Lionfish? Clowns? Hawaiian dwarf moray eel?

[Carmal]

I plan on getting a 50 gallon tank and turning it into saltwater and I plan on getting clowns, would I be able to keep a lionfish and a dwarf moray with a pair of clownfish?

 

[lion king]

Theoretically yes, and we are talking a dwarf lion, correct . I say theoretically because for some odd reason I've met alot of clownfish people that can't keep a dwarf lion alive in their tank. My instincts says it has to do with feeding, so it is important that you understand the feeding requirements of a dwarf lion, and a fuzzy is the best candidate for success. The eel and the lion will need to be target fed, both can be tricky at the start. So research the feeding requirements of both and see if you are up to it. Could be a nice line up.

 

[Carmal]

Ok,so I CAN? Without he clowns being killed? I don’t want to buy clowns just for them to be a snack.

 

[lion king]

Ok,so I CAN? Without he clowns being killed? I don’t want to buy clowns just for them to be a snack.

It's all about size appropriate. The clowns need to be large enough so the dwarf lion can't eat them. The lion would have to be about double in size, and after a while on a dead diet; the lion will not put out the effort to hunt down the clowns. The lion will grow pretty quickly the first year, so you don't want a couple of itty bitty clowns. A large dwarf lion right from the ocean and a couple of itty bitty clowns will end badly, and there's always a chance no matter how well you plan. For the most part when a small dwarf lion is tank raised, they can be kept with many fish as long as they aren't too small and the lion is kept well fed.

 

[Carmal]

It's all about size appropriate. The clowns need to be large enough so the dwarf lion can't eat them. The lion would have to be about double in size, and after a while on a dead diet; the lion will not put out the effort to hunt down the clowns. The lion will grow pretty quickly the first year, so you don't want a couple of itty bitty clowns. A large dwarf lion right from the ocean and a couple of itty bitty clowns will end badly, and there's always a chance no matter how well you plan. For the most part when a small dwarf lion is tank raised, they can be kept with many fish as long as they aren't too small and the lion is kept well fed.

Ok, so have large clowns but a smaller lionfish?

 

[lion king]

Yes, and I'm not the clown fish expert, so you need to know how fast and big the variety of clowns you have will grow. I know that a 2" fuzzy lion well fed will grow to about 4" in about a year, then slow down dramatically. For the most part on a dead diet may only top out at about 5", although mine are larger but I feed a live diet. Clowns being more round than long I've seen people keep them with fuzzies with no issues.

 

[Brian1f1]

The dwarf moray is absolutely no threat to even a 1 inch clown. They are very small, not at all aggressive, and don’t even bother smallish shrimp that I’ve ever seen. I’d be more worried about a lion, even a big dwarf, taking out a small yet $400 dollar dwarf moray, tbh.

 

[lion king]

The dwarf moray is absolutely no threat to even a 1 inch clown. They are very small, not at all aggressive, and don’t even bother smallish shrimp that I’ve ever seen. I’d be more worried about a lion, even a big dwarf, taking out a small yet $400 dollar dwarf moray, tbh.

The lion fish is of no threat to the eel. The lion fish is a threat to a fish that can be gulped in one slurp, the body of the eel is too long for the way he eats. As an example, a 3" fuzzy would be a threat to a 2" dotty back but not to a 2" clown. The thin body shape of the dotty back makes it easy slurping, but the rolley polly body shape of the clown makes it more difficult. If you raise a small dwarf lion on dead food; although possible, he will be most likely not interested in chasing, stalking, and wrestling down something live. But an easy slurp, he would not pass it up, so shrimp will be out of the question, as well as a clown goby and the likes.

 

[Brian1f1]

You’re mostly correct, but a large dwarf lion could absolutely pose a threat to a small dwarf eel. I had three dwarf eels collected and direct shipped to me perhaps a decade ago, and one of them was little bigger than a night crawler earth worm, and not as long. It’s rare to get them that size, but I know it can happen.

