Cleaners my Lionfish won't eat ?

[BucJason]

Ok , so I have a newly established 72 gallon FOWLR . I just finished my cycle in two weeks, and it's been set up about 3 weeks total.

Like many new tanks , though , I have Diatoms. IS there a good cleaning crew I could get , that my Lionfish won't eat , to help clean up this ugly stuff?

I've read conflicting reports about whether Lionfish will eat crabs, snails, starfish,etc. What should I get ??

 

[lilim10]

The good ol' mag float will work if you can't find any cleaners.

 

[MonoSebaelover]

Snails they most likely won't touch unless really really hungry. But Crabs and Shrimps etc are fair game and a natural food source for them! What kind of Lionfish do you have? Watch the water quality as they produce a lg bioload and they don't do well with bad water quality. Hope this helps and good luck!

 

[BucJason]

It's a Voiltan . I know they produce a decent amount of load. I don't plan on adding any other fish for a while until I'm sure my bacteria colonies are up to the task. Even when I do add fish , I plan on only getting one or two more. I'm not one of these people who needs a ton of fish in my tank.

I did purchase a choclate chip starfish yesterday to help in clean-up duty. The guy at the pet store says Lionfish ignore starfish. ( i know taking advice from pet-store guy is done at your own risk). So far so good , though.

 

[jabberjaw]

Crabs are always gonna be fair game, but if you have room in the tank for a couple larger sized/mature hermit crabs then they may stand a chance (rule of thumb I was told - anything that can fit in the lionfish's big mouth is more than likely gonna make a tasty snack)