Fish Survey: Volitans Lionfish

[febeast]

Here is a picture of my Lion that I have had for about 8 months. Eats darn near anything i.e. home made stuff, krill, sand eels, silver sides, etc.. Doesn't have a care in the world and is a great fish.

[the real fishman]

hey guys, ive bin keeping all sorts of lionfish for a long time, i cant be bothered to write all the aswers but if u got any questions about this lionfish or any please ask, ill be glad to help

[the real fishman]

thats a very nice fish uv got febeast, i have 3 lionfish at the moment, one in the 30gallon tank thats a zebra lion and is the newest, about 3" long i got it 3 days ago, anothe in the 100gallon tank and thats a volitan and its about6" long i got it a year1/2 ago. and the third is a antennata lion and it about 4" long in my 120gallon tank i got dat a year1/2 ago as well>

[godwin]

SELECTION
Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get?

Bought mine at the LFS, the obvious tip would be is, if he looks healthy he probably is, the ideal size I think is when they are small

Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species?

Dont know yet
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?

nope
ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish?

keep them away from inverts and crustacians and try to keep tankmates that are bigger than its mouth

Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen?

none

Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank?
doesnt matter

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank?

a diamond back goby and a square anthiast

Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school?
Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank?

N/A
What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?
Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)?
not yet

Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?

not yet
Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)?

I dont have any yet

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first?
gave him live guppies for the first day then decided not to afterwords after I heard they are harmfull to the fish so I gave him live ghost shrimp instead

If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food?

I slowly introduced brine shrimp
What’s the diet?

brine shrimp and live ghost shrimp

How much and how often do you feed?

a cube of brine shrimp and maybe one or two ghost shrimp as a treat

How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)

stalker

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)?

mine is only 2-3' currently
What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)?

currently housed in a 36 gallon bow tank

What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish?

at least 29 gallons for a full grown adult

If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take?

dont know yet

How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause?

2 weeks

What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?

n/a

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment?

n/a
BEHAVIOR

Does this fish change body color under any circumstances?
n/a

How active is this fish? Is this fish shy?
pretty active and the fish is not shy

How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates?

he's fairly comfortable with his current tankmates

Did this fish ever jump out of the tank?

nope

How does this fish sleep?

vertically or upside down

Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often?

n/a

How does this fish interact with human?

he swims up the tank if he's hungry if not he will just ignore me

Any other interesting observation of this fish?

he seems to like the diamond back goby more than the square anthiast

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?
Any information of spawning in captivity?

n/a

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry


2

Would you recommend this fish to beginners?
I am a beginner myself and find this fish easier to work with then any other marine fish I had, so I would definately recommend it to beginners. (I had 3 clowns die on me for no apparent reason)


Any other recommendations/comments?

[Chandler044]

Ive had mine for about 8 months, he has grown quite well although stopped growing as much lately. There are some pcis of him him in my photo gallery, i dunno how to upload the pics yet.

[moggyhill]

I'd love to respond but my eel ate my lionfish

[anothermineral]

Folks,

I think my lion has gone blind.

I've had him for ~1 year in a tank all his own. He has been a voracious eater. I've been feeding him krill, clams, and the occasional live feeder fish. H20 parameters are perfect. He shows no signs of physical stress and is one of the best specimens I've ever seen.

On Father's day, he decided to go on a hunger strike. I originally thought he might have lockjaw, as I didn't notice him yawn for several days, however, this was not the case.

Then I realized the following:
The tank is located at the end of a hallway. Any time anyone entered the hallway, the fish would immediately get excited thinking is was going to be fed, and rise to the top of the tank. It always amazed me that he/she could see motion ~15 feet away. This has stopped completely.

The reason I think the fish has gone blind is I've been able to get him to feed, but it is a tiresome job to do it. It involves placing a piece of krill on the end of a skewer and constantly presenting is in front of the fish until its fear level subsides and it decides to lunge forward and eat it. The fish rarely leaves the bottom of the tank and appears to be walking very tentatively with its front fins like we would do if locked in a room without any lights on, sort of feeling his way around the bottom.

