fuzzy dwarf lion and royal gramma?

[godwin]

Just curious, I have a 38 gallon with just one dwarf fuzzy lion, would I be able to add a royal gramma in there? will my dwarf lion eat him?

[JamesD]

Very unlikely.....id say the Gramma would more likely harass the lion....

Of course this all depends on what size gramma and lion you have. Gramma's are known for being real vicious and unfortunately Fuzzy lions arent exactly the sort of fish to fight back!

[reeferkid]

they should be ok because the gramma will be placed into the lions territory just make sure the gramma has a cave it can call its own

[rottn]

I have never heard of a vicious RG, although anything is possible in our hobby. :) They will usually get along with other fish, exept for than their own species.

RG's are usually a shy fish, and peaceful. Mine will protect it's territory when new fish are added by opening it's mouth big and chasing the new fish away, but never has it harrassed a fish or actually attacked.

In MHO, I think it's very likely that the RG could get eaten by a dwarf lionfish. I would never try that combination - but that's JMHO though. ;)

[reeferkid]

no it would be fine just get a larger RG about 3" would be good cos it would be too big for a Dwarf lion to eat

[crzy4reefs]

they should be fine just give the RG a place to hide. i have a FDL and a YWG they've been in the same tank for almost ayr they do cross eachothers path but i keep the lion well fed which i'm not sure if that's the reason he hasn't eaten the YWG.

[ozadars]

I wouldnt mix them because a full grown can easily eat a 3" fish. YWG's are bottom dwellers, this should be the reason why dwarf lion hasnt eaten the goby. The dwarf lions usually perch on the rocks and waits for a prey to pass by. Especially a small new addition is a good opportunity for lion to eat.

[Andrew]

Yea in the long run the lion will eat or kill the royal gramma. Dunno about not aggressive. The lfs had one they had to feed to the tiger shark cause he would kill any fish they put in with him. Not likly. Most are peaceful but i would be worried about the lion eating him.

[makoJ]

Originally posted by ozadars
I wouldnt mix them because a full grown can easily eat a 3" fish. YWG's are bottom dwellers, this should be the reason why dwarf lion hasnt eaten the goby. The dwarf lions usually perch on the rocks and waits for a prey to pass by. Especially a small new addition is a good opportunity for lion to eat.

Actually, there is more of a risk with bottom dwellers. Lions tend to be more active at night when most fish are sleeping. If you have a fish that sleeps in the open on the sand then it is an easy meal. (IMO) Add a damsel first and see how the lion reacts (thats what I did to make sure my dwarf zebra didn't interpret fish as food...needless to say I now have a damsel). I've got "reef" wrasses in with my lions and I've never lost a fish.

Mixing reef fish with lions requires a lot of thought. I chose wrasses b/c they sleep in the sand where a hungry lion couldn't sneak up on them at night (just a precaution). I also only feed live ghost shrimp to make sure the lions don't develop a taste for fish (another precaution). I used to have a gramma and a basslet with my lions and they were fine...just watch your lions behavior...it is pretty obvious when they are hunting something.

Another thought..don't add the fish when the lions are hungry or right after you are done feeding...you don't want the lion equating fish with food.

Good luck!

(BTW Ive got a 37 with a radiata lion, a dwarf zebra, an ornate leopard wrasse, a christmas wrasse, a damsel and a goby).

[godwin]

I bought the royal gramma today for a amazing price of only $20! put him in the tank and so far all goes well. My fuzzy dwarf took a good look at him then just shook off and did his thing, never bothered the gramma. Hope this continues :)

[Andrew]

$20. Thats alot. Good luck with him and the lionfish. :D

[godwin]

Originally posted by Evanish
$20. Thats alot. Good luck with him and the lionfish. :D

$20 is actually Canadian Funds which is roughly $16 US

[Wolverine]

What mako said is true for the most part, but I have seen dwarf lions eat dottybacks and other fish similar to RG.

I also agree with rottn that most RG are pretty peaceful. They'll make some territorial displays, but that's usually mild, and they usually don't make much contact, if any (unless it's a similar fish). I've heard the Barzilian RG are more aggressive.

