How to get a Lion to eat???

[rdefino]

I have just gotten a new Lion and he won't eat anything but ghost shrimp. He went a week without eating until tonight I put in a few ghost shrimp and he ate them. I tried feeding him krill, clams and jumbo sticks. He gets a little excited when the other fish eat, but he won't. Any ideas or tricks to get him to eat other stuff than live food?

Thanks for any help

 

[Fluff]

Get a feeding stick. This way you can wave the food around in front of him. He'll think it's live and snatch it up. It usually doesn't take long for them to get the hang of it. Hungry is a good teacher.

 

[specialk]

Try the feeding stick & get some frozen silversides than wiggle it in front of the lion, I have also used a nori clip with a frozen silverside in it & let it wiggle in the flow.

Kaye

 

[rdefino]

Thanks for the advice. Now when you say feeding stick, I have a pair of long tweezers. Will that work. Also I have tried wiggling the clams around and he doesn't budge.

 

[specialk]

A feeding stick is a clear plastic rod that you can use, they are about $1.50 at LFS around here. Tongs can be used but it could scare the fish especially when you are first trying to get it to frozen. I have always started mine off with frozen silversides than moved them to krill and different chunks of food.


Kaye

 

[Fluff]

My lion won't touch clams. He loves fresh raw shrimp, silversides like mentioned already, freeze dried krill and will even eat flake food from the surface. Try to find the clear feeding stick. After a while your lion will see you as the food source and you could use anything, but for training, the feeding stick works great.

Here is a link to one from one of the site sponsor.

http://www.aquariumguys.com/feedingprong.html

 

[Edmonton Eskimo]

Just make sure you don't break down and feed him live foods again or you will ruin all the progress you've made. Be patient and ya hungry is a good teacher.

 

[rdefino]

Well, he still hasn't eaten yet. It's been longer than a week. I've tried the clear feeding stick, krill, clam, jumbo sticks, still nothing. He dosen't show interest, but just doesn't eat. Will he just die or will he eat? I don't know what to do now.

Thanks

 

[Fluff]

I don't like suggesting live food but maybe offering him some live ghost shrimp will trigger a feeding response. Also, did you try adding garlic to the food? Garlic juice is supposed to be an appetite stimulant.

 

[Hara]

I don't see shrimp on the list of things you tried. You might give that a shot. As far as a feeding stick. I use a coathanger that has been straightened. The "curled end" tends to hold the food nicely. Just be sure to only put the food at the very tip though.

 

[Fluff]

^ True.
You also didn't mention if you tried silversides.

 

[specialk]

Keep trying to feed the frozen, I would try the shrimp and frozen Silversides (you can get them at most LFS), I have never let mine go more than 3 weeks with out food but I think the most they can go is 5 weeks.
I started all my lions off on Frozen silversides and dont worry about the different foods once they eat they seem to just eat about any thing. So when it does start on frozen look at all the foods you will have...

Kaye