General
You must pay careful attention when netting these fish and when cleaning their tank. They have venom in their dorsal rays and speaking from experience, it can be very painful. There is also a risk of an allergic reaction, so exercise extreme care. Due to their venom, I would not recommend Lionfish for a child’s tank or the beginner fish keeper. They do not tolerate metal based or dye type medications. (copper sulphate, malachite green).

Feeding/Diet
Lionfish are ambush predators, waiting for prey to pass by and then swallowing it whole. They can be trained to eat frozen, freeze-dried, or prepared foods. (Frozen Krill, Plankton, Silversides.)  A diet of feeder goldfish is not adequate.

Compatibility
Good tank mates would include suitably sized angelfish, eels, groupers, squirrelfish, tangs, and wrasses.

Habitat
These are big messy eaters, so significant biological filtration is required. Strong protein skimming and use of activate carbon is also recommended to keep their water clear. A 75-gallon tank should be considered the minimum for the larger lionfish, Pterois species. The dwarfs, Dendrochirus species, could be kept in a 55-gallon tank. Since these are what are called a scaleless fish, the use of purified water would be beneficial to their overall health and coloration.

Advanced Care
Fu Manchu Lionfish (Dendrochirus biocellatus)
Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus)
Zebra Dwarf Lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra)
Antenna Lionfish (Pterois antennata)
Radiant Lionfish (Pterois radiata)
Red Volitan Lionfish (Pterois russelli)
Hawaiian Lionfish (Pterois sphex)
Volitan Lionfish (Pterois volitans)

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