Dave

[ozadars]

Originally posted by makoJ
Actually, there is more of a risk with bottom dwellers. Lions tend to be more active at night when most fish are sleeping. If you have a fish that sleeps in the open on the sand then it is an easy meal. (IMO) Add a damsel first and see how the lion reacts (thats what I did to make sure my dwarf zebra didn't interpret fish as food...needless to say I now have a damsel). I've got "reef" wrasses in with my lions and I've never lost a fish.


I have yet to see a yellow watchman or any other shrimp goby sleeping open on the sand at night. At least the ones I have had never did something like that. I kept volitan, yellow watchman and brasilian gramma (not all of them at the same time). My first yellow watchman hid for a month and i have yet to see my current one's body totally coming out of his hole. Its almost impossible for a dwarf lion to eat him. However, although my gramma was shy too, in a week he was going out and swimming around. What i meant was, they are not actually comparable, hunting a yellow watchman goby is much harder.

I am not saying that the lion is definately going to eat the gramma, I just cant recommend people to risk another animal's life when there is no need to and I dont think one can say it is not a risk.

[makoJ]

everything is a risk with lions, but I do agree with you. The main reason I chose a radiata lion is b/c they are primarily crustacean eaters in the wild so the fish eating tendency is somewhat less. I was very worried about the dwarf zebra though, they can be fish eaters in the wild. So I got a baby, grew him big and fat on shrimp, threw in a damsel and the rest is history. Lions are not a mysterious fish, you know when they think something might be food. I've never even seen my lions glance at my wrasses or damsel, and since I feed live food they still "hunt" which is a pretty obvious behavior with all the fin waggling and changing colors.

I, too, dont recommend trying to mix lions with other fish to everyone. A lot of time and research went into my pairings before I did it, and I knew my fish. I'm not saying that a fish wont disappear some day but it is highly unlikely at this point. I took/take a lot of precautionary steps to ensure everyones safety. The lions only get live shrimp to keep them hunting (I like the radiatas dance) and to make it obvious to me if they think something might be food, I will never feed frozen or live fish to them (I don't want them in the habit of thinking fish are food), and I chose as tank mates fish that sleep under the sand. Fortunately too, they also sleep in the back of the tank where the lions cant fit.

My goby hides at night too, which is a good thing b/c my dwarf zebra showed a little too much interest in him for my liking. He was probably just curious but you never know. BTW-I would have never have chosen a goby for this tank but it was getting beat up by our yellow pseudochromis in the 100g and we had to get him out of there fast.

[Mud Shrimp Moe]

Originally posted by makoJ
Add a damsel first and see how the lion reacts (thats what I did to make sure my dwarf zebra didn't interpret fish as food...needless to say I now have a damsel).

I threw in a couple damsels with my green wolf eel. He got the first one the second day and the other damsel lasted over two weeks. My point is those damsels are fast fish when it comes to avoiding predators. I thought the second one might actually make it in the tank. Not to sound cold, but I don't miss him. He was picking at soft corals.

I'm not experienced in how dwarf lions hunt, but if it's mostly for crustaceans, then perhaps a lot of fish are just too slippery for them. In the end, however, if you have a predator and a prey in the same tank ... I suppose the prey's luck is going to run out sooner or later.

[makoJ]

Nah, lions move pretty fast when they want to...they corner a prey (this is where they dance) and then lunge. The 'lunge' is a flash of movement...even when I video tape it it is hard to see b/c it happens so fast.

My fish swim all over my lions and the lions usually get all annoyed and twitchy and then leave. My wrasses are about the same size as my lions, so they would be a difficult meal but the lions have had plenty of opportunity's to try to eat one (the fish swim close enough that they touch the lions and all it would take is one lunge and the wrasse would be in a world of hurt but like I said the lions get annoyed and move).

Im not advocating this for everyone!!!I feed my lions (2 lions about 4 inches each) 2-3 dozen ghost shrimp every 4-5 days. It is expensive and time consuming, and if you aren't willing to ensure that your lions aren't hungry enough to eat a fish then dont do it.