Fu Manchu/twin Spot Lionfish In A Nano Tank

[Rambo]

hiya,

i'm looking to set up a nano tank for a fu manchu lionfish (max length 4 inches)

the tank i'm thinking of getting is a brand new range, around 120 litres/26 UK gallons, high tech skimmer, flow jets and the like, basically all self contained, i think it has T5 lights as well

can someone please tell me whats compatible with it and what's the ideal food, plus average life expectancy?

i'm thinking of around 10-15 kilos of live rock, some mushrooms, feeding on ghost/river shrimp and trying to wean it onto either frozen shrimp or mussels/whitebait and suchlike

would a large clown or two be ok? i know small ones'll probs get munched if its a big lionfish

any help would be appreciated

cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, Tomato, Clarkii, and Skunk clownfish get a little bigger than your average ocellaris/percula, they might be good candidates

 

[Lynden]

The only real concern here I can see is feeding. Fu Manchus tend to be more difficult than other lionfish to feed. If you have a steady supply of gut loaded ghost shrimp, go for it, but be prepared to have to provide for a while. Healthy freshwater feeders (but not cyprinids, in my opinion) can be used, but you need to wean the lion off as soon as possible. I have an, er... abundance of baby pink convict cichlids and am seriously considering the addition of a lionfish into my 20 gallon reef. This tank is a little small but should be OK especially for a Fu Manchu or small specimen of the other dwarfs.

Just so you know all the normal clean up crew members should be compatible with the lion. Be sure to have plenty of caves especially if you have very bright lighting.

 

[andywg]

Any regular feeding with FW fish must be discouraged. The make up of fats and such in the body is very different between FW and SW fish (Advanced Aquarist did a feature on it a while back). Such continued feeding is believed to be the cause of fatty liver depoists found in aquarium housed fish.

Far better is gut loaded shrimp, especially as fish do not feature very much (if at all) in the natural diet of these fish.

I will echo Lynden's concerns on feeding, Dendrochirus biocellatus is one of the harder lions to get to feed. If you go for it, start off with about half of the live rock and work on getting the lion feeding. With less rock it is easier to find the fish. Then once it is feeding well slowly add the extra rock and then consider adding the clowns. You will ideally be adding fish more than 2" in length to prevent them becoming lionfish food.

 

[Lynden]

Yes but a small amount at first to get the lion feeding should be acceptable. Apparently livebearers, while still not recommended long-term, are much better than cyprinids for this purpose.

 

[Rambo]

heya, thanx for the adivce


i have easy access to an abundant supply of ghost shrimp from my LFS, they always have some and i can probs gutpack them on either marine flake or other frozen food if possible, as well as trying to wean the fu manchu onto frozen while it is still at the shop, as i get on very well with the owners etc

i was rthinking of getting rid of my existing goldfish tank and a spare one in my garage to make space/funds for the new marine one, and was thinking of setting it up with about 5-10kg of liverock/live sand etc asap, then adding a pair of perc clowns that are about 2" or so

then i would probs get the fu manchu once everything had settled down and was cycled etc.

can u please clarify what u mean by cleaner crew? i wasn't sure if turbo/turban snails and mithrax crabs would be ok or not, i know that pretty much any shrimps in there will get munched by the fu manchu

if anyone has any experience of keeping fu manchu with anything i would greatly appreciate any advice

thanx once again

 

[Lynden]

Clean up crew is just the animals one adds to complete the in-tank ecosystem; they typically consist of hermit crabs and snails. The lion most likely won't eat either, but true crabs and shrimps are often eaten. Not always, but often.

 

[Rambo]

cheers,

i was under the impression that crabs would get munched, and i was never to keen on the snails, as everyone at my LFS has had far better long term results with mithrax/green emerald crabs, which may be a stockist thing, and i wasn't sure how effective hermits would be

also, would the rabs, both 'real' and hermit, be ok with the fu manchu? i'v heard different things from differnet people. so any clarification would be much appreciated

 

[Lynden]

True crabs form a part of dwarf lionfish diet in the wild, so they may be eaten. Hermits should be fine.