The fish can still hear / smell; however it does not respond to any visual stimuli I present it with. The fish's eyes are clear. There doesn't appear to have been any trauma to the fish. As I said above, it's all by itself in the tank.

I've observed the fish at detail for several hours over the last week to try and formulate a different theory, however, it appears that he's blind as a bat. The only other change I've observed is the fish's coloration has deepened substantially, which I feel is due to stress.

Thought I'd share my observations with the group as an FYI and for any comments regarding my blind theory.

-Mineral

[cwschoon]

I wish I could help...never come across that one before.

[angelfishlover]

Heres a bad picture of simba.

[angelfishlover]

SELECTION
1.Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where?

I got mine at PETCO. As far as I know it's wild caught

Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get?

I just picked one that was eating and free of any disese

Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species?

The pectoral fins have a smaller ratio to body size as they age

Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?

As far as I know there is no way to tel a male and female apart

ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish?

Acclimate slowly. It can be sensitive to extreme changes in water chemistry

Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen?

Just make sure to have some live food ready cause they usually take some time to accept prepared food

Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank?

Doesen't really matter. Should be the smallest fish in the tank cause they eat smaller fish

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank?

FO tank. Mines with a california stingray and a snowflake eel

Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school?

I would keep one per tank unless you have a huge tank in the 400-500 gallon range cause they get kinda big

Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank?

Never tried it

What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?

I would add this fish to a mature tank cause they put on a high bio-load

Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)?

It's killed a pinktail trigger that once bumped into it. It almost killed a picasso trigger.

Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?

Never tried it but I would only try if you have a very effecient skimmer like an Aqua C or a Euro-Reef

Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)?

Never tried but I wouldn't cause they are very effecient predators

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first?

Feed live food for one day then starved it for a week then tried prepared foods

If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food?

It only took live food at first. Then I starved it for a week and it took silversides and krill then.

What’s the diet?

Silversides and krill

How much and how often do you feed?

I feed 4 pieces of krill daily and a couple silversides every other day.

How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)

Ambush predators. They eat what will fit in there mouths.

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached?

It's about 7" at the moment

How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)?

It grows kinda slow. Its only grew about 1/2 an inch in 5 months.

What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)?

55 at the moment. 180 in a few months.

What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish?

I would say 75 on its own but 125 or bigger with other fish

If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take?

I got this fish at about 6 1/2" so I dont really know

How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause?

I've had my lion for about 5 months so I don't really know.

What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?

I've heard of them living about 12 years. The biggest I've heard of them getting is about 15"

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment?

Never got sick. This species is very sensitive to copper though.

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances?

It lightens in color if water quality gets bad

How active is this fish? Is this fish shy?

Swims but very slowly. This fish is not shy at all and is always out.

How territorial or aggressive is this fish?

Very peaceful fish but will eat tankmates if there small enough

How does this fish interact with tankmates?

Prett mutch diesent care. I havd a brave picasso trigger that loved to swim through its fins

Did this fish ever jump out of the tank?

No. Probably not active enough

How does this fish sleep?

Turns dark and stays sideways or up-side-down

Does this fish allow cleaners to clean?

Tried a cleaner wrasse and it ended up as lunch.

If so which cleaner and how often?

Never accepts any cleaners. Just eats them

How does this fish interact with human?

Lots of personality. Will come to the front and follow me if he's hungry

Any other interesting observation of this fish?

Very beutiful fish and wonderful to keep. They are true pets

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?

Just one in my tank. Like I stated above one per tank unless in the 400-500 range or bigger

Any information of spawning in captivity?

Never heard of spawnings in captivity

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry

3-Will refuse to eat if there are terribly high nitrates.

Would you recommend this fish to beginners?

Prabably. You just need to have some live foods on hand.

Any other recommendations/comments?

Be careful of its venomous spines while doing maintnence. If you get stung soak the effected area in water as hot as you can stand for about 20-30 minutes.

