30 gallon tank, Dwarf Lion Fish!

[Elude82]

Yeah, it's hard for me to comment too much, like i said I have a fuman shu lionfish. He is a little more active than other lionfish. A lot more colorful! That is why I picked him, he reminds me of an old samauri warrior. My little guy just finds any little hiding space in the rocks, usually upside down. Lol if you didn't get a powerhead yet, I would get one, just on the bottom for circulation. To get rid of any deadspots. A low gph powerhead though, maybe around 550gph at the most.

 

[Fishfighter]

Love this fish. You will change your mind about him being the only one though. Fish are like guns and tattoos, addicting. If you add some smaller fish first, like a jaw fish or something to burrow in the sand, he won't bother them but see them as inhabitants. Anything small enough to eat that hits the water after he gets comfortable will be seen as food. Mine eats frozen mysis shrimp, plankton, and live ghost shrimp. Never tried krill.

 

[obscurereef]

Love the setup! BTW what are those worm like things coming from the rock...bristle star arms?

 

[Elude82]

Lol I second that! He will not be the only fish! Every time you go to the LFS you will catch your self browsing other fish. Sooner or later you will give in. I started with one tank, filled it to the limit of fish per gallon. Still wanted more, welll...... Long story short I had to start multiple tanks to satisfy my so called addiction. Lol and just to put it out there. A trigger will compliment your lionfish!!!! Lmao

 

[baron1282]

Thanks. What fish would you all suggest I start with in a 29 gallon?

Also what light would you recommend if I wanted to add a little bit of coral to get some flow. I was not going to add any coral because of lighting cost, but I see T5 lights bulbs for 10 to 29 dollars and that's what people are using it seems like.

As of right now, my fish tank is about a month out. That's just set up, not anything else. Fish are about 2 months out.

 

[Fishfighter]

Bristle star, you got it.creeps my wife out. Love it. I've got a purple dotty back, tiger jaw fish and a six line wrasse along with a volitan lion all w my dwarf. Everybody gets along great but sometimes the dottyback gets territorial and acts like hes tough. Coral adds a lot of color to your tank but do your research and all will be well. Would love to add a snowflake eel but that might b pushing my bioload to the limit.

 

[baron1282]

Oh trust me guys, I plan on getting more fish. I think my Wife and I are hooked! LoL

I want to set up this tank as a challenge. I know the smaller the tank the harder it is. I figured if I could do this 29 gallon, I can go bigger!! Maybe just go big and do a 200 gallon and good to go.

 

[Elude82]

Is this your first tank? I honestly love Huma Huma aka Picasso triggerfish. They will complement your lionfish. Your lion is very calm and free floating. The trigger will be all I've the place, and they have a lot of personality!!!!! They are like having a pet puppy in your tank. They are very responsive and aware of you. If not look into a good size hawkish. They are the clowns of the aquarium. I have a Hawaiian hawkish, and absolutely adore him. A little less aggressive than a trigger. to be honest, I think you should consider just having an aggressive tank. But if you give into wanting to try coral, a pulsing Xenia is excellent!!! They are very hardy, and grow fast. So it will add a little extra color and texture to your tank.

 

[obscurereef]

Fishfighter, MAN that brittle star is huge! I have a serpent sea star and I wouldn't mind if it became the "monster" of the tank and scared a few visitors ...

That's a beautiful fish, but I don't think a triggerfish would do nicely in a 30 gallon tank and that would be a lot of waste as they are messy eaters. Would be great in baron's "future" 200 gallon aquarium.

 

[Elude82]

True, I apologize, slipped my mind it was that many gallons. Then a Hawaiian Hawkfish would do great! All they need is a few places to perch to be happy, not big swimmers.

 

[Elude82]

Oh yeah, and that brittle star is massive!!! It reminds me of a giant squid getting ready to crush a ship! Pretty AWESOME!!!!!!

 

[obscurereef]

It's fine I love hawkfishes. I wish I could get a longnose hawkfish, but I'm getting all peaceful fish and wouldn't want him/her to be the bully of the tank.

