All About the Dwarf Zebra Lionfish: A Complete Guide
- Nov 28, 2021
- Anshika Mishra
- 231 0 0
The Zebra Lionfish is also a Dwarf Lionfish which is great for smaller tanks. In this article, you will learn about everything you need to know about this peculiar fish and give it is the best aquarium life possible.
Prices: A little bit more expensive. You will normally pay about $80 to be one of these, mostly because they come from so far away and are absolutely beautiful fish.
Tank Size: At the beginning, you will see that these dwarf Lionfishes are just two-three inches long, so you need at least a 55-gallon tank to give it enough room. But, as it grows older, you will have to upgrade to a 120-gallon tank at least.
Care Level: Moderate. The main reason is just that getting them to eat can be so difficult at the beginning. It can be very stressful to start eating tank food. We'll talk more about it later on.
Temperament: They are semi-agressive fish. Now you are dealing with a very predatory fish. This fish will bully other fish, but it can also eat up the smaller fish.
Reef Safe: With Caution. It is not a problem with the coral, but with your cleanup crew. The rule is if anything fits in its mouth, it will chase it down and eat it one day. So, only add it to your reef tank if you have larger fish. Another issue to be concerned about is perching on different rocks that might have some corals on them, causing them to shrink up.
Origin: Eastern Asia
Venomous: Yes! It is a Lionfish, and the top spines are definitely where you can get stabbed by them that will inject you, and it can also inject a fish if that stabbed them. Be very cautious so, make sure you stay away from those top fins anytime you are in the tank. Now, a Lionfish is not the one that will charge you whenever you are in the tank, it is mainly when the fish is behind a rock or hidden, and you accidentally grab them.
Water Parameter
- Temperature: 72-78 degrees Fahrenheit
- dKH: 8-12
- pH: 8.1-8.5
- Salinity: 1.020-1.025
As they are a big eater, they definitely do make a mess in the tank. So, you have to stay on top of your water changes as you have this predatory fish in your tank.
Appearance
Maximum Size: This fish's size varies hugely. They can sometimes grow bigger than you thought, while the other times, they will stay smaller. Basically, growing from about 6-inches to 10-inches in that range will be about how big these zebra get by the end of his time.
Colors: It is a reddish-brown fish with white stripes going all the way up to its body and fin. It is a very pretty fish, especially under some white lights.
Diet
They are carnivore fish. They love eating anything meaty. So, you should try to get them on some frozen food you can get, like Frozen shrimp from the Grocery stores. You want to make sure that it is raw shrimp and not seasoned.
Off the bat, it might not want to go after the piece of a frozen shrimp. So, you might have to use a live shrimp dump in there for him. But, in the wild, they eat crummies and Damselfish. So, therefore, you eventually have to feed them some of those to get them to eat.
That's also another choice. But, the good thing is to check the best practice when feeding that live food is right after you have fed some live food; put that Skweres down, and he will basically trick himself into eating it as well.
Compatibility
You can keep multiple of these fishes in one tank along with different types of Lionfish. They do great together. They will just be hanging out, swimming around. You want to make sure that they are all eating really well.
Having multiple predatory fish like this in the tank will cause you to feed more and feed bigger food. So, as said before, you have to be on top of your water changes.
By putting them with another kind of fish. Remember, the rule of thumb is, if anything fits into its mouth, he will chase it down and eat it. So, only add bigger fishes like Tangs, Triggers, Angels, etc., with them in the tank.
In a nutshell, unless he views the other fish as his food, he will not mess with the other tankmates.
Customize the Tank
When building a tank for Lionfish or putting one in, you want to have some big caves and arches for them to perch on and hide behind, especially when they are first introduced. Most of the time, they stick to the back of a rock. But, eventually, they will start venturing out.
Also, keep some open space for swimming. You don't want to put them cramped up into a place where he can only perch. You should have some open room at the top and front of the tank.
We love hearing from you. Let us know if you have any questions in the comments below.
Happy Reefing!
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