Recommended size lionfish to start off

[lion king]

The panther grows at pretty good click, I doubt you will ever have to worry about that. The panther gets huge and you'll likely be trying to find him another home way before the lion. That lion will likely at least double in size in a years time, he'll be at 5" likely before 2 years, then maybe a 1/2" a year. I'll see them stall at about 6=7", maybe partly due to managing their feeding and tank size. If you feed like me. the lion will likely reach 5" in about 1.5 to 2 years max.

 

[Goodair]

Cool, thanks for all the info you shared by the way! Forums like this make hobbies much more enjoyable when theres a great community behind it.

I'm starting to prepare for some macros in the DP for both aesthetics and nutrient control. I have chaeto in the sump atm and was impressed on how much its been working. Had to end up cutting back on alot because the urchin started to starve. It will be enjoyable to grow some dif species and not have to worry about precision feeding.

 

[Goodair]

Do you treat them if they have visible problems only or treat them regardless. I have a montipora in the same tank so not sure what I could/shouldn't use. He will be in there for maybe a month or 2, not in a rush to put it in the DP, but just preparing ahead of time. Plus being so small, not sure what he can handle.

 

[lion king]

I always treat for internal parasites, they come in with a high percentage of having them. If he is eating dead food, you can mix metroplex/focus in food and feed at least every other day for 2 weeks; along with dosing prazipro in the water column for the recommended dosage. This method would be considered reef safe, and would only be effective if he is eating dead food.

Because I am usually dealing with dwarf and medium lions my preferred method is general cure in the water column, this method is not considered reef safe. General cure contains metroplex and prazipro combined, which would cover a broad spectrum internal parasites and worms, as well as flukes.

Never ever use copper, even if they survive they will likely not live much longer than a year after exposure to copper. Lions have super strong mucas layer and even shed a cuticle layer, which does give them an unusual resistance to ich, velvet and the such. The main issues I have seen with lions is #1 internal parasites/worms and bacterial infections, paraguard has worked for me with mild bacterial infections. More serious bacterial problems although treatable with broad spectrum antibiotics, usually after extended dosages they succumb to likely internal organ failure after a year or so.

Internal parasites is really almost a given, but if you wanted to observe carefully instead, watch carefully for stringy poo. Look around the bottom of the tank carefully. If he goes off of eating, observe very closely for stringy poo. I would have general cure on hand because if you wait and it is determined he has an issue, you need to move fast. By waiting and if he stops eating it also becomes more risky.

 

[Goodair]

I've been only using prazi for my QT for the other fish, but with the monti sharing the same qt, I havent put anything in as of yet. Should I still use metro with prazi after the frag goes into the DP? Or just go ahead and do now.

 

[lion king]

You really need both, there was a time when I found prazi to be all I needed. Then I found it was a hit or miss, metro treats worms and other parasites that prazi is not effective. Mix the metro in his food and it will be less likely to effect the monti. You will get a small amount that enters the water column but usually not much. If it's after your prazi treatment you could also run some carbon to mop any metro spillage. I find metro works for me when used in food. Personally I start parasite treatment right away.

I learned a hard lesson once, I treated with prazi pro only before I knew there were parasites that needed to be treated with metro. It was a goldflake angel, he was eating a bit then his appetite got really fierce, then he stopped eating. At this point I was unable to get metro into his system once I learned he had parasites that prazi didn't work on. It was a $450 fish died in 3 weeks.

 

[Goodair]

Sorry to hear about the angel. I'll pick up some metro and start mixing it with the food. I'm very hesitant if I was to get another tang/angel/butterfly or similar fish. They seem to be such sensitive fish to keep.

 

[lion king]

I have a flagfin angel that I had to treat over a month with metro to finally rid him of worms/parasites, I've had him for more than 2 years now. This is the reason many of the angels and tangs don;t make it, many of them come in with parasites. Because of such nasty conditions these guys are subjected to during transport, that's why they get these issues. Tangs and angels are grazers, so they are grazing on fish poo and such in overcrowded conditions. In the case of lions and other predators that usually only eat live food initially, get fed diseased and dying fish along the way. I'm not as familiar with butterflys. Large angels and tangs also need a larger qt, some with get very stressed being in a small tank. I use a 40B but a 55 would even be better.