Lionfish lovers thread

AbnormalReefer · Mar 8, 2019

Just wanted to share this volitan that I picked up today! Been missing having lionfish in my tank; decided to move my smaller fish to the 55 gallon as a result so they wont get eaten. This guy is a real beauty though!

lion king · Mar 10, 2019

What a face, looking very lion like.

najer · Apr 5, 2019

"You can try if you want dude but don't come crying to me when you choke to death!"

kodama16 · Apr 27, 2019

My yellow names fishstick. Unfortunately he jumped a few weeks back. He is misses

najer · Apr 27, 2019

kodama16 said:
My yellow names fishstick. Unfortunately he jumped a few weeks back. He is misses

What a stunning little thing, so sorry for your loss.

lion king · Apr 27, 2019

Just noticed today how pink my newest fu is. I know lighting makes a difference, but this tank actually just has simple blue and white leds.

dbl · May 24, 2019

Hello Lion Fish Lovers... #lionfish

Judging by the number of entries so far, I'm assuming none of you noticed this month's POTM contest. It was themed especially for you.

Just sayin'.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/may-2019-potm-contest-lion-fish.601366/

lion king · May 24, 2019

Not fair, you can only enter one photo, and I have 6 lionfish; and I'm a terrible photographer.

dbl · May 24, 2019

lion king said:
Not fair, you can only enter one photo, and I have 6 lionfish; and I'm a terrible photographer.

Ah...you're not thinking about that correctly. You have six subjects to pick from so you have options....lol. Go on, pick your favorite and get it entered.

lion king · May 29, 2019

.

lion king · Jul 7, 2019

He's been a bit shy, he went into observation on Monday. He;s been devouring live ghosties and ghosties.

Mandarin15 · Jul 25, 2019

Here’s mine trying to catch a ghost shrimp

Goodair · Jul 25, 2019

Not a fancy lion, but awesome none the less!

najer · Jul 25, 2019

Goodair said:
Not a fancy lion, but awesome none the less!

Gorgeous fish!

fishybizzness · Jul 28, 2019

Goodair said:
Not a fancy lion, but awesome none the less!

Beautiful! I've been thinking about adding one to my predator tank that I'll be setting up in a few months. I live in the Caribbean and they are an invasive species here so I can collect from the wild. What size do you think will be best for a beginner fish as far as feeding? What size was yours when you got it and was it easy to get eating??

lion king · Jul 28, 2019

fishybizzness said:
Beautiful! I've been thinking about adding one to my predator tank that I'll be setting up in a few months. I live in the Caribbean and they are an invasive species here so I can collect from the wild. What size do you think will be best for a beginner fish as far as feeding? What size was yours when you got it and was it easy to get eating??

Volitan lions can be pretty easy to start eating, even dead food. You just have to make sure it's moving within the water column, if it hits the substrate, you can flick it up with a feeding stick to attract his attention. If necessary you can start with live ghost shrimp, freeze some get him eating the dead, then they mostly will start taking a variety of dead foods. You can drop it in once you get his attention, or use a feeding stick. I feed my volitan shrimp, silversides, scallop, squid, octopus, krill and he will grab any chunks of whatever catching his attention while floating in the water column.

As far as size goes it might just be relative, I've had easy success with itty bitty ones and very large ones, so I say whatever catches your fancy. Since you are personally collecting him you should have none of the common ailments commercially collected specimens have, like parasites, so feeding really should be pretty easy. Just remember to keep the food moving, live prey size chunks but not overly large. Sounds fun.

fishybizzness · Jul 28, 2019

lion king said:
Volitan lions can be pretty easy to start eating, even dead food. You just have to make sure it's moving within the water column, if it hits the substrate, you can flick it up with a feeding stick to attract his attention. If necessary you can start with live ghost shrimp, freeze some get him eating the dead, then they mostly will start taking a variety of dead foods. You can drop it in once you get his attention, or use a feeding stick. I feed my volitan shrimp, silversides, scallop, squid, octopus, krill and he will grab any chunks of whatever catching his attention while floating in the water column.

As far as size goes it might just be relative, I've had easy success with itty bitty ones and very large ones, so I say whatever catches your fancy. Since you are personally collecting him you should have none of the common ailments commercially collected specimens have, like parasites, so feeding really should be pretty easy. Just remember to keep the food moving, live prey size chunks but not overly large. Sounds fun.

Thanks for the advice! I will probably collect a small one to start out with. They are everywhere on the reefs and collecting is encouraged and promoted by the local government. Btw, on another note, they're pretty good eating as well! Alot of the restaurant's have put them on the menu when available.

lion king · Jul 28, 2019

fishybizzness said:
Thanks for the advice! I will probably collect a small one to start out with. They are everywhere on the reefs and collecting is encouraged and promoted by the local government. Btw, on another note, they're pretty good eating as well! Alot of the restaurant's have put them on the menu when available.

I have 7 lionfish, it would be like eating my dog. I have other fish I'd eat first, if the s ever hit the fan.