feeding zebra lionfish

[SeymourJives]

heylo everyone.

i just got a dwarf zebra lionfish from doctor fosters and smith a few days ago.

just to keep it alive and healthy i am feeding it live feeder guppies for now, but i have also been trying hard to get it to eat prepared food like silversides and krill. however, i put a dozen guppies in the tank and he only ate two of them. today when i put a half dozen in he is not even budging from the rock he is perched on. i'd really like to try ghost shrimp but it seems my local shops only have unhealthy ghost shrimp.

i have a transparent feeding stick and i have been trying to feed it silversides and krill. i also am using seachems garlic guard to entice it's appetite and it seems to have no interest.

anyone have any recommendations on what to feed and how to feed a dwarf lion? i've had them before...my last one i just fed guppies to and it loved them. really would like to try to get him some non living food though.

 

[melosu58]

I`ve heard you dont want to feed it live FW fish. I cant remember why but I heard it before.

 

[gzeiger]

You're looking for this article:

Live Fish As Food - Nutritional Value & Concerns - MonsterFishKeepers.com

 

[ezy33]

I have a Fu Manchu Lionfish so I know what you are up against. Try Silver Sides on the feeder stick and move it like it's alive. While live feeders are not the best IMO guppies are better than carp. I would wait for 3 days then offer a Silver Side, if he shows no interest try again the next day. If he didn't take one then give him a feeder and start over again. I feed mine one large or 2 small Silver Sides every 2 to 3 days. Hopefully you can wean him off live feeders. Good luck.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Reason you dont want to feed it live FW is because they are high in a fat that will eventually damage there livers... or so ive been told...

If your brave enough to try...(the way i do it..) Mine will eat silversides from my hand.. just wiggle it infront of him. The feeder stick is pointless.. i swear they can see them. He will get comfortable around you enough to see you comin and get ready to eat. Mine will see me and hit the top of the tank.

Also you only want to feed them every other day... (i feed mine every day.. about 2 silversides.)... and lastly.. they are also primarially nocturnal. So the first few weeks.. he is trying to adjust to whats going on. Just give him time.. he will perk up.


I also will throw in a live swimmer every now and again.. to give him the thrill of the chase... a big nono from what ive been told... but he has no problems going back to silversides...

IF You need to feed him freshwater fish.. (expensive yes.. but still better than nothing...) get mollys. They are found in both salt and fresh water. They also will live in the salt water for a couple days without acclimation.. (although mine lasted over 3 months >.<... till he ate them xD)

 

[SeymourJives]

yeah i definitely knew that feeder gold fish were bad, i was never even going to do that. its unfortunate, the feeder ghost shrimp at my LFS look like completely crap.

i was thinking they could see the feeding stick too!! i'll try my fingers next time. i just hope he doesn't go hungry until he finally gets some food. thanks a lot!

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

I feed mine an occasional goldfish.. but i usually just stick to mollys and silversides as the main diet.

 

[SeymourJives]

lol i just attempted to wave the silverside near his face, bad idea lol! he just fans himself out and goes on the defense.

i will order some feeder ghosts and use those, and hopefully gain his trust soon!

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Mine will fan out, but thats usually because they corner their pray before they eat it. so..

 

[SeymourJives]

well....today i tried to feed him some ghost shrimp. i put them in with the lights out, and frankly i am 95% sure he just ignored them. later on (6 hours later) i came home, turned the tank lights on to see 3 ghost shrimp carcasses. i found one of the shrimp still alive actually, and my lionfish was perched in the exact same spot as when i left him, breathing kinda heavily.


i caught the live ghost shrimp, and held it right in front of the lionfish's face for two minutes. so, for two minutes i have this ghost shrimp squirming in front of this lionfish, obviously alive, dead in front of the lion's face, with the lionfish looking right at it. wouldn't budge.

i noticed a gash on the lions side, probably from my clownfish. could it be stressed and not eating period? :-/

my ammonia and nitrite are 0

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

what about salinity and ph?

 

[SeymourJives]

my salinity is 1.023-1.025, right around that area. i don't have a PH test kit, but it should be at least 8.0 considering a decent size partial water change i've recently done.

he's chillin on a different rock now, still breathing kinda heavy it looks like. i put another live ghost shrimp in its face, still nothing. it's weird though, it seems like at night time it is moving around and hunting, when 100% of all lights are out.if i just turn the lights out in the tank and my house during the day time, it will stay perched on the same rock and not budge.

 

[melosu58]

What we need is Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

 

[SeymourJives]

well, its tale today is looking pale in comparison to the rest of his colors. i think he has ich

i gotta get a nitrate test kit, i'll figure it out tomorrow

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

I stated this prior to this... they are a nocturnal species

 

[Innovator]

Nocturnal habits are irrelevant to its current state of heavy breathing and a gash on its side. These animals don't just come out at night and depending on species tend to prefer a calmer environment to hunt rather than a fore reef.

Get your NH3 and NO3 readings. Why do you think it's ich, can you see very small, salt grain-like, nodules on the body anywhere?

 

[SeymourJives]

well, woke up this morning and it was dead.

this is my fourth lionfish....never had luck with them, looks like i'm not going to try any more. the longest i had one was 4 months and it was really healthy, then it died when i had to move.

thanks anyway guys