Lion Not Eating

R

ryan_kearney

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Jan 3, 2003
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Stafford, England
www.cv.webfroot.com
Hi,

I bought a Lionfish last saturday, and I just cannot get it to eat, Ive tried 3 types of frozen fish, shrimp, live shrimp, the store would not sell me any smaller fish to try and feed him on, all though I do have some fish in the tank already im sure he could get if he were hungry, but he doesnt even flinch at them, just raise his spines on his back, he swims around ok at night, but is getting weak now and so thin, i dont know what to do, its been 10 days now since i purchased him, any help would be great.

Ryan

lion.jpg
 
The store wouldn't sell you any feeder fish?? Not that this is a particularly desirable option, but if the lion is starving you can usually elicit a feeding response with a handful of feeder guppies. You might also want to try some live ghost shrimp. I'm not at all surprised that it won't take dead/prepared food at this point as it usually takes quite a bit of fasting and training to get a lion to accept anything that isn't alive. This is something that you will NEED to do eventually, but the immediate concern is to keep the animal from starving. Go buy a dozen feeder guppies and a dozen ghost shrimp and see what happens.
 
What was the store feeding him? I'm sure they didn't go ahead and sell you a fish they couldn't get to eat and then refuse to sell live food for it to you.
 
Ryan,
What other little fish do you have in the tank for the lionfish? My husband and I go to the Gulf and catch saltwater feeders during the spring and summer for our tank, but in the winter they are harder to get, so we end up using a few goldfish just to suffice until we can get some live sw feeders. We also use shrimp and ours will take frozen foods now. Try 1 or 2 goldfish (small ones) and see if the lion goes after them. If it doesn't then I would say you have a serious problem. Also try this early in the morning or late evening...Ours seem to be more of a nocturnal hunter. I don't suggest you stay with goldfish because they aren't good for the lionfish, but at this stage before I let him starve to death I would at least give it an attempt to see if he's just being real picky or if something else is wrong. Good luck. I'm posting a few pics of our lionfish, and yes we do have to lean to the goldfish now and then but not in large quantities or long periods of time.
 
just curious, you said it hasnt not had food in 10 days??
does anyone know how long a lionfish can go without food?
I cant get mine to eat anything but ghostshrimp so I would try them first. especially if your lion is weak, im afraid the goldfish would swim away to quickly.
 
Lionfish can fast for well over a month assuming they are in good health prior to the fast. I would definetly try live ghosts before feeding any of the feeders. If it doesn't eat those then try feeding the guppies. Golfish is probably the worst food to feed marine predators. I read an article on feeding feeders awhile ago and found out why. Feeders cause fatty liver disease in which the skulls of feeders can not be digested so sit, rot, and adventually turn into fat inside the fishes liver. Eventually the liver swells up so large that it crushes other vital organs like the heart and the lungs. If you really want to watch the thrill of a lion catching a fish, feed it a damsel. Feeders have 20x more fat in them than saltwater fish do and brackish fish have 8x more fat. Plus by feeding a feeder there is no nutritional value to them, so if there is no nutritional value to them and they cause a greatly reduced lifespan why feed marine predators feeders? Remember, a feeder goldfish doesn't swim through the ocean every day to feed a grouper, lion or trigger. They eat other things, and things that are much healthier for them!
 
Thanks for everyones advice, I am going to get live food today, its been hard because im at work and teh place i bought the fish from is 30 min drive from here, even more on a week day due to traffic!

The local shop does not keep any live marine food : ( and they sold me the fish saying it would feed off the lance fish he supplied with it...

thanks again
 
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