ID this lion fish

[witecap4u]

I think its a volitan but the guy at the store said it's a dwarf.
http://home.austin.rr.com/twad/Lion.jpg

cs

[BA]

well it definetely NOT a dwarf...i don't think it's a volitan it might be a Russell's lionfish which is similar to the volitan, but does not have spots on it's doral,anal, and tail fins...also has no bands on the dorsal spines..can u get another pic of it's body???kinda hard with those big wings..lol..i have a big volitan and love it, i'm sure u'll love this fish for a long long time...

[BA]

oops....sry it is DEFINETLY a russell's lionfish, nice find, how big is he now???they get to be big boys(11-12 inches)...he'll be an awesome show fish...

[witecap4u]

He's about 4-5"

I have a couple more pics at home, that I can post too. I also have a video of him taking out a ghost shrimp, that im going to try to slow down, cause right now all you can see is him swimming up, and then the shrimp dissappears..hehe

[eleyan]

BA, I thought russell's was more tan color. This looks like a red volitan to me.

[BA]

nah...russells just like volitans can come in a typical tan color,blackish,redish....many different colors...but it is definetely not a volitan...volitans-on their doral,anal, and TAIL fin have spots...this lionfish has clear fins which means that is a Russells lionfish...the tan color is typical of a juvienile russells lionfish..as they grow older it will gain a more rustic look...
here is an image of my volitan, bad picture but you can clearly see the dorsal and tail fins both having the spots.. http://www.maast.org/modules.php?set_albumName=BA&id=lionfish&op=modloa d&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php
also whitecap...very pretty lionfish.. ya he'll grow up real quick, have u tried to ween him onto frozen food yet???i feed mine reg ocean shrimp from HEB, u you get them too, make sure they are the ocean ones and not farm raised...

[BA]

oops picture didn't work...well its the only pic in my gallery on the 10 page

[witecap4u]

I just got him on Sunday, and fed him for the first time last night. All I could get where I live was some ghost shrimp, but I did put some frozen krill in there too, and he would look at them, but realized they were dead, and let them float..

cs

[BA]

lol ya they do that for a while...just look at them...try getting the reg. small air tubing and sticking the krill inside of it, dangle it in front of the lion kinda jiggle it around, and then on the opp. end outside the water blow on it, and it will shoot at the lion, this method has worked for me on lions,stonefish,scorpionfish, and toadfish..they seem to want it to move suddenly so they can catch it, eventually it will reconize the krill as food, and you can just drop it in there and he will get it while it is dropping to the bottom...then when he gets bigger try shrimp...

[BA]

update on this guy?

[witecap4u]

He's doing good, will eat anything moving in the tank. I havnt tried the airline trick for feeding frozen yet, but probably in a week or two, after he gets settled in a little more. Other than that, he's doing great, and his coloring is awesome. The stripes on his fins have a pinkish/purpleish tint to them, which is really cool. I'll probably break out the camera tomorrow when I get some time, and post more pics..

cs