freshwater lionfish?

[wright4lfe]

hey everybody

just added a 2inch freshwater lionfish, also known as a rockfish, to my parents 55gl tank to put on some size before adding him to my tank with the big guys (o's, clown knife, jd)

my question is, has anyone ever raised one of these? i've yet to see one on a forum.

i'm also having a hard time getting him to eat. i've siphoned blood worms and krill down to him, but no luck so far. the guy at the lfs told me they eat feeders, but i don't like using feeders at all...

any ideas????

 

[TankGirl]

Never kept them, but when it comes to getting carnivores to eat, your best bet is to find something live and get it down there to them, if possible. Were the worms live? If so, then I'm stumped!

You might try live adult brine shrimp to get the fish started - that has always worked for me getting reluctant new puffers to eat.

Good luck-

 

[wright4lfe]

thanks, i think i'll try some brine shrimp/ghost shrimp...

i just don't want to lose this one, he looks about as exotic/strange as any freshwater fish i've seen.

i'll try and post pics tonight

 

[tbonem91]

any chance you can find the scientific name out? that would be awesome - I tried looking at fishbase for "rockfish" but their site seems to keep dying...

 

[wright4lfe]

i'll get the scientific name either tonight or tomorrow afternoon

 

[Endgame319]

I saw some at the lfs recentely, do you know how big those things get?

 

[poikilotherm]

I believe "freshwater lionfish" are generally sculpins. A few are freshwater fish, many are brackish, and most are marine. Fishbase shows 403 Sculpins. Maybe "Freshwater sculpin", Cottus bairdii?

 

[wright4lfe]

i'm going to stop by tonight...he said it was freshwater and not brackish...

i know they get pretty big, 12-24in. thats why i got it. i have a 280gl on the way so i'm sure i'll have the room...

 

[wright4lfe]

just got off the phone with the lfs i bought it at...and this is the scientific name:

Allenbatrachus grunniens

i checked around and it appears to be a "grunting toadfish" and its brackish...any thoughts?

 

[TankGirl]

Okay, this is what Baensch has to say about them:

Batrachus grunniens-
Inactive predator that lies in wait for its victim, inhaling it with a strong current. They can only survive a few weeks in FW, successful maintenance demands SW, but it should be acclimated back to SW over the course of a week (commonly sold at LFS as a FW fish ) Provide hiding places. Live foods such as fish, shrimp and earthworms.

What do you think?

 

[wright4lfe]

i think i maybe taking him back...however, they've had one in a pure freshwater tank for 4 months now that is alive and kicking...so i may give it a little more thought...

thanks for the info tank girl

 

[TankGirl]

Well I am very interested in how it works out if you do choose to keep him - talk about oddball! Keep us posted.

 

[William]

i think i maybe taking him back...however, they've had one in a pure freshwater tank for 4 months now that is alive and kicking...so i may give it a little more thought...

thanks for the info tank girl

Is it the same one? or do they keep putting more in after the previous die..

 

[wright4lfe]

or do they keep putting more in after the previous die..

well, i'm in there at least once a week, usually twice. so if they are dieing often and replacing them, then they all look alike.

in all reality, they probably had a bit of luck with the monster in the freshwater tank and are trying to sell them based off of his performance.

 

[nick_schembri]

My friend just bought and lost 2 of those a couple of months ago. The hard bit is getting them to eat. But if you give them the saltier end of brackish water and plenty of live food they should thrive.
They are really cool because they have reduced and almost lost their swim bladder to be able to make grunting sounds.

 

[BrianNY]

I think there's a lesson to be learned here.

One should always research a species before buying it. Especially if the fish is an oddity and seldom seen for sale. Generally the reason is because the fish has requirements that the average hobbyist cannot provide. JMO

 

[ploughking]

I think I can get lionfish at my LFS but is it normal for them to float upside down at the top!!?!?!? Also at that same place they sell thousands of river shrimp at 5 pence each.

 

[poikilotherm]

I would like to suggest that if you take him back to the LFS, he may not receive the best care, and may die an long and osmotic death.

Perhaps if you could find it in your heart and wallet to give him a little brackish tank, he might be happier under your care than at the mercy of the shop or some other aquarist who cares less.

Just a thought from the point of view of the fish...

 

[patryuji]

Perhaps having it in freshwater is part of the problem with getting it to eat.

I've seen these at only one of the 10 LFS around here...looked very interesting.

 

[wright4lfe]

here in socal they were at 6 of the 7 i go to on any regular basis.

in any case, he will probably be going to a 20gl brackish tank that i'm going to set up tonight.

lucky him.