Dwarf Lionfish Questions
<MikeD here again>
Wow thanks a lot<You're more than welcome.>...You responded to all my questions......I have nothing else to say <There will be more in the future, trust me.>........I would love to have an eel but my wife told me I could have what ever I wanted, even my 600 gallon tank next year......but no eel <Sorry to hear that. It sounds like you're another victim of the "Yuk, it looks like a snake" mind set, which is unfortunate, but it's a small price to pay if she tolerates and shares your passion in other areas.> .....Thanks again for your great info...
Derik

Basic Lionfish Husbandry
I just acquired a small Volitans Lionfish. The body is approximately 1.5-2<A tiny one. They are most delicate at this stage>
inches long. The LFS I bought him from told me they had been feeding him brine shrimp and Krill<They probably meant LIVE brine shrimp, which he would eat if starving just because it's moving>. I was happy to hear that he was already eating frozen prepared foods. Once I got him home and put him in my tank, he swam up near the lights and I realized the LFS lied! clearly visible in his stomach was a small rosy red feeder!<This may not have been a lie or a feeder. It's always possible they were feeding it exactly what they said they were, and what you saw was another fish placed in the same tank for sale who BECAME a feeder unintentionally!> My question now is on how to transition him over, and to what? I tried Mysis and Krill, neither of which he showed much interest in other than to swim up and strike the Krill.<By striking it, he IS showing interest in dead foods, a good sigh in itself!> He seems to be snacking on my live rock as well?<Yep, anything alive, such as amphipods, Mysis, etc. will be taken> I am just wondering what size food is appropriate for this size specimen?<Many shops sell live ghost shrimp as feeders, so about that size is good initially (about 1/2")> the Krill looked too large for him to eat, but I guess he got the small feeder down ok?<Many lionfish deaths are caused from them eating  overly large prey items, as these little guys have eyes and mouths both larger than their stomachs!> How long can a small specimen be deprived of live food in an attempt to transition to frozen?<That's dependent on the individual fish and body fat ratio, so there is no absolute. You MIGHT want to try some frozen silversides cut into the proper sized pieces, particularly the head, with eyes, and the tail, with fins>> He is currently housed in a 90 gallon, and I realize he will need a bigger tank within a year I am hoping to pick up another small Volitans this week and house them together.<If planning on having two, the 90 will need to be upgraded sooner than with just one> I am in the process of setting up a 180 gallon to house the pair and no other fish in it. What would you recommend for filtration on a 180 gallon FOWLR housing 2 Volitans?<There are any number of different filter systems available. Wet/dry or trickle systems are most commonly used although I've got one 125 gal. tank set up with a "Tide pool" system by Penguin that seems adequate as well.  As always, a skimmer is highly suggested with fish that tax bioloads through larger food intake/excreta>

The Bermuda Triangle Fish
Hi all <Hi, MikeD here>, we sure appreciate your help!  We added a dwarf fuzzy lionfish to an established 55g tank on July 10th.<OK> ( I know we should/ve quarantined the fish but we didn't)  I made sure it would eat krill in the store.  We haven't seen him/her since that first day.<Not unusual, as they can be hiders and blend in well>  Today we broke down the tank and didn't see any remains in the sand or on the rock.  Is it possible that it could still be alive and clinging upside down to some rock?<Yes it IS possible, particularly if you have some LR with opening that can be used like caves>  Could it possibly be clinging to some rock even if it were dead?<Clinging no, stuck, yes>  We call this tank the Bermuda triangle because any time we add a 4th fish, something vanishes into thin water.<Since this has happened before, I'd immediately suspect either fish 1,2 or 3, but not knowing what they are makes it harder!**grin**. One other question. Do you ever hear mysterious "popping" noises coming from the tank, particularly in the night?>  My main concern is avoiding getting stung.<If you've already moved the LR, you made it past the dangerous part, which is usually only like a bee sting anyways>  Thanks for the help,<This one is intriguing. Don't forget to check the floor and the cat as well> Nancy