 

[obscurereef]

And I just have to say something about that dottyback! Pretty funny how some fish think they are so strong, when they could be risking their lives. I was watching this documentary and a tiny pufferfish about 1" picked on the fins of a lionfish that was about a foot! If the lionfish swallowed the puffer, it would just blow up and the lionfish would have to spit it out. What a troll!

 

[Elude82]

To be honest, I have had two Hawkfish. The Hawaiian and a Calico. As long as there isn't any shrimp in the tank they are very peaceful fish. only aggressive eaters when in tank with aggressive fish. They are like The Foxface: they are very easy going fish, although a Foxface is non aggressive, you can put them in tanks with very aggressive fish just because of their nice long sharp spikes on their dorsal fin.

 

[Fishfighter]

The dotty back will try to punk out the dwarf but he just lowers his head and doesn't move. I'm almost sure that he will end up being purple poop. My volitan is the boss but I think the dwarf is more aggressive. I still like the idea of an eel. The way your rock will be setup is perfect for an eel cave. My dwarf hangs upside down a lot.hard to find sometimes but that's almost more fun than watching them swim.

 

[baron1282]

Wow, info overload.

Ok, so if I did get a Hawaiian Hawkfish with the Lion fish they should be ok together? Remember I plan on putting a Tuxedo Sea urchin in my tank as well. I don't know about the FoxFace every place I read says they need a 70 gallon or bigger. Every eel I read up on says the same thing.

Also no this is not my first tank. I had this tank set up as fresh water and nuked it. I stressed my Clown Loaches out by removing their favorite hide out and putting a new hide out for them. I didn't think they would get ICK and die because of that. I tried treating it. So after that, I decided that I got the tank and stand. I got most of the equipment, lets do what I wanted to do in the first place. Salt Water. I was too scared too because I keep hearing Salt Water is harder. I have another thread for a 90 gallon set up I am thinking in the future. About a year or two. I might just go ahead and do a 200 gallon as it seems most of the fish my wife and I like need a 180 gallon to be happy.

 

[baron1282]

Just finished painting my stand black. Needing to get a new Tank for cheap being the old one cracked. I got everything else thou but a skimmer and a power head. I am going to buy a canister fluval filter one that does 45 gallons. It will be in addition to my marineland on tank filter. My marine land is only rated for 30 gallons and I figures since the Lion produces a lot of waste it would be good to have an extra filter with a sponge in it and a bio wheel. So I hope to have the tank running by the end of October so I can cycle it for the whole month of November.

 

[Elude82]

I'm not 100% positive how the Hawaiian hawkfish will interact with the tuxedo. The lionfish he shouldn't bother. In one tank I had a Calico Hawkfish with clowns, a tang, goby, angel, snails, and hermit crabs, and he never messed with any of them. In my aggressive tank I have the Hawaiian Hawkfish with a Huma Huma triggerfish(very aggressive), a Lunar Wrasse(extremely aggressive), a Fuman Shu Lionfish(very laid back), a maroone clown(aggressive), and out of all odds I took down a smaller tank and split the fish in that tank, and took a huge gamble and threw in a valentini puffer(which everyone thought would last a few minutes) and yes a small scooter Blenny( nope not joking) everyone at the LFS laughed when I said I was doing this!!!! so I am a firm believer that a lot of fish vary in their stereotypical behavior. I think the Hawaiian is a great choice! Others may disagree, but I feel it will be a nice opposite to the lionfish, and you will enjoy the Hawaiian's personality. And most fish instinct seem to stay clear of most lionfish, I guess they are naturally intimidating?!?!? Lol

 

[baron1282]

Thanks Elude82.

I was just going to set it up for the Lion, but thanks to you guys I have come out ahead. I think I will go with the Hawaiian Hawkfish and the Lion together. Now the only thing I need to know is what coral I should put in. I was thinking about getting this from Ebay.

T5 Quad 36" Timer Aquarium Light Strip Marine Reef Coral Cichlid 156W LED Fan HO | eBay

No one has really given me any clue if it would be an ok light for any kind of corals. I don't want hard corals. Just whatever that light can support without killing it.

 

[baron1282]

I don't think the Hawkfish would interact at all with the tuxedo. Only because all fish seem to stay clear of something with spins. I could be wrong, but I hope I am not.