Dwarf Lionfish Suggestions/Help

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#1
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#1
Greetings All- I picked up a healthy Dwarf Lionfish this weekend. The lionfish was healthy in the LFS tank and I had the owner feed the fish in front of me. He happily gobbled up some prawn! I purchased the same prawn when I bought the lionfish the following day.

I have had the lionfish since Sunday night and he does not seem to be eating. He just hangs at the bottom of the tank, still breathing. I have seen him move around a little and his color is strong.

I have left some food in the tank in hopes that he will eat when ALL the lights are off, and I cannot find the food. So I am hopeful but maybe the food is under some LR?!?

I have put some ghost shrimp in tonight and will see what happens tomorrow. I called the LFS and the guy suggested minnows in a few days...

Any suggestions?
 

Chris_A

Chris_A

Large Fish
#2
Oct 14, 2008
615
0
0
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
#2
A feeding strike isn't all that uncommon for lions. I think chances are the food would be collecting someplace out of view, I've never seen these guys eat anything off the substate without actually "stalking" it while it fell there. Not saying it isn't possible though! :)

Well there is net feeding, where you put the food in a just large enough net they can go get it. But I've seen lions get their spines caught and if he doesn't want to eat, it'll only stress him more.

There's stick feeding, where you use a small skewer (the thin wood ones seem to be the best) to move the food around them.

And thread feeding, basically the same as above just with a thin thread. That way you can get smaller food items and not have a big stick freaking him out. ;) Just take a thread (low test fishing line is what I have used) and thread it through a needle then push through the food, remove the needle and pull the thread back far enough he can pull the food off easily when he strikes.

There is also just giving him time. If he's healty, he should be able to go a few weeks without food. I'd say though if he isn't feeding this time next week you have a serious problem.

Just to make sure, what are your water parameters?

If you can get him to take live food I'd try to get him off of it ASAP. Minnows and goldfish can cause a fatty liver and they really don't have the right nutrition anyway. That said though, right now... anything on his stomach is better than nothing ;).

Chris
 

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#3
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#3
thanks for your response and suggestions. at the very worst, this lionfish has not eaten since saturday afternoon.

i have tried the stick feeding and the string feeding with little to no success. by little i mean he will look at hte prawn but not really go after it.

i have not done the net feeding yet.

i changed the water last night and did readings this morning. pH, amonia, nitrite, nitrate are as follows; 8.2, 0, 0 <20. temperature fluctuates between 78 and 79 degrees.

he was eatting frozen prawn at the LFS so I do not think I have a live food issue.

of particular note is that I am using 2 Koralia 4s and 1 Koralia 2 in the tank. THis is providing me with a total of 3000gph of flow. on a whim i shut them off about 60 minutes ago and the lionfish has swam more in those 30 minutes than he has in the last 3 days combined!! i even saw him stalking the ghost shrimp as it came near him.... so I am hopeful that maybe just too much flow??

my false perc is pretty confused that these huge 'jets' are no longer providing a game for her.
 

BalaShark

BalaShark

Large Fish
#4
Dec 5, 2005
171
0
0
#4
Make sure that when you feed them shrimp they are completely defrosted. I have 2 lions in my 150, and they tend to get pissy sometimes when the food is not completely room temp, and will not eat for a week or 2 after that. I stopped worrying about that. Had them for more thn 2 years, and they are still doing well, fat and happy.
 

M

MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#5
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#5
i have tried shrimp and prawn with little success BUT maybe that is because they were not completely defrosted!

how many pieces do you cut your shrimp up into? will they eat with the light on?

do you have any guranteed method to get them to eat? ex. garlic, etc.

i am on the verge of buying feeder fish BUT am reluctant in fear of making the dwarf lionfish sick (contaminants, disease, etc)
 

TRe

TRe

Elite Fish
#8
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#8
lol 3000gph in a 50g tank is a 60X turnover rate! while that may be awsome in a sps dominate tank in may be a bit much for the lion... you may wanna just try turning the pumps off when u feed?
 

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#9
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#9
haha i agree, Tre! I certainly did go overboard. Until I get the feeding under control, I am using a Koralia 1 to just keep the water moving and provide minimal movement.

assuming things get better, then i may just start up one of the Koralia 4s. I can tell you that the false perc misses being thrown around the tank by the Koralia 4. you would not believe it until you see the fish swim towards the powerhead, get blown away, rinse, repeat....
 

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#10
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#10
serious issues!

okay there is something definitley wrong. it looks like there is a pocket of water below one of the dorsal fins. here are some pictures. what do i do now?? pimpafix/melafix? please help!









 

BalaShark

BalaShark

Large Fish
#11
Dec 5, 2005
171
0
0
#11
MatthewLaw said:
i have tried shrimp and prawn with little success BUT maybe that is because they were not completely defrosted!
how many pieces do you cut your shrimp up into? will they eat with the light on?
do you have any guranteed method to get them to eat? ex. garlic, etc.
i am on the verge of buying feeder fish BUT am reluctant in fear of making the dwarf lionfish sick (contaminants, disease, etc)
Click to expand...
Feeder fish like guppies will make your lion sick. They are a completely unnatural diet, and will damage the fish's liver if fed long enough. It would not surprise me if that's what the LFS were feeding him. Have you ever seen guppies or feeder gold fish in the ocean? Nope. I thought I was smart in the beginning and thought it to be oh so cute when the lions would hunt them down, not realising I was killing them slowly. One of them didn't eat for 7 weeks, believe it or not.
Mine will eat with the lights on, no problem. If they don't want to eat that day, then they have to wait for the next feeding (every other day) I feed mine shrimp and silversides, completely defrosted and water temperature. The lions don't like frozen stuff in their bellies. Flow is not an issue with them either, don't let anyone tell you that. Lions love a high flow. Personally, i'd let it be, try to feed them every other day, if they don't eat, wait a day and try again. Lions are very moody as well. The bubble you are talking about, no idea.
 

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#12
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#12
thanks for the clarifications. on another forum, some stated that the protrude venous smpike with 'skin' was a sign of fin rot and expressed serious concern about that buble.

would be bad for the lionfish to be transported to a hospital tank and treated with pimafix and melafix? i would treat the whole 50g tank BUT am worried that i might do something to the live rock!
 

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MatthewLaw

Large Fish
#14
Jun 29, 2008
490
0
0
PA
#14
to you suggest keeping LR in the hospital tank since the SG will be the same and only pimafix and melafix will be used? i know the lionfish would like a few places to hide initially but at this point her health is my main concern!
 

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