[Chandler044]

I've had mine for one and a half years. He is quite large, and very personable. Good appetite and disposition, lions are very good fish to have if you want a showpiece for your tank, and dont mind not having the ability of having small fishes.

[camaro03]

I would only reccomend them for a peaceful community tank with large fish as they are not aggressive fish and can easily be harrased. Feed live then wean to frozen they do not like much current as they are lazy and like little resitance when swimming

[pmemo]

I fed frozen shrimps.

[CrazyLionfish]

ELECTION
Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where? No/No
Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get? I chose a medium sized one - about 3 inches - and one that was eating well.
Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species? I think they all differ in color and the intensity of the color
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish? I think the males have horns and teh females don't, making mine a female

ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish? I acclimated it him teh newb way, adding some water from teh tank into the bag every 10 min for 1.5 hours
Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen? No
Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank? Depends on other inhabitants

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank? Queen Angel, Maroon Clown, Undulated Trigger, Picasso Trigger, Yellow Tang. FO Tank
Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school? No
Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank? no
What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you? Maroon Clown, Yellow Tang, Picasso Trigger, Lionfish, Undulated, Queen
Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)? no
Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)? no
Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)? don't think so, think it was mostly the triggers

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first? took freeze dried krill the first day
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food? --
What’s the diet? mysis shrimp, freeze dried krill, frozen krill, frozen squid
How much and how often do you feed? once a day
How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc) - lunges at it and inhales it

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)? 3 inches to begin. Almost 13 inches now. About 1.5 years
What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)? What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish? 75 gallons, but mine is too big for it now, either getting a larger tank, or giving him to someone responsable nearby
If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take? Colors have varied from dark red to light red
How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause? 1.5 years - still have her
What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported? not sure

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment? Ick - UV steralizer - worked well

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances? not really
How active is this fish? Is this fish shy? mostly just hovers, not shy
How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates? only aggresive when the trigger trys to steal his krill
Did this fish ever jump out of the tank? no
How does this fish sleep? with his head down, used to sleep vertically, but now hes too big
Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often? --
How does this fish interact with human? always watching me,
Any other interesting observation of this fish? her eyes always follow me

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up? no
Any information of spawning in captivity? no

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species - Love this fish, one of my favorite, always get great reactions over her.
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5? 2 or 3
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry
Would you recommend this fish to beginners? depends on tank size and what they want to keep, but if they are prepared, yes
Any other recommendations/comments? not really

If you have any picture(s) of this fish you took, please post it here and share with us!

[onereefnotenuf]

i have had my voltans for over a year and the only thing that i have seen it eat was a bi color dottyback. it stalks the liverock looking for something. i think it eats shrimp or crabs out of the rock but it will not eat anything frozen or thawed that i try. i even tied silversides to fishing line and dangled them in front of its face and it still didn't eat. i knew that goldfish are bad for them but it was either live fish or a dead lion so i have started feeding guppys. i was told by my lfs that they have less fat and more protien than goldfish and the lionfish loves them. if there are any sources for live silversides i am sure they would work.
my fish is in a 125 reef with a kole tang, sailfin tang, flame angel and a flamehawkfish.

[cwschoon]

get a small tank w. mollies, salt water and feed them good marine food. Not ideal but better than what you are doing now

[reefboyjim]

I have a 8 inch long volitan lion fish that I have had for about a year and a half. fin span is about 8-9 inches across. i baught her at about 3 inches long. I feed her every other day 3 pieces of krill and once a month live feeder fish. She is kept in a 150 gallon tank with a 2 1/2 foost snowflake moray eel and an 8 inch burr puffer. She has the most beautiful coloration. She is like fire red with some orange white and a little tint of blue(I think it's from the light though) but any way she's gorgious. when I upload pics I'll post them.

[cwschoon]

Hey onereefnotenuf...just noticed your address. I lived in Mississauga until sept. 2001. I was the CDN/NY Tetra rep for 4 yrs and before that, was w. a co. called Tropic Aquaria. I called on all the stores in Ontario and Western NY. Where do you shop?
Craig.

[cwschoon]

Sorry...my brain read Hamilton, ONTARIO.

