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Anonymous

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Hey, when I first got into planning my tank, I was looking into getting a pair of dwarf fuzzy lionfish, but I soon realized that they would eat invertebrates in my tank. Now I'm wondering about exactly what they eat. Will they eat snails or harm corals? If I have a 6-inch lionfish, how big of a fish can it eat?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
The only way lions will hurt coral is if they knock them over. As far as snails, they're safe. All shrimp are at risk, tho, as are small fish.

An adult fuzzy dwarf lion can take out a 3" damsel, so I wouldn't keep them with any small fish.

What size tank do you have them in?

Peace,

Chip
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I will keep them in an 86g reef. I'll keep corals, tubeworms, snails, and maybe an anemone.
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Actually, now that I remember, antennatas were the last lionfish I considered. Do you know if any of the commonly sold dwarfs are native to Fiji?
 
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Anonymous

Guest
You will love having one! Mine eats from my hand! He wags his tail when I come in the room just like a dog!
 
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Anonymous

Guest
I know I'll look into these small lions. I'm looking at dwarf zebras. They look like antennatas but with more webbing along the fins. I also have to consider the fuzzy dwarfs. I have a while until I need to chose. I haven't even gotten my equipment ordered yet.
 

jumpincactus

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Beleive it or not I used to feed my Voltain goldfish. I found that these were cheaper than anything else as far as live food. He loved them. Prooly didnt even realise he was eating fresh water prey.

They will eat fish as large as what they can open their mouths to inhale.
 
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Anonymous

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I've heard that is not good for them? I read that somewhere...they can end up going blind if they do not get the right fatty acids....

I spent some time getting mine to realize my hand meant food, so he got to the point where he would anything that I held for him. He would spit some things out, though. He doesn't seem to like squid, or crab.

I also read that his favorite, krill, is missing some key nutrient, so they will go blind if feed that only.
 

cindre2000

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I keep a fuzzy dwarf in my 30 cube. As far as I know, feeding freshwater feeders, especially goldfish, actually destroys their liver. You see, freshwater fish and saltwater fish have different types and amounts of the various fats. Feeding only gold fish is like feeding only Big Macs or some other greasy fatty fast food. It will do in a pinch, but you should go with the healthy stuff.

The healthy stuff includes most any marine fish and pretty much any crustacean (that means freshwater too). Since frozen food is generally cheaper than the live stuff, most people work on getting their lionfish to eat frozen food, such as food grade shrimp, dipped in vitamins occasionally. Mollys and glass shrimp will do for a bit, but it is so much easier to just pull out a frozen shrimp.

Of course, the next step is to train them. Usually this is done by not feeding them for a couple of days then presenting them with frozen food. If you do this, make sure they are healthy before hand. An unhealthy or overly stress fish should not be "starved". A healthy fish can go quite a long time with out food. Wait a couple of days, offer them the food. If they do not take, wait two more days and try again. Repeat a couple of times.

This has not been working with my lionfish so I have been trying to get it to associate my hand with food. A good number of people prefer having them associate a net (so they do not mistake your hand for food when rearrainging the aquarium). I am using live feeder fish and holding them under the water and realeasing them in its sight. Hopefully it will begin to associate my hand with the fish. One it start to approach my hand I can attempt frozen food again.

As for blindness. That is usually caused by overly intense lighting. Other than that, these fish are extremly hardy.
 
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Anonymous

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Thanks for the help. I wasn't really wondering about what to feed them, but thanks anyway. I knew about the Omega 3 fatty acids the SW fish need. I think if I get lionfish, I'll initially feed them mollies or FW fish that have been fed macroalgae or injected with macro or Omega 3 acids.
 

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