What are good lionfish tankmates?

[dave green]

I'm starting to plan for a 125 in-wall. I'm thinking fowlr for maintenance reasons, which means that lionfish are in the discussion.

Lots of talk about what to avoid, but not much about what *good* tankmates are for lionfish... including a cleanup crew.

Ideas? I'm thinking along the lines of puffer, niger trigger and Harlequin tusk. I *think* the niger is a plankton eater, but I'm not sure.

 

[reeferman]

i have a fuzzy dwarf,huma huma,porcupine puffer,and snowflake eel with no problems.the cuc is pretty small,just an urchin and 2 really big turbos,they are too big for their mouths so we'll see when they get bigger if thats a problem.they dont even get close to the urchin,oh yeah,just threw in some asterinas out of reef tank

 

[drnecropolis]

Silversides would be good tankmates..

 

[rockdog]

for a little while LOL

JJ

 

[ichthyoid]

DrNecropolis;456688 wrote: Silversides would be good tankmates..

I saw non-native Volitans on Eleuthera in the Bahamas that had obviously been stuffing themselves on the silverside shoals, some were 12+ inches long!

 

[budsreef]

I had a One-spot Foxface in with mine when I was keeping them in a 65G.

 

[rolo65]

Pretty much anything they can't fit in their mouth...Nigers are like BlueJaws.....reef safe *with caution*....go with a Titan trigger.....those are always cool

 

[rolo65]

They actually had a Titan at optimum the other day too...

 

[drnecropolis]

Titans are named "Titan" for a very good reason.. Might have something to do with them getting huge.. And they are nasty enough to put undulates and queens in their place.. Bad choice for the home unless you have a ginormic tank..

 

[trigger-happy]

Can't speak for others and YMMV, but the lionfish I've experienced aren't really "aggressive" at all. I mean, they'll eat anything they can get their mouths around (unless it's a bullying little damsel), generally, but they're not aggressive in the way that puffers and triggers and such seem to be.

In fact, if we're talking about temperament rather than appetite, I'd say that most lionfish I've known are downright timid, passive critters.

My SO's triggers and puffer will occasionally nip at a trailing fin, but the Volitans doesn't retaliate, he just tucks his fins in and scuttles over to a nice, quiet corner where they'll leave him alone.

If you've got the tank for it, those three you listed don't sound half bad. My Niger's a little sweetheart, similar personality to a Lionfish - a voracious eater, but by no means a bully. My SO and I've had the worst luck with Harlequin Tusks - for all their showy fangs, they seem to be timid and easily bullied, so they might actually do well with your fish instead of with more aggressive triggers and puffers like we had ours with.

tl;dr version: Nothing too bully-ish, anything too big for it to eat, and remember that they grow FAST, so what it can't eat today, it might just manage in a month's time!

 

[dave green]

My main concern is figuring out what fish won't mess with a lion... I've heard that since the niger trigger is 'planktonic,' it doesn't go after other fish (not really sure what planktonic means... just eats planktons?).

I hadn't thought about really big snails. That could help with a cleanup crew type situation.

Including a lion definitely draws a line in the live sand, huh?

 

[smoothie]

Harlequin tusk wrasse would be my vote

 

[drnecropolis]

Niger triggers eat more than plankton.. The 5" one I used to have would eat pretty much anything he could get.. Loved chopped silversides,mysis,clam.. Hell it would even eat nori..

 

[trigger-happy]

Website Dave;457046 wrote: My main concern is figuring out what fish won't mess with a lion... I've heard that since the niger trigger is 'planktonic,' it doesn't go after other fish (not really sure what planktonic means... just eats planktons?).

I hadn't thought about really big snails. That could help with a cleanup crew type situation.

Including a lion definitely draws a line in the live sand, huh?

Nigers eat plankton in the wild, yes, but "plankton" is an enormous category. Krill, for example, are technically plankton, and they're almost as big as the shrimp we humans eat. Mine eats krill and mysis, and occasionally (once every couple weeks) gets ghost shrimp, a rosy red minnow, or a crayfish to chase around the tank as a special treat.

So yeah, a Niger trigger can and possibly will eat any crustaceans or small fish in your tank. In fact, things that might be too big for your lionfish to eat might get eaten by your Niger - lionfish gulp their prey, so they'll eat things small enough to fit in their mouths, but a Niger trigger is a biting fish that can take chunks out of even larger critters.

 

[drnecropolis]

trigger-happy;457074 wrote: Nigers eat plankton in the wild, yes, but "plankton" is an enormous category. Krill, for example, are technically plankton, and they're almost as big as the shrimp we humans eat. Mine eats krill and mysis, and occasionally (once every couple weeks) gets ghost shrimp, a rosy red minnow, or a crayfish to chase around the tank as a special treat.

So yeah, a Niger trigger can and possibly will eat any crustaceans or small fish in your tank. In fact, things that might be too big for your lionfish to eat might get eaten by your Niger - lionfish gulp their prey, so they'll eat things small enough to fit in their mouths, but a Niger trigger is a biting fish that can take chunks out of even larger critters.

Yup.. One of the favorite things for most triggers is to attack the eyes of other fish.. Guess it boils down to its easier to attack bigger fish if they can't see you coming..

 

[trigger-happy]

DrNecropolis;457076 wrote: Yup.. One of the favorite things for most triggers is to attack the eyes of other fish.. Guess it boils down to its easier to attack bigger fish if they can't see you coming..

Proof positive: There's a massive, gorgeous Annularis Angel at one of the LFS in Athens. A Niger trigger less than half his size took a whack at the angel's poor eye, now his eye's all lumpy with scar tissue. And this species is considered one of the most "passive" triggers!

 

[myvwrock]

I had a small Lion , and I had him my reef tank , I had clowns and tangs, etc... although i never had any shrimp. Lions can go with any thing ,just as long as the fish can't fit in their mouth.
chirs

 

[dave green]

@Andre - yes, this will be going in the shop. We're going to build the wall separating the salon and the office to go around it once we finish these lease renegotiating reindeer games with the landlord.

Lots of stuff to think about.