mr compton. we need to keep everyone in here informed. you personally have never seen a trigger disembowel a lionfish. but it happens more often than not especially with the more aggressive triggers. you have apparently seen a different side of the lion. more often than not the lion will lose out to the trigger. experienced fish keepers with butt loads of room may be able to accomplish stuff others with normal tanks can not. i have seen many combinations work that should theoretically have failed. but every time it was in a larger than normal aquarium. for the beginner they are not a good mix. and TLTGF you are doing this right. ask questions BEFORE you buy your fish. a flame angel is a dwarf. youd be better off with one of the larger angels, but again youd need a huge tank for a full grown lion or angel let alone both in the same tank
reef? or deep? in a 120g
- Thread starter MidasMan
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thanks for the tip, on that note.... what would be a proper size if i were to have a full grown lion with other fish as well... are we talking 180+ or much bigger... like i have said many times, i am very new... im reading as much as possible and keeping an open mind for fw or sw, but i would like to do salt, i've been to some sites that say sw is for experienced only, tons of maintainence and very meticulous, others say not bad at all even for a novice aquarist. i guess all the help you can give me will be appreciated. as funny as it sounds i pretty much want to have a volitan as my "centerpiece" and work on the rest from there. Thnaks
salt is only hard if you dont start on the right track. if you buy all the right stuff at the beginning you shouldnt have a problem. In my opinion if you want a FULL grown lion id go with a 180 minimum if you want other large tankmates. Buy a huge skimmer and make a nice sump. id fill the tank with some sand and base rock, and then buy a few pounds of quality luive rock and live sand to seed it with. fish only tanks with live rock are in my opinion the way to go in fish only systems. you will get beneficial micro and macro algae to grow and it helps benefit any grazers you may have in the tank such as tangs or angels, by letting them forage all day as they do in nature. lionfish are BIG fish and they are pretty sedentary. they will usually just hang out under an over hang if available or in the upper corner of your tank. they are not the reason youd need such a large tank. the angels and tangs need room and lots of it. if you want to be successful go with the largest tank you can afford. buy a good sized skimmer and do regular partial water changes. key word being REGULAR. they are big fish with big appetites and make lots of waste. they will put stress on your biological filtration unless you keep on top of it. dont let anyone discourage you, just do your home work and get your hands wet. nothing beats hands on experience. everyone starts somewhere.
well said, we are all here to help each other!!!
if anyone needs any help or has any questions, please pm me
i own a saltwater fish store!
if anyone needs any help or has any questions, please pm me
i own a saltwater fish store!
TLTGF said:
It's okay to be new, and don't be afraid to ask questions! The bigger the tank the better! Lions don't need swimming space, but the more water volume you work with, the more stable your water conditions will be.
Good, keep reading
Like Mr. Comptonass said, a Book is only a small part of the information that is available. Look at everything with an open mind, and take all opinions into consideration, and make your own final judgements based on what you have learned. Of course there will be trial and error periods, as well as learning from mistakes..As far as the maintenance goes, CentralMayhem put it best. It all depends on how you set it up.
If you wish to buy multiple canister filters, powerheads, and install an undergravel filtration system, you are looking at alot of maintenance, and possibly a serious problem in the future. Go to your local PetCo, this is how they tell people to set up saltwater tanks. Their quality of Saltwater fish is a good reflection of how effecient this system is.
Like I stated before, the problem with all of these filtration methods is that in due time they will become clogged, causing a build-up of detritus. This is dangerous, because it can sufficate your nitrifying bacteria, which will then cause ammonia to build up in the tank. Ammonia is very toxic at a high pH, such as is in a saltwater tank. Also, the build-up of detritus will release an excessive amount of Nitrates into your tank, which will eventually lead to a buildup of dissolved waste and acids, which then will crash your pH if your water is not properly buffered. Wet-Dry, Canister, and Undergravel will all in due time create a build up of detritus, leading to an excessive amount of Nitrates. You do not want any extra Nitrates in your tank if you can help it, as Lionfish already put off a large amount of waste.
The concept of a 'Natural' aquarium is much more effecient, stable, and favoritable, especially for Lionfish. When using LiveRock and LiveSand as your methods of filtration, not only do wastes get broken down into Nitrate, they also have 'de-nitrifying' properties. This means your filtration methods will not only help break down fish waste, it will also stop Nitrates from accumulating in your tank. Many of the algaes and organisms that live within a live sand bed, or LiveRock, will eat Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate, helping keep your tank clean, with less tedious maintenence. I would also reccomend adding a large clump of 'Calerpa' to your tank, which is the green vegitation that helps to consume nitrates.
I can go into further detail, but I would be repeating myself.. I already discussed the pros and cons of this
If anyone has specific questions, let me know and I'd be glad to help!I am assuming you want mainly a 'Fish only' tank.. If you want to have a 'reef' tank with corals, anenomes, and other inverts.. Then you might want to re-consider your plans. This, infact, does take a little more time and effort, as well as maintenance. You will often spend much of your time feeding your special corals, or testing your water quality, instead of enjoying your fish.
Do not overfeed your Lionfish. They can suffer from Fatty Liver Disease, as well as pollute the tank pretty quickly.
Any Saltwater tank needs the best Protein Skimmer you can afford. This is the most important part.
hold on miles WATER CHANGES are the most important part. all protein skimmers will fail if left on their own. they must be cleaned regularly to keep proper functioning and will only help a little if you dont do WATER CHANGES. after water changes in a fish only tank the skimmer is second most important part of a salt tank
Well Yeah.. Aside from the Obvious! Sorry I left that out..I thought we were talking about filtration concepts, not SW husbandry in general..
Every tank should have as many water changes as possible!
Sad to admit it, but I hardly change the water in my SW tank Maybe like 30 gallons every few months? I would reccommend more.. but hey, I have other fish to take care of.. It's funny too, because my SW tank is the least maintenance!
Every tank should have as many water changes as possible!
Sad to admit it, but I hardly change the water in my SW tank
Maybe like 30 gallons every few months? I would reccommend more.. but hey, I have other fish to take care of.. It's funny too, because my SW tank is the least maintenance!
