only be for temporary housing but wouldn't the owner/manager/etc at least put compatible fish in the same tank, even though they may outgrow the tank in a relatively short period of time?

[Pandora114]

No.

They wouldn't.

I wouldn't say he's LYING to sell that puffer per say, but he really is mistaken. Porcupines need at LEAST a 125 gallon tank (Longish preferably with some decent turning room) to reach his full potential and not be stunted according to the pufferpedia.

If you want to add any other fish to a Porcie's tank, you want to go bigger, 200 at the smallest to make up for the displacement the LR and substrate will cause.

[Sponge bob]

I understand that the tanks at the LFS may only be for temporary housing but wouldn't the owner/manager/etc at least put compatible fish in the same tank, even though they may outgrow the tank in a relatively short period of time?

The new LFS by my house opend in sept. The owner said and I went like sat. and the owner had it connected to his motorcycle shop, and had spare room and he made it into a Salt Water section. Pretty nice selcetion. All the fish where healthy. Im not sure if I saw a dead one or just one resting in the top corner of the tank. Well Me and my Dad where talking to him and he said he is in the process of figuring out which fish are good with which, and guess what, they are not fighting eachother YAYAY. The tanks there in are big but not big big. Maybe 20's or 30's.

[Pufferpunk]

The guy has opened a fish shop & isn't even aware of what's compatable?

[Sponge bob]

No he is aware of the compatible ones its that some are getting the feel like there the boss because there bigger so he is putting them with ones that don't. I saw no fights that broke out in the tanks.