dwarf lions???

D.J.

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May 3, 2008
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i was told by a local hobbist that has a dwarf lion that they could be housed in 30g min tanks......is that true? he has one in a 40g and said it has been in there for over a year.....


i thought that lions needed a min of 75g? or is that just true for the volitan's?

ive always wanted one but i dont want to cramp the dwarf in my 30g....
 
ok im glad someone on here knows.....my LFS and petco both have them with a $10 difference in each....

the pnes that petco has are brown and are $25 and my other LFS has red ones for $35 and a blackish/brown for $45...

and idea what the diffrences in the 3 are?
 
ALSO........TANKMATES.........

can the dwarfs go with clowns and stuff or NO????

what about shrimp? i know they mix with the CBS but what about others? like peppermint,skunk,etc,etc....

diet........what to feed them?
 
Red ones - Could possibly be a fun man chu lion...they are usually spotted, in red / orange with two ling whiskers and no real stripes on the body - dendrochirus biocellatus

Black one - Could be a dwarf zebra lion - Dendrochirus zebra. However, there is a black variant of volitan which is not a dwarf species - Pterois volitans

Brown - Normal dwarf lion fish - dendrochirus brachypterus
 
ALSO........TANKMATES.........

can the dwarfs go with clowns and stuff or NO????

what about shrimp? i know they mix with the CBS but what about others? like peppermint,skunk,etc,etc....

diet........what to feed them?

Lions will eat whatever can fit in their mouth....So, if its the same size, or smaller, then it could be concidered lunch...

Diet, some people feed them on feeder shrimp, krill, silverside chucks...Basically meaty foods...
 
so if i get one.....as long as his tankmates are bigger than his mouth they would be fine?

he would be housed with damsels which are about 2in in lenght right now....CBS that is about 4-5in and a skunk that is 4in, small hermits,scooter blenny 2 clown gobies...

or would he better off in the other tank with clowns?

also acclimation time??? hour? two? more?
 
I'm going to go against the grain here. I would not put a dwarf lion in a 30g tank. Especially if you have other tank mates and a good amount of live rock. Also you shouldn't have bright lights with one, so if you plan on halides, count a lion out unless you have a good hiding place for him.

As far as tank mates go, any shrimp will definitely be eaten when he gets big enough, or thinks he's big enough since that is it's natural diet. Fish however may be safe, but you're still taking a chance.

Just practice good food association, train him to know that you = food. Surface feeding is a good way to accomplish this. You wont be able to do it right off the bat, but its something I would recommend you work towards. But be careful, I think that's how mine learned to spit water at me :(

I would not buy a lion that they cannot give you a specific ID on. You don't want to end up buying a lion that will outgrow your tank.

And whatever you do, don't feed it goldfish or any other freshwater feeder fish. Make sure you give it a balanced diet or freeze dried diet loaded with liquid vitamins before feeding.

Red ones - Could possibly be a fun man chu lion...
I highly doubt its a Fu Man Chu, most likely antennata lionfish or a radiata.
 
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so basically if i get a dwarf lion.....im stuck with him only.....

both of my LFS that sells them have them in tanks with damsels and clowns....

one has a volitan but he is in a tank with a moray and a HUGE domino damsel.....

i want a dwarf lion and the duaghter wants clowns......will those 2 co-exist?

maybe ill just get the clowns.....and oneday down the road ill get a lion....:cry::(
 
Dwarf lions cannot be housed with gobies. Mine made short work of a sand sifter. The rest of the stock looks fine.
 
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