ok, whats the deal with lionfish?
 

I need a new fish in my 45. I have alot of coral and a mandarin and a cherub angel. I looked on liveaquaria.com at there dwarf lionfish, Is this a bad idea? It says that their reef compatible with caution. Are they really that mean? Will it reek havoc on my corals? Will i get stung every time I put my hand in the tank??(wich is too much). Please let me know what you think!!

well i think a 45 is too small for even the dwarf lion's, IMO

Don't touch it and you won't get stung. They will not attack you. If they can't fit a fish in their mouth they will not bother it. They do not touch corals but they eat shrimp. Very easy fish to keep you just need to train it to eat frozen food which is easy. The sting is painful but you will get over it. It won't kill you.
Paul

im sure ill get flammed for this but i have a Lion in my 55 gal reef. I have him in there to get the damsels, but he has only gotten one in 3 weeks, so i dont think it is working. But with the dwarfs you will be fine, they wont eat your other fish. They also dont eat your corals. The only real negative thing that they do is crap alot. So as long as you have the right filtration you will be fine. He has just has a larger biological load that comes with him.

if you have your hands in the tank a lot, i wouldnt get one just for the reason there spines pack a mean punch. while it may not kill you, if you are allergic to bees, you may be severely effected by a lionfish. not to mention your tank is a little small. in a big tank they will usually will go the other way, and hide from you.

well according to live aquaria they say that it can go in a 30 gallon. I have a 45g with a 10 gallon fuge so i dont think that crap would be a problem. and if i got one my cleaner shrimp would have to go huh?

I think "lionfish" must be latin for swimming mouth!
I was amazed by what mine swallowed.
I agree, stick w/ dwarf, but even that's a little tight in a 45.
They grow real fast.

I've found that liveaquaria is a bit off on tank recs(look at what they say about tangs)
Shrimp wouldn't "have" to go, I'm sure your lion would love him!

so your saying the shrimp would just go "naturaly"......

I wish i ahd pictures to back up this statement but a well fed healthy dwarf lion must be in at at least a 75 gallon and no less

I had a baby dwarf zebra lion in my 55 gallon he is now a solid 10 inches and is absolutely massive lives in my aunts 120 gallon with her picasso trigger and dog faced where he is the absolute boss when he swims all the other fish hide

he stung me when he was a baby it was like the worst bee sting ever

you sure hes a dwarf???10 inches doesnt seem to dwarfy to me??

yeah thats what we thought to it is def a dwarf dendrochius zebra or pterois mombasae

was never quite sure which one i am no fish expert but have owned a few of these

I shall try and get some pictures of him see if i can remember to take my camera with me next time i go to visit hopefully i can get something in the tank beside him to provide scale

I seriously hope you are only considering a dwarf specimen . Not a volitan I hope??

no, just a dwarf