The Volitan Lionfish, Pterois volitans, also known as just the Lionfish, Red Firefish, Turkeyfish, and Butterfly Cod, is a beautifully colored solitary species. It features vertical stripes along its red/burgundy/white body with large pectoral fins. Being one of the larger bodied Lionfish, it will surely become a centerpiece to your reef aquarium.

It will spend much of its time hiding in caves during the daylight but as dusk and dawn will come out and show off.  The Volitan Lionfish can grow up to 15 inches and should be kept in a tank no less than 120 gallons. We advise you to keep plenty of live rock in your tanks giving it a place to retreat to, as well as open space for the Lionfish to spread out and swim. Keeping multiple Lionfish in one tank should be approached with caution, if doing so a larger tank is needed and the Lionfish should be similar in size and added at the same time to avoid aggression. The Volitan Lionfish is venomous so caution is advised when handling it, as it’s pectoral spine packs a punch that resembles a bee sting.

They will do perfectly fine with other fish of similar size or larger and can be a very peaceful community fish when kept with the correct tank mates like Groupers, Triggers, Larger Angelfish and Rabbitfish. However, as a natural predator, the Volitan Lionfish will eat smaller fish, shrimp, and crustaceans so these should not be paired together.

The Volitan Lionfish should be fed a carnivorous diet, but when first introduced to the tank, it may be difficult to get them to eat. You can offer foods like live saltwater feeder Shrimp or smaller saltwater feeder fish to entice he Lionfish to eat. Once fully acclimated and comfortable with it’s new environment, you want to get the Lionfish used to eating frozen foods. Once you get your Lionfish eating frozen foods, they will need a variety of different meaty foods like: large Mysis shrimp, chunks of fresh, uncooked table Shrimp, Prawns, frozen Silversides, and pieces of frozen Squid and Krill. If kept with the proper tank mates (other aggressive fish) the Volitan Lionfish will be hardy and a great fish to care for. They will thrive in a temperature range of 72-78° F and a pH of 8.1-8.4.

NOTE: As per the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation, we are not permitted to ship any Lionfish to the state of Florida.