lions...

latinlord

Member
yea.. i break ALL the rules!! haha... Though in all honestly... i don't even see the shark much... so i keep forgetting he is even there!! (Cave dweller)
 

oceanboy13

Member
i have a 300.. i said i wouldnt house it in less then a 240...n id show pics or a vid except...he's went missing is this normal like i cant even find him in the tank...
 

latinlord

Member
lol.. what do you mean he went missing... you have a big tank... i'm sure he is hiding in there somewhere... do you have any caves?
 

oceanboy13

Member
lol ya...but i searched through like all of them and i really can't find him...kinnda worried but...it was to big to fit in my sharks mouth grrr....
 

oceanboy13

Member
well i moved the rocks stirred up the sand...and ya he's not in there...he's not on the floor either guess the shark frickin ate him...
 

hlcroghan

Active Member
Yes. That would be EXTREMELY unlikely. Is your shark showing any weird behaviors? It would be almost impossible for the shark to eat him without getting stung several times. But......how big was the lion compared to the shark?? Also those sharks are more likely to go after crustaceans on the bottom. Do you have a CUC that could have eaten the lion during the night if it died suddenly? It was new in your tank....could have been too stressed.
Don't count out the possibility of the lion hiding really well.
 

oceanboy13

Member
no haven't found him i have the day time lights off n the moon lights on and im watching the tank like a hawk but if it died wouldnt my nitrates amonia and stuff elevate...n i guess its a possibly i have snails and a star fish but nothing major
 

crypt keeper

Active Member
in a 300 gallon tank with a smaller sized fish you probably wouldnt see any spikes. That being said Turn off the lights and then go through the tank with a flashlight.
 

columbia45ebb

New Member
I put in a Volitan, about 6" at purchase, in my 75 gallon tank which also housed 1 adult yellow tang, 1 adult polychromis, 3 juvenile domonos, 3 yellow fin damsels, 1 coral beauty, 2 clowns and a couple of "trash" fish who will remain only fond memories. This was about 8 weeks ago. I was very concerned in that the lion fish simply would not eat any sort of frozen food. I introduced an occasional feeding of ghost shirimp or guppies, and indeed, the lion did start eating. The trouble is, he hasn't stopped since the introduction of live food. The other remaining inhabitants in the tank also have converted to live food eaters. I never thought a tang could be so aggressive! The dominoes are the scarriest. One has grown to about the size of the adult tang, which has to be an anomally, but accompaning his rapid growth, he's become very aggressive. The lion fish stays clear of the domino, if you can believe that.
Only the damsels and trash fish have fallen prey to the lionfish, however the coral beauty is questionable, and rarely ventures out of her hiding place. When it comes to live feeding, the lion will eat everything I put in and then some, but the other inhabitants compete for the grub, in a more and more aggressive manner. Yikes, I wish I had never introduced live feeding.
I have set up a separate "menu" tank, so I always have an abundant source of various blue plate specials (some of which are notably larger than the conventional ghost shrimp or standard guppy), but I'm wondering if there's something I can do to initiate the lion to eat some frozen food, and greatly reducing the number of live feedings. I now feed live about every 4 days, (frozen or pellet for the others every 2 days) and I probably overfeed in the live feedings. The lion eats everything introduced that the others don't scarf, and he then retreats with a belly that looks like a mongolphier hot air baloon, to his usual perch, upside down in a corner, head facing the bottom of the tank...looking for more prey. Oh yes, I forgot to mention lions do grow fast, this 6" little beauty is now over 8". All in 8 weeks!
Any chance I can reverse or at least curb this guttony?
Neil
 

nancd777

New Member
I am admittedly a novice, however, we've had Lionfish for more than four years. I've raised them and fed them so have some experience. I have a Black p. volitans and a russelli that is a bit smaller but only a bit smaller than the black. These two came to me eating only live food. It took a week or more with a very long forcep to get them eating frozen. We started with a thawed out Silver side that I wiggled back and forth in front of the bigger Lion. The little one began to take an interest. As soon as I could mimick the motion of the live fish, the Lions began to gobble the thawed silvers up. Its a bit of a trick but well worth the mental challenge. I still alternate live and frozen for fun. Lions are very smart and will warm up to their feeder. Mine can tell the difference and behave differently between my husband and myself. Both eat anything I put in the tank now because they expect food from me with the forceps. They even eat a chunk of frozen brine. The lions each eat differently and I must make sure each one gets their share. I've had one Lion with one Porcupine Puffer for several years in another tank but the Lions are NOT as aggressive as other fish. Hope this helps. Only one other suggestion. Keep your Lions in their own tank. They are not a community tank fish. They will work just fine with corals and such but not crabs. They will look longingly at my Sea Serpent and Brittle Star but no losses there so far. I tried to switch a Dwarf Lion over to frozen but was unsuccessful. The larger the Lion the more personality. They enjoy a slower pace for the most part and will hunt together in my tank. They hang upside down and just watch. Adding more fish only upsets everyone. I clean and rearrange at my choice and have never been stung..not even close. I know people who can pet their Lions.
 

nancd777

New Member
I found that the appetite of the Lionfish will slow down once they reach 12 to 15" As stated above, it doesn't take long. Enjoy! :-D
 

cranberry

Active Member
Originally Posted by sanchoy
http:///forum/post/3089974
All Lions are not harrassing fishes. They will not pick at other fishes, unless its a prey small enough to make dinner.
They usually use their spines only as a self-defense, and offense to catch prey.
Just to clarify, they don't use their spines as an offense to catch prey. It's a defensive thing only.
 
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