Lionfish outgrowing tank

[Fishfighter]

Have a volitan lion, a purple dottyback, dwarf lion, and a tiger jaw fish. The jaw fish is a wimp. The dottyback picks constantly on him constantly and anytime the volitan goes near his burrow, he freaks out and runs to the other side of tank. I want to get rid of the volitan and the jaw fish. They are just not for me. I have a 55 gal and I knew the day would come to trade off the volitan so I'm thinking of where to go from here. I've had my tank for a year and since my wrasse jumped ship I feel lost. Not an expert. I need help.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Post in the classifieds section on here and you might just be able to get someone to adopt it. Where do you live? If your close to me (central IN) I'd be happy to take it off your hands

I mean no offense, but you should never buy a fish knowing that you won't have the space to allow it to live comfortably as an adult. Should have thought ahead and you never wouldve ran into this problem.

 

[Fishfighter]

I planned on moving in the spring and starting a bigger predator tank. Really don't want to part w my buddy but I do want what's best for him. He is a v

 

[Fishfighter]

He is a very happy fish at the moment and I'd feel terrible if something went wrong in transport.

 

[Fishfighter]

This is him. How long until he really outgrows this tank? 55 gal. I'm getting a 90 in the spring.

 

[crister13]

90 is still too small. They get over 1' long. Where do you live? I would adopt if your close to NJ. I have a 150g.

 

[Hocky puck]

Philly here I'll adopt the jawfish

 

[Fishfighter]

I was thinking about a trade w lfs. Never shipped a fish and really don't want something to go wrong. I've read that a lion needs 75 min so I'm not sure what to do. I would like someone's impute on my photos of lions size now in relation to my tank. He's the only big fish and all others are very small. It seems to me that he has plenty of space for now. I know he will get a lot bigger and I plan on upgrading if I keep him.

 

[Hocky puck]

If you can learn from me I said I would upgrade to accommodate my unicorn tang once I got the money... Never happened he got to big and once he got slow my puffer got him so don't delay in my opinion if u have an out and u know he will be safe take it

 

[Hocky puck]

I bought that tang at an inch long grew to like 7" or 8" then stopped had no clue y

 

[crister13]

125 min. They get 15". I've had one. Sorry.

 

[cashmoney6980]

A full grown volitan lion is like having a basketball floating around in your tank with its fins expanded. So IMO a 75 would not be near big enough to house a full grown lionfish. Not sure where you read that, but I'd listen to the people on here who have owned them and ain't trying to sell you one by any means necessary.

 

[baron1282]

Don't rag on this guy too much, We have all been there. Starting a tank before we even knew what the heck we were doing. I am still a noobie to this, but having started a freshwater tank with fish that would outgrow my tank, I can understand where he is coming from. Because of not doing research and just going with whatever cool fish I seen, I ended up killing two of the fish I really liked. I planned on upgrading as fast as I could as soon as I found out the problem, but because of my lack of knowledge and me moving around a bunch of stuff in my tank, I stressed an easily stressed fish and they got ICK and died. So lesson learned. That is why I am on the message boards here learning as much as I can about my fish I want before I restart my tank to a saltwater tank.

A lot of websites say that Lionfish would be ok in a 75 gallon tank, so I can see where he is getting his information. I agree with a lot of people that you should listen to more experienced people, that is why I am here. My only advice I would give is to get a tank off Craigslist. I have seen many deals in my area for 125 gallon tanks with tanks and stands for as little as 500 dollars. Before buying make sure you check it out!! I am sure there is threads already on this website that can help you determine if a used tank is a good deal or not.

 

[Fishfighter]

Moving in the spring. Hopefully buying a house so being as it would make sense, planning to upgrade at that time. I posted pictures and asked the question about his current size in relation to the tank I currently have. Obviously if he seems happy I would love to just keep him but now would be a good time to make up my mind.

 

[baron1282]

I would go bigger, he is going to need space to turn around. A 55 gallon tank is not as wide as a 125.

 

[crister13]

I would say he's fine until spring. That is, IF YOU CAN DEFINITELY GET A 125!!!!! Haha GL!!

 

[Pryzz]

No offense to the OP or to no one here, but I just don't see how people can buy a fish either not knowing its size/temperament ect or knowing it will outgrow your tank. Just seems you'll be making a friend and eventually getting rid of your friend.

 

[Fishfighter]

Fish tanks are not hard to find so I won't need luck. If I didn't have the money I wouldn't have started in the first place. I've learned a lot w my first tank and yes I need a bigger one for what I want.

 

[cashmoney6980]

Sorry If I seemed a little harsh, was not my intentions!

But definately check out Craigslist. I got a 125 gallon with a ton of supplies for only $500. Got at least $3000 worth of stuff out of it too. And there's deAls on there even better than that if you look at the right time!

Good luck!

 

[Beengirl]

I feel bad for the jawfish; they are peaceful, and then he in there with a dotty back (aggressive) and all of these other scary fish. Including a lion, who would eat him at the first opportunity! No wonder he runs and hides- it's called self-preservation instinct!! You should get him out ASAP before the stress kills him.