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Dont Freak Out- Best Dwarf Lion for nano?


reefaramos

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If anybody reading this has kept up with my thread for my biocube, I've been strongly considering the idea of a dwarf lion as either the lone fish or one of 2-3 for my tank. I know I'll catch a little bit of backlash for this, I'm prepared for the potential additional required upkeep with the system, my filtration is more than adequate, essentially, I'm not worried about the fish not being in a healthy environment. I'll be moving in 5-8 months and am inevitably going to get a bigger tank at that point if this cant contain him, though I've rarely heard of accounts of these guys getting bigger than 4-5 inches.

 

That being said (and please, if you have anything negative to say, please do so in a constructive fashion), I'm curious as to the best species. I really don't like the look of the fu-man-chu and have kind of discarded them as an option, considering, as well, their difficulty in comparison to the dwarf fuzzy and the zebra.

 

My question here, finally, is: Between The Dwarf Zebra Lion and the Fuzzy Dwarf, has anyone had experience with both and recommend one over the other? Based on my reading the fuzzy dwarf would probably be more likely to be comfortable in the tank, sizewise, as they are supposedly less active. But regarding ease of keeping, potential suitable tankmates, messiness, I'd like to hear peoples first hand experiences vs. speculation, if its out there.

 

Thanks for potential input, and my apologies if I've offended anyone in bringing this up.

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Soooo... It might be best to post tank specs here as well as many probably haven't followed your other thread. Is it at least a 29g biocube? What's different about the filtration that makes it "more than adequate"? I'll see if I can check out your other thread sometime.

 

Lionfish are no doubt interesting. Limitations in a nano:

- Large bio load due to the feeding behavior.

- Some incompatibility with nano sized fish/inverts. Not sure what tank mates you would consider in a biocube? You could probably get away with various smaller fish/inverts while the lionfish is tiny but what about as it grows?

- Needs lots of hiding spots and making good hiding spots in a nano is more challenging, but not impossible by any means.

 

People have done it though... The fuzzy dwarf seems to be the more popular option but since it's your tank I would say get the fish you want. There's not such a difference between them that would make either of these two fish more or less suited to your tank. Even then you don't go into any particulars of your tank so one can only make assumptions as to which would fit better.

 

Good luck

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Soooo... It might be best to post tank specs here as well as many probably haven't followed your other thread. Is it at least a 29g biocube? What's different about the filtration that makes it "more than adequate"? I'll see if I can check out your other thread sometime.

 

Lionfish are no doubt interesting. Limitations in a nano:

- Large bio load due to the feeding behavior.

- Some incompatibility with nano sized fish/inverts. Not sure what tank mates you would consider in a biocube? You could probably get away with various smaller fish/inverts while the lionfish is tiny but what about as it grows?

- Needs lots of hiding spots and making good hiding spots in a nano is more challenging, but not impossible by any means.

 

People have done it though... The fuzzy dwarf seems to be the more popular option but since it's your tank I would say get the fish you want. There's not such a difference between them that would make either of these two fish more or less suited to your tank. Even then you don't go into any particulars of your tank so one can only make assumptions as to which would fit better.

 

Good luck

 

My bad into not going into the specs of the tank. It is the 29 gallon biocube. I wouldnt even think about the 14/16 gallon for one of these guys long term.I have the tunze 9001 on there and intank mediarack with filterfloss, chemi-pure elite and purigen. Planning on weekly 20-30% water changes, and I'm going to add macroalgae to the display. Spot feeding to reduce stray food as much as possible. Also upgrading the pump to the cobalt MJ1200 (which is really just flow, not so much filtration, but feel that should be included).

 

Also, as far as other fish, I'm trying to get the lion as small as possible. I asked both of my frequented LFS if they could order at their smallest size between 1-2". The potential tankmates would be either a pair of clowns, a clown and a mid-size (i.e. yellow watchman) or, say, some medium bodied fish like a small angel or royal gramma. Basically, no super tiny fish. These guys all get at least 3" or so.

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RIP Sebastian

I wouldn't do a dwarf lion in anything less than a 40, honestly. Especially with a Biocube- there is no lateral room for them to spread out in.

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Not worried about setting up a larger tank if it comes to it, fish only for this guy. Can do that with a 75 for relatively cheap, and thats likely what I'm setting up in the future (maybe some softies and LPS). At 4" and below though, I'm not worried about him here. I'm likely going to get the fish, just looking for peoples first hand experiences for species vs. species.

 

Based on the one response the fuzzy seems the go-to as expected. The zebra is more readily available right now for some reason, though, and I was curious if anyone had experience. #brokenrecord

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RIP Sebastian

Again, I wouldn't house anything small with a lion, especially is a tank that small. In a larger tank, like Felicia's, maybe.

