Antennata lionfish

[SkillKing21]

I was planning on buying a antennata lionfish for my 75g community reef tank.I was wondering if this will be big enough.I was going to upgrade to a 133 gallon fish tank so I am wondering if i should wait for that or not get it at all.

 

[BestMomEver]

So far you’ve asked about a lion fish, trigger, grouper, shark and vlamingi tang. In a 75 gallon tank, you wouldn’t be able to keep any of those fish. You’re talking about large, open ocean fish that need lots of space. Please don’t consider a shark unless you plan on keep it in at least 500 gallons. Their anatomy requires that they swim constantly. A 75 gallon tank would almost be torturous for any of the fish you’ve asked about.

 

[SkillKing21]

So far you’ve asked about a lion fish, trigger, grouper, shark and vlamingi tang. In a 75 gallon tank, you wouldn’t be able to keep any of those fish. You’re talking about large, open ocean fish that need lots of space. Please don’t consider a shark unless you plan on keep it in at least 500 gallons. Their anatomy requires that they swim constantly. A 75 gallon tank would almost be torturous for any of the fish you’ve asked about.

I have i'm considering one next year a 500g

 

[SkillKing21]

I need to pick between fish only for reef Because It would cost a lot to switch between.Trying to make the right choice for me.

 

[lion king]

My antennata is happy in a 90g, which is the same footprint as a 75g, so I would say yes they can be happy in 75g reef, they'll just eat shrimp and smaller fish. If you do your research you will not find many with an antennata long term, I've had mine for 6 years. I would only recommend this fish to someone who is willing to feed live food at least once a week. They are difficult to get eating a dead diet, when they do it is usually short lived or limited. Lions like this many times come in with internal parasites because of eating diseased fish along transport, so an effective de=worming and parasite treatment is highly recommended.

 

[BestMomEver]

Gotcha.... it seems I haven’t “met” you yet! I’ll extend a personal welcome! You’ll find that most people here are more than willing to help if you need it. If I could make a suggestion.... when you start multiple threads with nearly the same verbiage (except for fish species) it makes some people suspicious. I appreciate your explanation. It helps. But you did mention trying to keep a grouper in a smallish tank, so I (and maybe others) thought you were planning on putting all those fish in the same small space. Just food for thought.... again, welcome to the reef!

 

[SkillKing21]

Haha!I thought about asking the grouper question because I thought it was very odd that some online fish stores say its "ok" for a grouper to be put in a 50g.

 

[SkillKing21]

My antennata is happy in a 90g, which is the same footprint as a 75g, so I would say yes they can be happy in 75g reef, they'll just eat shrimp and smaller fish. If you do your research you will not find many with an antennata long term, I've had mine for 6 years. I would only recommend this fish to someone who is willing to feed live food at least once a week. They are difficult to get eating a dead diet, when they do it is usually short lived or limited. Lions like this many times come in with internal parasites because of eating diseased fish along transport, so an effective de=worming and parasite treatment is highly recommended.

Beautiful lion fish there mate.

 

[Goodair]

Lions like this many times come in with internal parasites because of eating diseased fish along transport, so an effective de=worming and parasite treatment is highly recommended.

How do you recommend doing this?

 

[lion king]

How do you recommend doing this?

Start them off in a qt/observation tank, to treat for internal parasites and get them eating. The small/medium lions many times have challenges to eat anything but live. If you are going to put him in a community tank, youll likely try to get him to eat dead food. This is not always successful, so you must be ok to feed live foods, sometimes for their entire life, 10 years or more.

Treatment for lions eating live only, API General Cure in the water column, follow instructions on the package. Or if eating dead food, prazi pro in the water column and metroplex/focus in the food. If you dont do this, there is a very slim chance they will survive, these guys eat dying and diseased fish along transport and pretty much always come in sith internal parasites. Small lions get a pass sometimes because they have likely been fed brine shrimp, ghosties, or guppies. But the small ones have their own challenges.