Lion Pic

[EdKruzel]

Hey Frank,
I see you finally updated your site. Very Nice!

Just a little update on my tank busters. My Navarchus is as mean as ever.
My Cherry Grouper just healed from a Lion sting. Doing fine and looks like he should weigh in at a Bass Masters Tournament.

Last there's Harry. His venomous spines are at least 3''s long. King of all he surveys...
Makes me very aware when I have to reach into the tank.
Sorry the pics not great, I couldn't get the digital from the evidence room this weekend. Guess I have to break down and buy my own.

Take Care,
Ed

[T-T-Trigger]

That's one whopper of a lion! beautiful, thanks for sharing. I would like to see more pics of the grouper, that last one you posted was real nice.:)

[DresdenKali]

Nice lion. :cool: Such Beautiful Fish.

[EdKruzel]

DresdenKali & T-T-Trigger,
Thanks!!!

T-T-Trigger,
The grouper is a character, whenever the LFS gets in LR with some hitch hiking crabs I get to drop them in the tank.
It's time for some exercise as the Cherry Grouper goes hunting.

There has been one crab about the size of a quarter that has been able to elude capture.

In this picture he's in hunting mode as you can see the color change for that moment.
I placed a cropped pic up in the corner from a few months ago which shows his normal color and gives some insight to the girth he's packed on.

This time next year I may have to find a bigger tank to house the lion and grouper. Like a 1000gal :D

Later Guys,
Ed

[dave_b]

pic of my 2-3" lion :-)

[dave_b]

and another

[Salyers890]

Dave B, what kind of lion is that. . . . it's gorgeous. . . . .

Kruzel, yours are amazing also, but dave's i've never seen before

[EdKruzel]

Salyers890,
Thanks!

Dave's is a baby version of mine, a Volitan. For more than the past 20yrs definitely one of my favorite fish.

Dave's lion looks healthy and bright... exactly what a lion should look like.
Provided he stays in good water quality, and eats a varied diet (squid, shellfish, fish) of high fatty content, Dave will have him for 20+yrs.

Dave,
Not only is that a good looking lion, but your pics are good quality as well.:thumbsup:

Take Care,
Ed

[dave_b]

hi kruzel, thanks for your praise :-) took me ages to get them that good. you say about squid, none of my lfs in uk sell marine squid food. can i go to a normal fish mongers and buy some from there? wasnt sure if it would be ok to add to my tank.

[EdKruzel]

Dave,
I buy and prepare almost all my fish foods from the local market.

As long as it's fresh (frozens ok) and has nothing added such as oils or spices.

An excellent food for your lion would be small shrimp with shell and vien.
For your little guy you probably have to cut them, but for mine I drop it in shell and all.
Keeps them healthy and with great color.

When I feed the large silversides I cut them in half and place drops of vitamins inside.

I only feed 3 days a week, and only enough to cause a slight stomach bulge.
Over feeding is the number one cause for a premature death in lionfish.

Keep sending those pics!!!

Ed

[T-T-Trigger]

Actually I believe Dave has a Pterois russelli not a P. volitans . It is often sold as a red volitans but does not grow quite as large in length or in girth.

More svelte facial features. Lack of spots on tail, dorsal and anal fins. Lack of stripes of dorsal spines and pectoral fins. The markings on the pectoral rays with russells can range from purple, to bluish, to green.

Here is a pic of my old russell's and volitans together, the russells died from some kind of internal bacterial infection, the volitans I returned cause I felt like I didn't have enough room for him anymore, they grow so darn fast. This was an 85g.

Hope you enjoy! I love sharing pics...:)

BTW Ed, that cherry is getting fat! That's all I need is to get fascinated by a grouper! As if keeping triggers wasn't enough of a handful already...:rolleyes:

[FMarini]

Hey Guys:
Sorry I'm in late for this.
Great photos all around.

Ed- your lion is a monster, looks so fat and happy, great job. Like your monster i have to remove my 2 monsters as they were eating their incredibly large tankmates. I actually gave my Volitans and Russell to a guy w/ a 450gal tank. I had to do it.

As far as Daves pictures, pretty killer fish, I like the photshop edges on the photos. I have been emailng him privately and i have informed him of the same that TT has This fish appears to be a P. Russells and not a P. Volitans.
As TT so well describes there are a number of indenitifible marking on a Russells lion which differentiate it from a P. Volitans. These fish are always mismarked at LFSs. The easist way to differentiate it is the lack of heavy spotting on the anal and caudal fins (the common name for russells are the "spotless lions"). Also the facial projections are not fringed but fairly straight, and the color pattern consists of large thicker stripes an not the alternating large small, large small on a P. Volitans .

Bottom line both are great fish, both get big, big, big, (althou P. Volitans get a wee bit bigger)and both are excellent tankmates.
frank

[EdKruzel]

Good Call Guys,
Guess I jumped the gun there. Thought it had spots on the tail.

I hope to get the digital home for a few shots this week.

I really do need to crack the vault (my wallet) and just buy my own.

Later,
Ed

[dave_b]

i thought the same for the russels, and TT mine looks almost exactly like yours :-) but as my books and you 2 have said they are "the spotless" lion and mine does have strong black spots on the anal and caudial fins, i sent the pic to frank but have had no reply as of yet.
i got my friend to do the art on my pics, they originally are 600Kb in size, which is why i cant post the one of the clear spots on the tail bit too big heh and havnt had chance for my mate to resize it etc.. will post as soon as its sorted :-)