lionfish

[AusAaron]

Picked up a lion a week ago. Been trying to feed him pieces of prawns and fish etc.... No luck... He doesnt come out until its dark... And when i try to feed him he goes straight back in the hole and doesnt come back out.. Think he may b shy.. Hope this gets better... Anyone one got any suggestions. Ill keep at it but live might b the go

 

[Chris J]

Following. I recently got a dwarf fuzzy and he won't eat anything but live either. I have read that if you just don't give in and give them live food eventually they'll take frozen. I'm currently trying this and am now on day3 of him not eating, so I will keep you posted. Also hoping to see a few other suggestions.

 

[huma-huma]

to the OP, id try skipping a day, then feed. its ok to feed live. Although lionfish are rather easy to get onto prepared foods, it doesnt mean that every single one will be easy. you have to keep in mind that they are notoriously near-sighted. so dangling food 2-3 feet away isnt going to work. also, they are gulpers, (think of snakes), meaning that unlike other fish, they dont need to eat nearly as much. its not uncommon to go several days, even a week, without eating. the longest id go trying to wait him out is about 1.5 weeks. if at that point hes not taking prepared, toss a feeder guppy or something in there. if he still doesnt take it, hes either 1) sick or 2) stressed out due a circumstance (another fish beating him up, SG is off, trates are too high)

i also just brought home a fuzzy dwarf lion 2 days ago. i havent even attempted to feed him yet. waiting till tomorrow to try

 

[AusAaron]

Thanks. Today is a week. It comes out at night and wanders after the chromis but cant catch them. I might get a couple guppys on way home to put myself at ease then try frozen again. It would b bit easier if he wasnt on night shift

 

[huma-huma]

just turn your lights off for a bit during the day, should trick him into coming out

 

[AusAaron]

Got some breeder guppies yesterday to breed up. Sat them in marine tank to keep the temp up while i ducked out. Get back






So three left now

 

[furrymurray]

They way I got my mombasa lionfish to eat was I started off feeding ghost shrimp from a little net. First few times I let the shrimp swim out of the net. The lion fish caught on pretty quick. When he saw the net he would almost jump inside going ofter the live shrimp. I would go about 3 or 4 days without feeding and then try frozen. If he didnt eat then I went back to live. Took about a month to get him on frozen but now he eats anything. I had to wiggle the frozen food around like it was alive to trick him at first.

 

[AusAaron]

Got some breeder guppies yesterday to breed up. Sat them in marine tank to keep the temp up while i ducked out. Get back
View attachment 135786



View attachment 135787

So three left now

 

[AusAaron]

That sounds like a good plwn. Cheers champ

 

[AusAaron]

Sweet as. Sounds like the go. Im pretty happy he responded to food like that. Now to mix it up a bit for him.. Cheers champ

 

[AusAaron]

Stupid thing. Thanks mate