Dendrochirus biocellatus (fu-manchu lionfish)

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flossyfloofloo

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Apr 14, 2008
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nottingham england
hiya i just got a fu-manchu lion and was after any helpful tips and advice , i know they can be picky eaters so have stocked up on munchies for it. i have done some research but would be very areciative of advice from u guys too.

it was either a fu-manchu or a fuzzy and i know if i got the fuzzy i would regret it .

he is a large specimin (4-5in) and seems to have settled well. current stock is 2 gymno tile morays and a scat left over from my brack tank . tank is 400liters and have a further 150 liters on filtration , 25k live rock , skimmed and twin ats , soon to have media reactor and more LR, few shrooms too if that makes a diff .

amm , nit 0
nate <10
phos 0.

any other info u need just ask

cheers guys
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Did you observe it eating before purchase? These fish are 100% nocturnal in the wild and the stress induced by catching them during the day coupled with the rigors of the supply chain is what gives these fish such a difficult reputation compared with other Lions. Once they start eating in captivity they're no more difficult than the Fuzzy.
 

flossyfloofloo

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he has eaten but i didnt view in shop , i trust the shop loads it has been in QT there for 2 weeks (standard practice for them ) and still has meat on him now . i would of liked to have viewed him eat but the shop had a special event on and was really busy .
 

SubRosa

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What is it eating, live or frozen? If it's still on live only there's a method to switching them over that's worked for me almost every time. You stuff the fish with a heavy feeding of live food and then let it go hungry for a few days. Then introduce the frozen. Don't tease or try to entice the fish, just place it on the bottom and wait. If it's not eaten in a couple of hours remove it, and wait a day before trying again. Repeat until the fish takes the food or until it's been two weeks since it ate live. Then feed it heavily on live and repeat the whole process.
 

flossyfloofloo

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if i left dead food on the tank floor it aint gonna last five mins with two morays swimming round . it was fed on frozen white bait at the shop so that gonna be my first try , im gonna let him settle for a few days first and then try a late night feeding . i am prepared to go upto two weeks before i get any live food .
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Oh if it eats frozen then the only problem will be as you said, getting the food past the Morays. Should be easy!
 

flossyfloofloo

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Apr 14, 2008
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well on my first attemp at feeding , he ate almost straight away , second attemp he even ate out of my forceps !!!!!!! at this point im saying im one lucky barstool!!!!!!!
 

RiVerfishgirl

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Jan 15, 2007
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Poplar Bluff, MO
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Congrats on getting him to eat. Your water quality sounds fine, and once they're eating they're not that hard to keep. The only specific care I can think of is that they like to sit or sleep against rocks or in caves, so try to set up rockwork so he can do that.

The only dwarf lion I've had is a fuzzy, but he was by far my favorite saltwater fish. He was very personable and docile (not that I tried to touch him :grinno:, though him and my grouper did used to sit on top of each other). The only time he ever stuck his spines out defensively is when I had to move him to a new tank and he really wasn't happy about being caught. He was pretty mad for a few hours after that.
 
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