Animal-World > Marine - Saltwater Fish > Lionfish > Shortfin Lionfish

Shortfin LionfishDwarf Lionfish

Family: Scorpaenidae

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Dendrochirus brachypterus

     The Shortfin Lionfish or Dwarf Lionfish is one of the most personable marine fish! They get along well and are passive with other lions and other fish!

     The Shortfin Lionfish or Dwarf Lionfish rarely get over 6" and make a spectacular marine aquarium addition. They do have venomous spines, our motto is "Don't pet the fish"!

For more Information on keeping marine fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Marine Aquarium

Maintenance difficulty:      The Shortfin Lionfish or Dwarf Lionfish is easy to keep. Lionfish are among the hardiest of all marine fish. In the beginning though, make sure you have a reliable supplier of feeder fish.

Maintenance:      Feed live fish in the beginning, gradually enticing them to eat frozen of fresh foods such as silversides and lancefish. Other crustaceans and seafoods can also be tried.

Habitat: Natural geographic location:      Shortfin Lionfish or Dwarf Lionfish are found in the Indo-West Pacific: Red Sea and East Africa to Samoa and Tonga, north to southern Japan, south to Lord Howe Island; Mariana Islands in Micronesia; the Arafura Sea and Australia. Common in reef flats and shallow lagoons, in areas with weed-covered rocks on sandy substrates. Adults often found on sponges and juveniles are sometimes found in small aggregations on remote bommies with 10 or so individuals. Nocturnal. Feeds on small crustaceans.

Foods:      All kinds of small crustaceans comprise their diet in the wild. In the aquarium they can usually be enticed to eat small fish. It is not a good idea to feed them freshwater fish exclusively.

Social Behaviors:      Sociable and peaceful, can be considered a community fish as long as the tankmates are not small enough to eat!

Sex: Sexual differences:      Unknown.

Breeding/Reproduction:      See general breeding techniques in the Breeding Marine Fish page.

Light: Recommended light levels:      No special requirements.

Temperature:      No special requirements. Normal temperatures for marine fish is between 74 and 79 degrees fahrenheit.

Length/Diameter of fish:      Shortfin Lionfish or Dwarf Lionfish adults can grow to 17.0 cm (6.7 inches).

Minimum Tank Length/Size:      A minimum 30 gallon aquarium is recommended.

Water Movement: Weak, Moderate, Strong      No special requirements.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom      Will swim anywhere their prey takes them.

Availability:      This fish is generally readily available.

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Latest Comments
I just got a dwarf lionfish and I'm already in love with him. He's in a 30 gallon tank with a yellow tang, a picasso triggerfish, a clown triggerfish and a panther grouper. I love the way he watches and then boom! And the fish is gone. I would recommend this to anybody with a semi aggressive saltwater aquarium. some fish lover! 2009-11-01
Cool lionfish. I have one and his name is rodger, lol. dakota 2008-10-31
I've had my shortfin almost two weeks, cool fish, great eater, very social, squirts water out the top of the tank when we feed our other fish first! Ryan 2007-08-15
wow, i just bought one of these and i love to see him eat. how he stocks his prey and then bam! it's gone. definitely one of the best fishes i've ever had allan 2007-07-25
love my Dwarf Lionfish. He is the coolest fish I've ever had. laeeiq 2006-03-12
Some of the coolest comments:
"I just got a dwarf lionfish and I'm already in love with him. He's in a 30 gallon tank with a yellow tang, a picasso triggerfish, a clown triggerfish and a panther grouper. I love the way he watches and then boom! And the fish is gone. I would recommend this to anybody with a semi aggressive saltwater aquarium. some fish lover!" 2009-11-01 Your tank is way to over stocked for the fish you have. You need to do more research before just filling your tank up with whatever you please. They are living creatures try using better judgment with them. You should have at least a 75 gallon tank for those fish. They will most likely die soon if they are not dead already. Realistic reef keeper 2009-11-21

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