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AMBUSHPREDATOR
03-26-2010, 09:14 AM
When I was thirteen I had a marine tank with a bunch of the standard fare for the time. One of the fish I purchased first was a red lionfish, they were often used as your first fish to cycle your tank when it was new.

To make a long story short after 3 years it ended up being about eight inches long and the only fish in the tank. At that time I had a paper route and the 30 dollars or so that I made per week was getting cut in half by the voracious appetite of my buddy. He'd eat $15 worth of feeders per week. About 150 feeders-sick !

I finally had had enough of the cost and not knowing what to do with him called the Staten Island zoo because I knew they had some large tanks. The person I got on the phone said theirs had jumped out the week before and said when they come to get him , if he's healthy they'll take him.

Two hours later they showed up with a five gallon bucket netted him , thanked me and were gone.

My father took my sons to the zoo last year and there was a huge lionfish in the tank, and a plaque that read lionfish - donated by citizen

Is it possible that that could be my fish, it would have been about thirty two years old.

I know it's highly unlikely but any info would be appreciated.

BlondeFishGal
03-26-2010, 12:47 PM
So the plaque may be a permanent fixture regardless of what lionfish is in the tank...AND... I have no clue whatsoever on how long they live and if it is yours ...BUT ...why not just be really happy and think that it surely is yours? That's what I would do! ;)

AMBUSHPREDATOR
03-26-2010, 01:09 PM
I'm with you on the plaque and doubt it is the fish but I would be cool to find out that they could definately live that long. I might even stop bye this year and ask some questions. It would be cool. Either way I'm happy about it.

BlondeFishGal
03-26-2010, 01:20 PM
I'm with you on the plaque and doubt it is the fish but I would be cool to find out that they could definately live that long. I might even stop bye this year and ask some questions. It would be cool. Either way I'm happy about it.

Yeah, even if not yours, it would appear that that fish of yours started a trend that a lionfish gets housed in that tank. Nice tradition!
:beerchug:

Anubias Design
03-29-2010, 10:22 PM
It wouldn't surprise me if it lived that long. I would certainly expect them to live for 20 years or more.
Mark

AMBUSHPREDATOR
03-29-2010, 10:44 PM
It wouldn't surprise me if it lived that long. I would certainly expect them to live for 20 years or more.
Mark

cool, I'm going to stop buy one day and ask some questions - thanks Mark

AMBUSHPREDATOR
03-30-2010, 09:14 AM
O.K. Just got off the phone with the main man from the aquarium part of the zoo. The lionfish in question is definately not mine , as it seems they are only living ten fifteen years on average there. He mentioned that they probably can live longer in nature on a more varied diet than they are given at the zoo. They are feeding frozen silversides squid and other bits .

The man was very nice and helpful , he's been there since seventy nine and I have no reason not to believe that fish is mine anymore :sad-smiley-002: :sad-smiley-002: :sad-smiley-002:. Ok I'm better now- thanks for reading and posting

emartin
03-30-2010, 03:28 PM
Too bad Jeff they didn't have Ocean Nutrition Formula One Medium sized pellets available when you were younger... At one of my LFS's they feed those pellets as the staple diet for their lion fish!

Would you have kept your lionfish in retrospect if there was a pellet available that the lionfish would eat?