Radiata Lion - Not Too Hungry

DansMarineTank

DansMarineTank

This ship is England!
Dec 13, 2004
352
0
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42
Ipswich (UK)
Hi Guys,

I now got a Radiata Lionfish 2" :devil: didn't want to risk my clowns so hes all by himself in a newly cycled 55 which has pride of place in the lounge!

Anyways i have had him a week and in the shop he was eating frozen food (i saw him eat krill). However, he does not seem to show much interest in the krill i put in the tank. He has eaten some, 2 small bits of the krill that fall past him and he does occasionally take a sniff and then turn away. I am worried this is not enough to keep him going.

All params are good, and he seems happy enough swimming/crwalling around and even comming to see me when i am at the tank.

LFS weren't helpfull they just said we put some frozen Krill in, he eats.

Any advice on what frozen foods are more appealing to him (i heard something about cycleze or something) / how and times to feed.
 
Variety and underfeeding is the key to a healthy Lionfish diet.
Krill is okay as part of the diet, but you must rotate with fresh chopped squid, shrimp, silversides, krill, (frozen or freeze dried). IME, a live food treat now and then (one a month or less) of ghost shrimp or crickets will be appreciated. None of these should be allowed to become a single food item, there are some authors who site complications with lionfishes related to a diet of krill only--including blindness, and too many regular freshwater food items can also pose internal problems.
You may need to induce feeding with live guppies (NOT goldfish--the heads are too big and will create impaction/death), but wean from these as soon as possible and lions only need to be fed about 2 or three times a week for optimum vigor/health.
 
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Thanks FB, So you dont think i should persist with the frozen stuff, and I should get some guppies?

I will go and get a few more different dead food Items and give them a go
 
I have found that my lion will eat if I offer him alive shrimp then use smelt that has been soaked in attractant (kent marine attractant garlic) I was worried at first because he was not eating. Of course I tried to feed him everyday. Now I offer him food 3 times a week, and if he doesn't take it, I make him wait another couple of days. I have to tell myself, frobie, you are stronger then the fish, don't feed him live stuff. (lol) gl with it :)
 
Yes, that's the idea; you want to use the live food to stimulate feeding response, but just a little goes a long way, not talking about a dozen live animals down the hatch here... use the live feeding to avoid starvation but wean and train the fish to accept a wide variety of foods, this takes patience and an understanding that the fish will not starve. Most captive lions will actually die from over-eating.
 
Actually avoid fresh water fish at all costs as food for the lion, its the fatty acids in freshwater fish that cause liver failure in alot of Lions (like gold fish)
 
You beat me to it, Gealcath! Feeding saltwater fish, freshwater fish is like a person eating at McDonalds the rest of their life. They will die of liver failure and it is a LONG painful death because their liver grows and grows and crushes all the surrounding vital organs. There was a study done some years ago now that showed freshwater fish have 20% more fatty acids in their body, brackish have 8% and saltwater fish have 4%. The BEST thing to feed a hungry lion, especially the Radiata is live ghost Shrimp (especially if you gut load them with a high quality frozen food such as Formula One 15 minutes before feeding). Radiata's can't resist, I have dealt with MANY lions in my day especially the harder ones such as Fu Manchu's and Radiata's. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck!
 
yeah i had read about ghost shrimp, however they are very hard to come by on my side of the pond. I picked up some frozen brine and lance fish today along with some garlic stuff i will give that a try in a couple of days. I will let you know how i get on.

Thanks for all your help guys
 
Try frozen silversides, (or squid, shrimp, etc.) and impale it on a feeder stick and make it "jump" around. This often makes their live food tastes kick in. {(sorry, never done this from experience :huh: but I've done a lot of research :read: )
 
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