[onereefnotenuf]

when i read your first post i was totally confused, i was trying to remember living someplace i have never been! i am the one thats braindead!

[adamprice271]

Originally posted by Seafan
The following is is a list of questions/topics about this fish species. If you would like to include them in your reply, click on the last icon of this post (Reply with Quote), and remove the [ QUOTE ] [ B ] tag in the beginning and the

at the end.

SELECTION
Did you mail order this fish and would you recommend mail order this fish? Are there captive-raised/bred specimen available and where?
I got mine from the LFS.

Any tips on how you picked a healthy specimen of this species from LFS? What do you think is the ideal size to get?
I work there and had him eating withing 2 days of getting him in at the shop. Very healthy, so I took him home.
Are there any noticeable differences in body shape, pattern or color among the same species or between juvenile and adult of this species?
I don't think so.
Is there a way to tell the sex of this fish?

Not that I am aware of

ACCLIMATION AND INTRODUCTION
Any special tips about the acclimation and introduction of this fish?
No. Float for 15 mins, then add some tank water to the bag every 5 mins for 30 mins.
Any special needs for this fish or special considerations for young specimen?

Get him feeding asap.
Should this fish be the first or the last to introduce to a tank?

COMPATIBILITY
What tankmates do you have with this fish?Is it a reef or FO tank?
FOWLR...Yellow tang, bursa trigger, naso tang, coral beauty, keyhole angel.
Have you had more than one of this species in the same tank? If so, is there a certain male/female ratio or group number worked for you (to have a harem or pecking order)? Do they school?
No
Have you had other species of the same genus/family in the same tank?
No
What’s the stocking order (considering the above factors) that worked for you?
Add the lion at any time, just don't have anything smaller than him or it will be food.
Did this fish hurt/eat any of other fish (or vice versa)?
Yes, my volitan ate a maroon clownfish that was barely smaller than his head.
Did this fish hurt/eat Cnidaria (corals, mushrooms or anemones)?
NA
Did this fish hurt/eat ornamental crustaceans (shrimps, hermits, crabs)?
No...the trigger ate the hermits.

FEEDING
How did you get this fish to eat at first?
Live ghost shrimp that were kept in a seperate tank gutloaded with marine pellets and shrimp pellets.
If this fish only accepted live food, how did you wean it over to prepared food?
I didn't feed him for 2 days and I would drop freeze dried krill in. when my trigger went for it, the lion ate it and has loved it ever since. He also eats large peices of formula 1 flake.
What’s the diet?
Ghost shrimp(gutloaded), freeze dried krill, and flake food.
How much and how often do you feed?
2 freeze dried krill a day. 8-10 ghost shrimp every 4 days (trigger eats em too.)
How does this fish eat?(grazers, active or sedentary predators, sand sifters, etc)
Ambush predator. anytime I put something in there for him(fits inhis mouth) he eats it.

GROWTH RATE AND LIFE SPAN
What is the initial size of your fish and maximum size it reached? How fast did it grow (how much growth over a given period of time)?
I got him when he was 2" body leangth 2.5 months ago and he is now 4-5" body leangth.
What size tank did this fish live in? (or how soon did this fish outgrow what size tank)? What do you think is the minimum tank size required for an adult specimen of this fish?
75 gal. he is being moved to the 135 when he grows a bit more. Minimum size tank I'd say is 55 min. and 100 when full grown.
If this fish went through body pattern change from juvenile to adult, was the change complete? How long did it take?
How long have you kept this fish? If you no longer have this fish, what was the cause?
I have had mine for about 2.5 months and love him.
What is the longest lifespan and the maximum size of this fish in home aquarium and/or in the wild reported?

DISEASE AND TREATMENT
What disease has this fish had? How did you treat it, for how long? What's the effect of the treatment?
none...very hardy fish!

