lionfish compatability

[teddy]

i am in the first stages of owning a saltwater aquarium (the research stage)
right now i am deciding on what type of fish to keep , i am interested in keeping lionfish as the main show piece in my tank, what other fish would be sutible as tank mates, preferrably something small and not to showy as to not take away from the lionfish, would a few clownfish be okay?? my tank size will probably be a 50-55gal tank.
oh yeah and does shape of the tank make a difference (long rectangle versus
tall corner tank) in keeping lionfish??
thanks for any help with these first questions to owning my first sw tank!!

owner of a 20gal community
3 dwarf gourami (beautiful)
2 angel fish
2 swordtails
5 neon tetras
1 pleco
1 apple snail

2gal beta and snail tank

3 horses, 1dog

[leveldrummer]

usually the longer tanks are better than the taller ones, think of how the fish swims, the tend to swim on horizontal plains in the water, the taller tanks are good. but you also run into trouble with oxygen exchange and such. but generally go for the longer tanks.

[flamingo]

If you have a smaller tank like 50 gallons You maybe able to get a volitans but kinda pushing it. I would really suggest a dwarf over anything. Dwarfs, dwarf fuzzies, fu manchu, any of the dwarfs would be okay in that tank.

Heres a dwarf fuzzy (my little guy lol):


Noot as spectacular as a volitans , but you can find some out there with stunning colors. I got mine from petco so not exactly the highest quality lol.

[Fishfirst]

Most clownfish would get eaten by many of the species of lionfish.
The fuzzy dwarf wouldn't be bad for a 50 gallon
volitans are a no no in that small of a tank
other dwarf species like the Fu Manchu lionfish would be acceptible as well
I would probably stick to larger dwarf angels, such as keyhole angelfish, larger wrasses, butterflyfish and gobies.

[teddy]

thanks for the replies, you know i think from what i am reading it might be best to get my experience with a smaller sw tank about 20-25gal with a few clown fish .after i have proven to be able to maintaine a smaller tank with easy going fish, then graduate up to a more involved larger tank , what do you think?
oh and that is a cute fuzzy!!

[leveldrummer]

actually, most recommend starting with the largest tank possible, and going with peacful, easy to keep fish, smaller fish allow more fish, and larger ones will usually eat smaller ones, so you really cant mix to well, so the more you have the more experiece you can gain, and the larger the tank, the harder it is for it to go out of balance quickly, in a 5 gallon tank, if 1 gallon of water evaporates over the course of a week, your left with 4 gallons of water, and 5 gallons worth of salt and nitrates, if you have a 200 gallon tank, and still only 1 gallon of water evaporates, well you see where im going. good luck.

[TheOldSalt]

In other words, you had it right the first time. Get a big tank, because in a big tank, your fish can survive your inevitable beginner mistakes while in a small tank they likely wouldn't.

[Fishfirst]

yep, and someday you can just switch to a lionfish and some other agressives.