Rescued Lionfish.... Need help setting up his home

[Gaines69]

I recently rescued/adopted a lionfish. I brought Scar home in a five gallon bucket three days ago. I wasn't quiet ready but I am trying my best. I have added live sand as well as live rock to my aquarium. I purchased enough Pacific Ocean Water to fill the tank. I also purchased liquid bacteria to "seed" the tank quickly. I have the filter going as well as a heater. Salinity looks good. My biggest concern is how soon I can put Scar in his new home. I am going to take a water sample to be tested tomorrow and if all looks good I am hoping I can add him then. I'm not sure how long he can stay in the bucket with an airstone. I plan on adding the water that is in the bucket to the tank becasue it came from the tank he was in. Any suggestions on the best way to introduce him to the new tank and how soon can I do it?

 

[Shep]

@Lionfish Lair should be able to get to squared away

 

[Gaines69]

I recently rescued/adopted a lionfish. I brought Scar home in a five gallon bucket three days ago. I wasn't quiet ready but I am trying my best. I have added live sand as well as live rock to my aquarium. I purchased enough Pacific Ocean Water to fill the tank. I also purchased liquid bacteria to "seed" the tank quickly. I have the filter going as well as a heater. Salinity looks good. My biggest concern is how soon I can put Scar in his new home. I am going to take a water sample to be tested tomorrow and if all looks good I am hoping I can add him then. I'm not sure how long he can stay in the bucket with an airstone. I plan on adding the water that is in the bucket to the tank becasue it came from the tank he was in. Any suggestions on the best way to introduce him to the new tank and how soon can I do it?

 

[Gaines69]

Here is Scar is in his temporary home....

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Ohhhh.... that's a bit of a hurried mess you have on your hands there and no matter which path you go, it won't be ideal. This isn't a lionfish issue as much as it's a "brought a fish home without a tank to put it in" issue.

Are you changing the water in the 5-gallon? You need to be.... aggressively. Are you using ammonia blocker type products? You need to be. The display won't be ready until it cycles and you'll know that through testing the water. What kind of lion are we talking? Can I see a picture of them in the bucket?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I was asking for the picture as you were posting. This is a hard situation because that's a hefty fish. You need to test the display with a little bit of shrimp or silverside for a few days, to see if it can handle it. You'll have to do frequent water changes in that bucket and as I said, use ammonia blockers. Don't feed him. How big is the display?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

What kind of liquid bacteria did you use?

 

[Gaines69]

Ohhhh.... that's a bit of a hurried mess you have on your hands there and no matter which path you go, it won't be ideal. This isn't a lionfish issue as much as it's a "brought a fish home without a tank to put it in" issue.

Are you changing the water in the 5-gallon? You need to be.... aggressively. Are you using ammonia blocker type products? You need to be. The display won't be ready until it cycles and you'll know that through testing the water. What kind of lion are we talking? Can I see a picture of them in the bucket?

I had the filter on the bucket as well as the live rock and an air stone (I still have the air stone in the bucket) until a few hours ago. And yes I changed out the water ( not all of it) . I already had the tank, filter etc. I just didnt have the live sand etc. My need to get him out of the bucket is the reason I purchased the Pacific Ocean Water and the liquid "seeding" bacteria. I was told that that was the best way to cycle the tank quickly.

 

[Gaines69]

I was asking for the picture as you were posting. This is a hard situation because that's a hefty fish. You need to test the display with a little bit of shrimp or silverside for a few days, to see if it can handle it. You'll have to do frequent water changes in that bucket and as I said, use ammonia blockers. Don't feed him. How big is the display?

Display is 30 gal cube. (same size tank he came from) The liquid bacteria is Seed Bacteria by aquavitro. I know the tank is small but he needed a home and I was the only person willing to take him. I do have a 50 gallon filter on the tank.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

#reefsquad what do y'all think of that bacteria? I'm not familiar with quick cycles at this point. It's been some time. @Humblefish @melypr1985 ?

 

[melypr1985]

#reefsquad what do y'all think of that bacteria? I'm not familiar with quick cycles at this point. It's been some time. @Humblefish @melypr1985 ?

It's a good product but the bacteria is dormant inside the bottle. It takes a while (a week or so) to become live and start doing any work. Frequent water changes will be needed at first until the bacteria can start doing it's work.

 

[Gaines69]

Does having live rock and live sand help at all? I know the directions on the bottle say I have to add some every day for a week. I was also told that adding the water in the bucket that came from his previous tank would be good to add too because it would have some bacteria. Is that a good idea? For water changes should I get more of the pacific ocean water or can I use distilled water and salt crystals? Sorry to be asking so many questions. I jut want to do this the best way

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Don't add that old water to the display. Before your display is ready you'll be needing to do frequent water changes on that bucket.

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Where did that live rock come from? What kind of setup?

 

[melypr1985]

Does having live rock and live sand help at all? I know the directions on the bottle say I have to add some every day for a week. I was also told that adding the water in the bucket that came from his previous tank would be good to add too because it would have some bacteria. Is that a good idea? For water changes should I get more of the pacific ocean water or can I use distilled water and salt crystals? Sorry to be asking so many questions. I jut want to do this the best way

don't add the water from the bucket, it won't help at all. Live sand and live rock will help quite a bit, but adding the bacteria is a good idea as well. You can used distilled water and salt mix - that's fine.
I agree with lionfish lair, lots of very frequent water changes on the water in that bucket.

 

[Gaines69]

Where did that live rock come from? What kind of setup?

Live rock came from a local pet store. It was in their tanks with fish. I picked from two different tanks in the store. I believe all of their tanks are on the same filter system.

 

[Gaines69]

don't add the water from the bucket, it won't help at all. Live sand and live rock will help quite a bit, but adding the bacteria is a good idea as well. You can used distilled water and salt mix - that's fine.
I agree with lionfish lair, lots of very frequent water changes on the water in that bucket.

How much of the water should I change out in that bucket. Would it help if I purchased a small filter to put in the bucket until I can get him moved?

 

[domination2580]

The bacteria will help and the live sand and rock will do the trick but I don't think it will be enough of a trick to compete with the ammonia that guy is going to give off....I would personally have some things on hand before even thinking of putting it in the dt. I would have prime....a ammonia blocker I have used multiple times and seems to have done the trick, I would also have an extra bottle of bacteria, I personally use bio spira. I have started all but my first tank with it and did tremendously well. I would also have a good supply of salt on hand for the immediate water changes your going to be doing as well as an ammonia badge to monitor the ammonia. I personally would not add to much food to the tank as most of the time live rock has either bacteria but also some sort of decaying matter even if just some old food from the fish store.

 

[Gaines69]

The bacteria will help and the live sand and rock will do the trick but I don't think it will be enough of a trick to compete with the ammonia that guy is going to give off....I would personally have some things on hand before even thinking of putting it in the dt. I would have prime....a ammonia blocker I have used multiple times and seems to have done the trick, I would also have an extra bottle of bacteria, I personally use bio spira. I have started all but my first tank with it and did tremendously well. I would also have a good supply of salt on hand for the immediate water changes your going to be doing as well as an ammonia badge to monitor the ammonia. I personally would not add to much food to the tank as most of the time live rock has either bacteria but also some sort of decaying matter even if just some old food from the fish store.

 

[Gaines69]

I will pick up prime and an ammonia badge tomorrow morning. I always used prime with my fresh water tanks and loved it. The live sand came with a packet of bio-magnet clarifier. Should I add that to the dt as well? The water is pretty clear. If I put a small filter on the bucket will I still need to do water changes all the time? And what percentage of water should I change in the bucket and should I do water changes daily?