Refugium help..

[AquataHolic420]

Sorry but throwing a lion fish into a tank with other fish it will more than likely eat is not "letting nature take its course" by any means.

Are you trying to tell me in the wild Lion fish are not Cannibals and Piscivores in their natural habitats??

 

[AquataHolic420]

Sure, I'll give you my idea but, you may not care much for it take it for what it's worth. Since you want a reef I'd avoid the lion even one of the smaller one's like dwarfs, fumanchu etc. are going to produce quite a bit of bio-load and will severly limit the number and variety of smaller fish that you add and they could potentially put quite a strain on your clean up crew as well. I'm not saying that it's not possible but, for your first reef I'd follow the K.I.S.S. method and let my tank do most of the work for me.

I'll describe your fishes and their habits so that you'll have a better idea of what you're getting into.
banggai or pajama cards- they are excellent low activity fish they might even reproduce for you in the tank. They are also very hardy and are peaceful towards other tank inhabitants.

Harliquin tusk fish- Peacefull towards the other fish and really nice pretty fish. They will however go through your inverts in no time flat and that's just not a good idea in a reef. The clean up crew needs to be as diverse as possible and they'll just look at most of them as a food source.

Puffers and reefs don't go well together they mostly get fairly big and all have an attitude that's bigger than they are . They also will cause a lot of havoc in your reef tank. They the Harli and the lions will do a lot better in a fowlr especially for a novice in s.w.

Scribbled rabbitfish; They get way to big for the tank as a surgeon fish it will be an ich magnent when it's stressed. They also have a razor sharp barb in their tails and aren't afraid to use them . Look for info on lawn mower blenny they are far closer to the size of fish that would fit your tank

Dragon goby are not salt water fish they spend most of their lives in brakish water get a foot long. Gobioides broussonetti is what you mean right?

Chalk bass great! just make sure that you have a tight lid they love to carpet surf.

clarkii great just make sure that they are small fish so that they can work out their sexual roles. Make sure that you buy your fish from the same tank so that the change to female doesn't have a chance to start.

Marine betta excellent cool peacefull fish. It will need hiding places and it will like any fish eat what ever will fit in it's mouth.

Hth
Max

Max thank you for your reply, and patience with a Saltwater novice... I just want ot clear up a few misconceptions... My main goal for my tank when i set it up for salt water is to own a Dwarf Lion or a Radiata.. Someday i will buy a bigger tank, and i can switch the fish over into that tank..
Ok so i think i am just going to use a canister filter, because im thinkin that a wet/dry is just going to be too much of a pain in the butt for a novice like me... so, with that in mind... im going to obviously have Live sand/ Live Rock, good water movement, featherdusters, and some inverts as snails and such...
I really wanted a Radiata but all you MFK members have talked me out fo that silly idea, i need a bigger tank i realize that now for that, even though research books say a minimum 55 gallon can be used...

-but now i want the Dendrichondus Zebra(close spelling)
I want him to have some tankmates that would be able to eat easy, and Not be scared all day and hide...here are some of my choices...

-The goby was the wrong Goby, theyre are too many common names of gobies.. so here you go, Brownbarred Goby (Amblygobius phalaena).. they loook ok, and i like watching them sift the sand around...I want a 3" or 2.5 inch Specimen

-MArine Betta- i want a 3" specimen

-Indigo Hamlet? Roughly 3" long

-Clarkii Clownfish(pair) Roughly an 1.5 Inch long specimens

-Scribbled Rabbitfish-2.5" specimen

now which fish out of this list would you think would be the best idea for the liverock/ live sand.. no coral at first environment.. Also when i do set up this system i am going to introduce the goby first and other hardy fish so they wont be scared of the lion, when i put him in... the lion is going in last.. (how awesome would it be to get this lion in the pic?)

PS- just to let you know my uncle has a 100 Gallon tank with only 4 saltwater fish in it, and i could give him my Rabbitfish, when it got too large for me. His tankmates are (blue powder surgeon- 2 1.5" damels- rainbow wrasse)

 

[Max]

Then I'd go with the dwarf as you won't have to upsize it's tank. The hamlet is a decent fish as well. The problem is you're going to have to make sure that all of it's tank mates are less than bit sized. The gobies are pretty neat as well and a shrimp goby pair is a really neat case of symbiosis in action. Just keep in mind that if your uncle has a well stocked reef he may have water param issues with the sudden introduction of new larger fish. I wouldn't buy anything that you're going to have to move out of that tank due to size but, that's just my opinion.
If you have any other questions feel free to ask.
Have a good one.
Max

 

[Max]

Oh, and that is a really sweet fish! Sorry, just wanted to add that !

 

[landmineyouth]

Are you trying to tell me in the wild Lion fish are not Cannibals and Piscivores in their natural habitats??

No im not saying that at all, thats completely accurate. Im saying, to put one predatory and agressive animal into an enclosed tank (not the wild) with another animal that it will probably eat is not "NATURES COURSE"... get me?

Much in the same respect if we put you in a lions den and "let nature take its course"

 

[Max]

Fwiw, I doubt that they are canibals much past the larval stage as the fry rapidly develop poison spines.
hth
max

 

[Princley]

What would u suggest instead of a Wet dRy,, a canister Magnum 350 ro sumthin? i need to know im pickin this up SUNDAY! thank you..
What filter options do i have for a live rock/live sand Dwarf lionfish tank

really all u need is a good protein skimmer no other filters

 

[AquataHolic420]

No im not saying that at all, thats completely accurate. Im saying, to put one predatory and agressive animal into an enclosed tank (not the wild) with another animal that it will probably eat is not "NATURES COURSE"... get me?

Much in the same respect if we put you in a lions den and "let nature take its course"

Well if you wanna be all technical with me, think about the fact all the fish u own are not in the wild were they belong.. Now Hows that natures course?

So all im going to need is a Good protien skimmer, and some good water movement...

Also lionfish Are Cannibals at all ages... I saw a sweet picture in the schhools library yesterday, was a volitan eating adwarf lion.. looked cool.. since they all have poison they have a higher immunity for it..

 

[fatsolomon]

last night on discovery HD i saw a lion eat another lion. this **** happends