TLDR if you order a dwarf moray online, and it’s not WYSIWYG, make sure it’s not a tiny juvenile before placing with any sort of predatory scorpion/lion fish.

The lion fish is of no threat to the eel. The lion fish is a threat to a fish that can be gulped in one slurp, the body of the eel is too long for the way he eats. As an example, a 3" fuzzy would be a threat to a 2" dotty back but not to a 2" clown. The thin body shape of the dotty back makes it easy slurping, but the rolley polly body shape of the clown makes it more difficult. If you raise a small dwarf lion on dead food; although possible, he will be most likely not interested in chasing, stalking, and wrestling down something live. But an easy slurp, he would not pass it up, so shrimp will be out of the question, as well as a clown goby and the likes.

 

[CaptianPaulie]

Yes, and I'm not the clown fish expert, so you need to know how fast and big the variety of clowns you have will grow. I know that a 2" fuzzy lion well fed will grow to about 4" in about a year, then slow down dramatically. For the most part on a dead diet may only top out at about 5", although mine are larger but I feed a live diet. Clowns being more round than long I've seen people keep them with fuzzies with no issues.

I noticed your name and how many posts you have and thought you might be the right person to ask a few questions if you dont mind. I have a 55 gallon fowlr tank and 2 weeks ago i bought my first lion fish, i believe its just a volitan lionfish about a month ago i upgraded my tank from a 20 gallon tank that did really well untill my black clown decided to start being a bully and killed the rest if my fish. So i decided to do an aggressive tank in the 55 i bought an undulated trigger not knowing that they are One of the most aggressive fish i could have gotten and i thought i would be able to figure out a tankmate for him in a lionfish but he tried going after it so i got rid of the trigger. I noticed some white spotting and now im worried the lionfish has ich. At the moment i only have my display tank, 2 freshwater tanks one with my daughters fish and one with goldfish that i did because i was bored. When i upgraded my tank i transfered the sand ( later found out i should have) my live rock ( also added some that dried up that i didnt use in my first tank because i bought too much and LFS wouldnt let me return it) i found out that was also a bad move and my water parameters shifted for the first time since i was in the hobby. I definitely should have been slower about the process but everything was fine so i thought i was good. I pulled the rock that dried up because many people were saying it might cycle my tank again so i put that live rock in a small 5 gallon tank with a heater and cheap filter to cure it untill i can put it back into my display tank. What i think i should do is put the live rock i was curing back into my display tank and make the small 5 gallon tank a quarantine tank with fresh saltwater but i heard you cant use copper to treat ich that lionfish have. So im very confused on what my plan of action should be. I had one LFS say i should raise the hest up to 88 degrees and the ich wont live and another LFS said i absoultely should not do that. I feel like i should get all the old sand out of my display tank and just leave the live rock only in it while i quarantine the lionfish in the 5 gallon for a month. I really dont want to fail at this and i thought younwould be a good person to ask for help. I would really appreciate your input. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the really long message i just think this is a hobby that you need to be very in depth when explaining your current situation.

 

[Bob Loblaw]

The dwarf moray is absolutely no threat to even a 1 inch clown. They are very small, not at all aggressive, and don’t even bother smallish shrimp that I’ve ever seen.

It's a Gymnothorax and, while small, it behaves like the genus. I had a pair that ate smaller gobies and firerish but would take bites out of fish that were too large to eat whole. Eels were spot fed a variety of frozen every couple of days which didn't wane aggression.

Zebra Dart after melatremus bite

 

[Brian1f1]

It's a Gymnothorax and, while small, it behaves like the genus. I had a pair that ate smaller gobies and firerish but would take bites out of fish that were too large to eat whole. Eels were spot fed a variety of frozen every couple of days which didn't wane aggression.

Zebra Dart after melatremus bite

Da mn! I had three for almost a decade and never had an ounce of aggression. As ever, Ymmv.