BEHAVIOR
Does this fish change body color under any circumstances?
npt that I have seen.
How active is this fish? Is this fish shy?
Not very active. He lays on the bottom, or against the side glass(vertical) untill I feed him or untill he goes for a new spot.
How territorial or aggressive is this fish? How does this fish interact with tankmates?
If other fishes are larger than he can eat, he is extremley passive with the other fish. If I do maintenance on the tank, he goes to one spot in the rocks and does not bother me at all.
Did this fish ever jump out of the tank?
no...thank god
How does this fish sleep?
lays around
Does this fish allow cleaners to clean? If so which cleaner and how often?
he lets me clean whenver I want (about once a week)
How does this fish interact with human?
When I come to the tank he comes out and up to the top. Never bothers me when maintenance is being done.
Any other interesting observation of this fish?
Just beautifil when they get some size on them.

REPRODUCTION
If you have a mated pair, how did you get them to pair up?
Any information of spawning in captivity?

SUMMARY
Your overall assessment of this species -
How sensitive is this fish to poor water quality on a scale of 1-5?
3
1 - very tolerant, may survive a cycle in a new tank
2 - quite tolerant, may survive accidental ammonia or nitrite spike
3 - not terribly sensitive to reasonable pH, salinity or temperature changes
4 - sensitive to any significant water chemistry changes, and may show stress during such changes
5 - very sensitive to water quality, may easily get stressed and get sick with any change in water chemistry
Would you recommend this fish to beginners?
not for someone with less than 1 yr of experience, or someone not willing to buy live foods(not feeders but shrimp) untill they get it eating frozen or freezedried.
Any other recommendations/comments?
great fish, nice personality, I get lots of compliments on him.

If you have any picture(s) of this fish you took, please post it here and share with us! [/B][/QUOTE]

[thorsen]

What tankmates do you have with this fish?

I have had a lion fish for about one month now. I am new to the hobby and have already made my fair share of mistakes. I bought an encyclopedia set on reef fish, which said the lion fish is reef compatible but generally not added to a reef system because they eat desirable shrimp, although they leave other reef items alone. It also said they are tough fish and not generally susceptible to disease. I am in the process of converting my 120 gallon tank from a FO to a reef tank and decided I would rather have the lion fish than the shrimp. I already had one sea hare, two star fish, a lot of crabs and snails, and two damsels and three chromis. My lion fish eats like a glutton and eats almost anything I drop in the tank including algae pellets for the slug and crabs (?). The point of interest I have to contribute is how he has interacted with the assortment of smaller fish. The lion fish is capable of fitting surprisingly large fish in his mouth, but is rather slow. The chromis and damsels would all make good meals for him, but they simply stay out of his way. He has succeeded in catching one chromis and one damsel so far. I witnessed one of these episodes and it was in the early morning when the fish first came out of the rocks he would get them trapped in a corner and nap them. I am looking into adding a moon light lighting system to my tank and I think this might save the small fish. So in short one might be able to add all sorts of small fast bite size fish to a tank with a lion fish as long as there is good hiding places and the lighting is ok. I wouldn't risk real expensive fish right off though before experimenting with some damsels for a month or so.

[lost1st manty:(]

devouring everyhting i put in their tank alls they want to do is eat and i have had to scale back getting to big too fast and too expensive i have a 150 gallon with 4 in panther grouper 3 in trigger (huma) porcupine puffer 3 in 4 in yellow tang 10 in moray snowflake hifin snapper green bird wrasse and a couple *** damsle i cant catch and neither can anyone else for that matter. by far the messiest eaters are puffer and trigger making huge messes needing vacuumed everytime they eat, thus i am introdcuing a spotted goatfish who is in quarantinenow but am worried that the malachite grren which contains formalin will be toxic for him whic i recently read and am not sure if this is true or if it is at what levels, or if it is all removed from skimmer and water changes, good luck keep firing away with the thread and posts you will be fine

[lost1st manty:(]

getting impaled by one and injected with venom, ive heard of them actually eating until there stomachs exploded so be careful, sorry i am only 6 month in hobby my young son got to the computer and clicked 20years thoguht it was a game

[Shoestring Reefer]

thorsen-do you see any true "schooling" of the chromis in a tank with lionfish?