Putting a lion fish in my tank

[Seahorse man]

I have a 55 gal long with 2 ocellaris clowns ( one is about 3 inches and the other is about two) and a firefish (4 inches). I'm really looking to add another fish to the tank and I was considering a dwarf fuzzy lion fish. Does anyone have any ideas? Do you think I could make it work? Thanks everyone!

 

[EmdeReef]

A lionfish will eat anything that can fit in its mouth. You may have to get rid of the clowns.

 

[Seahorse man]

A lionfish will eat anything that can fit in its mouth. You may have to get rid of the clowns.

That's what I was afraid of, sigh.

 

[EmdeReef]

Sorry don’t have better news but with those guys you need a predator tank.

 

[Seahorse man]

Thanks, any other cool fish you could recomend?

 

[EmdeReef]

Thanks, any other cool fish you could recomend?

I’ve kept all sorts of fish and over time came to the conclusion that I like smaller fish. Dwarf angels are my favorite. I also like butterflies and rabbit fishes.
However, you should get to that or another conclusion on your own.

What kind of fish would you like to keep? Large, small, emphasis on colors, character, size, special feeding habit? In many ways, sky’s the limit!

 

[Seahorse man]

I'm mostly just looking for a bigger fish that can be a showpiece of sorts, its for my office tank. How about a snowflake eel with my above stocking?

 

[EmdeReef]

may be tricky with the clowns. Firefish may have an easier time escaping, although most eels are nocturnal.

Intuitively I wouldn’t do it but let’s see if anyone succeeded keeping a well fed eel with clowns #reefsquad?

 

[GoVols]

may be tricky with the clowns. Firefish may have an easier time escaping, although most eels are nocturnal.

Intuitively I wouldn’t do it but let’s see if anyone succeeded keeping a well fed eel with clowns #reefsquad?

I tried a Golden Banana eel one time, but the bio-load was too big for my reef.

Kept a tiny baby green moray and it was really cool, but when he got bigger, he went back to the local reef shop.

Over time the Banana or the Green would have gone after my clown fish.

A dwarf moray eel might make a good fit.

(lol)
All eels are escape artist

 

[GoVols]

I'm mostly just looking for a bigger fish that can be a showpiece of sorts, its for my office tank. How about a snowflake eel with my above stocking?

Have you looked into golden dwarf eels?

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

Have you considered trying a engineering goby. They look like eels as they get older. We had one in our 125 and I loved the pattern he developed. The peaceful as well.

 

[lion king]

If you are looking for a show fish, I wouldn't consider an eel a show fish. They are generally tucked away in the rocks, in your office you may have visitors that may never even see them. Although a dwarf golden eel could work, they are even more cryptic than most other eels. I wouldnt recommend any other eels for a 55. I wouldn't think the fuzzy is a good idea either.

I would look at one of the smaller dwarf angels, like a flame back or cherub; fun, beautiful, active fishes. Downside is dwarf angels can get aggressive, although I never had an issue with my cherub. I would be careful of the larger dwarf angels, aggression in a 55 would likely be inevitable.

 

[FartyParty]

I also recommend a bottom dweller to help fill out the tank and add interest. i had a snowflake eel for many years that did well on frozen foods. He left my other fish and corals alone and would eat shrimp right from the chopsticks. I also had a dwarf lion on that tank, and the large tomato clown i had was huge and not afraid to chase others away.

 

[andrewkw]

I would say it's not a sure thing the dwarf lion will eat the fish, however it may be too big of a risk for you. I kept a dwarf fuzzy for many years in my reef and the only fish he ever ate was a small wrasse who was a little stunned when I put him in. The trick was to get a really small one, and have all established fish prior to adding him.

This video is 9 years old and I didn't watch the whole thing - sad seeing all the corals I've lost over the years but here you will see a dwarf lion eating with clownfish smaller than him. I am 90% sure I had a small mandarin in the tank at the same time as well.


start the video at 3:15

The lion lived about 4 or 5 years before developing some kind of infection and ate the one fish in that time.

 

[Buckwilds]

I'd trust 100 dwarf fuzzy lions before an eel with fish. My dwarf is afraid of his own shadow and has never touched anything but shrimp. He is housed with bangais, clowns, chromis, and a dottyback.

 

[Lionsreef]

I too have a dwarf zebra lionfish in the tank with a ~2.5 inch maroon clown and a sand sifting gobie for a little over a year now. They were all added at approximately the same time and get along fine.

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

How about a mandarin dragonet (or two?) they have loads of personality, are always jumping around, and are some of the prettiest fish in the hobby