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Again, I wouldn't house anything small with a lion, especially is a tank that small. In a larger tank, like Felicia's, maybe.

Is there a "Friday" reference coming on here depending on my response? Hah.

 

While I respect the opinion here, and don't want my attitude to be misconstrued over text; I'm not worried about keeping the lion in this tank for the period of time that he could comfortably fit and upgrading him as/if necessary. I'm curious to see people's *experiences* with the different species I'm looking at in a tank of this size, as I know has been done.

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I dunno... I think with the right planning and dedication you can pull it off... It seems like you've prepped on the filtration side. That you're willing to get a larger tank is a good thing - why not just start planning for it now? Since you want other fish I think you'll be much better off with a larger tank as you say. If you start planning now you can upgrade later when you move (a great time to upgrade since you're already taking everything down!).

 

As mentioned I would make the decision of which species to get based on which you would like to have. There isn't so much of a difference between the 2 that one would be significantly easier or more difficult to keep. They both have similar behavioral characteristics and prey. When you say you're looking for experiences - there are people who have kept dwarf lionfish in nano-ish tanks but I honestly don't think that they're going to tell you anything substantially different from what's available via an internet search... As long as you have a play to acclimate it to prepared foods and you know safe handling (avoid using a net) and how to spot potential disease/parasites then you should be good. Make sure you take care to arrange the rock work to have some good hiding spots for it. Also let it get established before adding other fish - this will make it easier to get it to eat what you feed it.

 

Felicia's tank is bad ass.

 

Finally - check out this feeding guide for lionfish I just ran across... http://www.lionfishlair.com/food-nutrition/tools-of-the-trade/

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As badly as I want to do this, probably gonna chill out. I got way too overzealous with the idea of having one, but having a community with 4-6 different little personalities would be awesome too.

 

Tough decision to have to convince myself of.

 

Anybody have any ideas on some other personable critters I could go for here? Something mildly... I dont know... "charismatic", fishwise

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reeferbrownies

A bit late but if you change your mind here's my 2cents

 

I kept a 3 inch dwarf zebra in my 20 long, did very well and was my favorite fish. At his size he wasn't a big threat to anyone in my tank and was really chill dude. Had two clowns, a damsel, and a watchman goby. The extra feedings really spiked up my nitrates, some water changes fixed that, so i'd really pay attention to nitrate. All I ran was a protein skimmer and a powerhead. Everything went great until he jumped out one day which was big bummer.

 

Anyways, probably one of my most favorite fishes and invertebrates i've ever kept. They have a real personality

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If anybody reading this has kept up with my thread for my biocube, I've been strongly considering the idea of a dwarf lion as either the lone fish or one of 2-3 for my tank. I know I'll catch a little bit of backlash for this, I'm prepared for the potential additional required upkeep with the system, my filtration is more than adequate, essentially, I'm not worried about the fish not being in a healthy environment. I'll be moving in 5-8 months and am inevitably going to get a bigger tank at that point if this cant contain him, though I've rarely heard of accounts of these guys getting bigger than 4-5 inches.

 

That being said (and please, if you have anything negative to say, please do so in a constructive fashion), I'm curious as to the best species. I really don't like the look of the fu-man-chu and have kind of discarded them as an option, considering, as well, their difficulty in comparison to the dwarf fuzzy and the zebra.

 

My question here, finally, is: Between The Dwarf Zebra Lion and the Fuzzy Dwarf, has anyone had experience with both and recommend one over the other? Based on my reading the fuzzy dwarf would probably be more likely to be comfortable in the tank, sizewise, as they are supposedly less active. But regarding ease of keeping, potential suitable tankmates, messiness, I'd like to hear peoples first hand experiences vs. speculation, if its out there.

 

Thanks for potential input, and my apologies if I've offended anyone in bringing this up.

i have a dwarf fuzzy in a 30 breeder. he was good with my long nose and leaf fish before one went carpet surfing and the other disappeared. he is easy to care for and never had a problem. check out the lionfish lair forum a lot of great information there.

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Gahhh! Haha now that I've convinced myself otherwise everyone is sharing their success stories. I feel like Sheldon from the big bang theory deciding between an xbox and a ps4.

 

 

707902_zpsyjm6webs.jpeg

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Gahhh! Haha now that I've convinced myself otherwise everyone is sharing their success stories. I feel like Sheldon from the big bang theory deciding between an xbox and a ps4.

 

 

707902_zpsyjm6webs.jpeg

you will have to do more water changes and food is a bit different, personally i go to the sea food section and buy scallops, shrimp, white fish, and squid. chop it all up and freeze in cubes. so if someone in the house doesnt mind that in the freezer then i say go for it as long as you are willing to commit to more water changes.

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