Maximum Length: 4"

Origin: Indo-Pacific

Minimum tank size:  30 gallon

Behavior: It is a secretive species that spends the daytime hours hanging upside down in deeper crevices and caves. Adult twinspot lionfish will eat smaller members of their own species and larger specimens (presumably males) will behave aggressively toward conspecifics. When displaying the fan-like pectoral fins are extended forward, the dorsal spines are erected and the body quivers. Smaller individuals will usually flee when a larger individual display, but threats may escalate into fighting if both fish are similar in size and one specimen does not back down. In this case biting and dorsal fin jabbing may occur, which can result in torn fins, scale loss, damaged eyes and even death if the fish are not separated. If you keep more than one twinspot lionfish in a larger aquarium (e.g., 70 gallons or more) they will usually avoid each other, but in smaller aquaria dominant specimens often stalk and injure subordinate conspecifics

Feeding and diet: Hunts small fishes, shrimps, and crabs at night, using its widespread pectorals trapping prey into a corner, stunning it and then swallowing it in one sweep. The best diet you can provide for D. biocellatus are ghost shrimp. You should gut pack these (feed them a nutritious flake or frozen food) before you feed them to you twin spot lionfish.

Reef Compatibility:  Lionfish are not particularly well suited for reef aquariums. Since they are big eaters, they produce a lot of waste. This makes it more difficult to maintain pristine water conditions and keep the nitrate level low. They can be rather hard on your population of shrimp and other crustaceans as well. These fish are peaceful. They are happy to get along with most anything; they just see small fish and crustaceans as food rather than friends. Lionfish are predators and you can expect them to act as such in your aquarium. Do not house them with small crabs, shrimp or fish half their size.

Cautions: Dorsal Spines are venomous and extreme care should be taken when handling or cleaning tank. Avoid using freshwater fish such as goldfish as a mainstay in their diet. This food is nutritionally deficient for lionfish. An improper diet causes fatty-liver degeneration and overfeeding can cause the fish to become impacted. You can kill a lionfish with kindness by overfeeding them.

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