Black Volitans?
<Hi, MikeD here>
Do Black Volitans develop the black/dark fins as they mature or do some have
them and some don't?<The latter...there's considerable variation from individual to individual> Are they compatible with fully grown Maroon Clowns?<The generally accepted answer is "no", but I've done it successfully by altering my feeding pattern.  Rather than feed every 2-3 days, I feed daily with smaller feedings of non-oily marine feeders no silversides, anchovies ,mullet, herring, etc.) Likewise, my personal feeling is that all juveniles should be fed daily, preferably 2-3 times daily, as far too many deaths are brought about by well meaning people feeding them as they would an adult.  Considerably more energy is required in a growing young animal than in a lethargic older one.
Here's a case where the final choice has to be yours, weighing all the options>
Thanks!!!!<You're welcome>

- Dead Lionfish Venom -
Hello! I have read that dead puffers and other kinds of poisonous [venomous] fish can pollute the tank with toxins from their body and wipe out the entire system. Does this also apply to lionfish when they are dead? <Not as far as I know... although any fish, venomous or not will become a source of pollution if left dead in the tank for too long.>
Andrew
<Cheers, J -- ><<A side note here re Lionfish/Scorpaenines... they ARE still venomous to humans when dead. RMF who knows this firsthand>>

Getting Good Info From Your LFS (1/13/04)
Hello everyone, I just wanted to say, great info at this link:>>http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lions&rels.htm
I bought a dwarf Lion Fish last week and this link gave me much more then the LFS did. <That's why this site is so great. I have learned lots here too. Steve Allen answering tonight.> One very important tidbit was that they are live feeders. <Yes, initially, but you do need to wean to dead food. Search WWM FAQs for how to do this.> The LFS did not tell me this. <oops> In fact, she told me to make sure I acclimated him very slowly and then feed plenty of frozen brine shrimp. <You can eat potato chips while you watch. Just as nutritious for you as the brine shrimp is for him.> Hmmmm, where do these people get their info? <Good question. There are plenty of people in the business who either don't know what they're doing or are too interested in making money to give good info. It is very helpful to seek out and stick with a reliable LFS. I am fortunate to have a couple around here, although individual employees vary in quality.> Not from WETWEB, that's for sure! Thank you again for all the work you people do, for us people, out here! <A pleasure.> Pam

- It's Not Unusual... -
My friend recently got into the keeping saltwater fishes after seeing my tank. He used an Ocellaris Clown to cycle his tanks and it is a rather large one so he wanted to keep it after he got a baby Volitans Lionfish. I wouldn't do this...I love the clowns and would be quite disturbed to see it eaten by the lion. So the clown avoided the lion for a day or so and now is swimming into its stingers like it would an anemone without getting stung... have you ever heard of anything like this? <Yes.> Does the clown avoid being stung because it is immune to the anemone sting? <No, the lionfish spines are really only venomous to those who are impaled on the ends of the spines, they are not at all similar to anemone spines. The clownfish is just keeping out of the way.> Just thought I'd ask. Thanks again.
<Cheers, J -- >

- Lionfish Information -
Hi, I'm just doing an assessment on lionfish and I have to find out How they grow and How fast? <Lionfish grow just like you and me - production and division of new cells based on available food/fuel. Which leads into the next answer - lionfish will grow almost as fast as you can feed them - they have a tremendous appetite so in captivity they will eat as much as you can afford to feed them, growing to full adult size in just a couple of years. In the wild it's a slightly different story as food is not quite as easy to come by as it is in someone's living room - so lionfish in the wild don't grow nearly as quickly.> Also how do they sense things coming? <Mostly by eye sight - these fish have pretty keen vision, although they get other non-visual cues from their lateral line system which is a row of specialized cells (some mechanoreceptive patches, others neuromasts) that allow the fish to pick up changes in pressure an other events going on in the water.>
Could you help me? it would be much appreciated.
<Cheers, J -- >