funkysean5
Member
I know, I know I post this in the fish discussion forum, but I thought I would post it here too!
Hey there all hobbiest!
I've just decided to make an imformative thread about the care of a dwarf lion.
The three main dwarf lions are:
1. Fuzzy Dwarf
2. Zebra
3. Fu Man Chu
1. Housing
Dwarf lions can successfully be kept in a 30 gallon tank, but I would recommend housing them in a 55 or larger. Fuzzy dwarf grow to 6 in., zebra:7 in., fu man chu: 6 inches. Lions can be kept in a reef tank, but be cautious with shrimp, they WILL get eaten, either right away, or withen a few weeks. And they might not like the bright light.
2. Tank Mates
Selecting the right tank mates is difficult to do when you have a smaller tank. Maybe you can keep them with a few larger damsels, but remember they will eat any fish thats less than half their size. Do not keep them with aggressive triggers, large eels, or some puffers.
3. Food and Nutrition
The main troubles hobbiest conquer is weaning them onto prepared foods. The trick that got my lion eating are ghost shrimp. First, feed them ghost shrimp for about a week or two. Then after that feed them PE Mysis, a very good brand of mysis. My lions thought it was ghost shrimp and ate it.This could take up to a month. Don't EVER feed a lion or any fish a fresh water fish.
4. Diseases
Lions are usually resistent to diseases, if good water quality is present. Thy do get ich, black ick, fin rot, and lockjaw. See Beth's FAQ thread in the disease forum. Lockjaw is caused by poor nutrition. People may think that krill is nutritous enough for them, but krill is the main reason for lockjaw. There is only ONE way to cure lockjaw. This treatment is VERY dangerous for your FISH and YOU.
First, get some nutritious varied food including squid, and mysis. Mix it in a blender and add some vitamins like zoecon, zoe etc.
Next, get a turkey baster or something to carry food.
This is when the project gets VERY tricky and dangerous. Take the lionfish out of the tank, put it on a plastic bag.
Open his mouth with a pair of tweezers. Squirt some of the food in his mouth. Net him and put him back in the tank. Do this every three days for two months, or when he seems better.
I do not recommend this treatment, (since you are taking them out of the water, which could kill them) but it is the only way to treat lockjaw
5. Cuticle Shedding
Some of you hobbiest that have lions, know about lions shedding their cuticle. It looks like white, stringy, mucus, and the lion is flashing around the aquarium. Lions will shed their cuticle to get rid of any unwanted hitch hikers. It is okay for them to shed it once in a while, but if they start shedding continuously, bad water quality is present.
If there is anything that I missed please say!
Hey there all hobbiest!
The three main dwarf lions are:
1. Fuzzy Dwarf
2. Zebra
3. Fu Man Chu
1. Housing
Dwarf lions can successfully be kept in a 30 gallon tank, but I would recommend housing them in a 55 or larger. Fuzzy dwarf grow to 6 in., zebra:7 in., fu man chu: 6 inches. Lions can be kept in a reef tank, but be cautious with shrimp, they WILL get eaten, either right away, or withen a few weeks. And they might not like the bright light.
2. Tank Mates
Selecting the right tank mates is difficult to do when you have a smaller tank. Maybe you can keep them with a few larger damsels, but remember they will eat any fish thats less than half their size. Do not keep them with aggressive triggers, large eels, or some puffers.
3. Food and Nutrition
The main troubles hobbiest conquer is weaning them onto prepared foods. The trick that got my lion eating are ghost shrimp. First, feed them ghost shrimp for about a week or two. Then after that feed them PE Mysis, a very good brand of mysis. My lions thought it was ghost shrimp and ate it.This could take up to a month. Don't EVER feed a lion or any fish a fresh water fish.
4. Diseases
Lions are usually resistent to diseases, if good water quality is present. Thy do get ich, black ick, fin rot, and lockjaw. See Beth's FAQ thread in the disease forum. Lockjaw is caused by poor nutrition. People may think that krill is nutritous enough for them, but krill is the main reason for lockjaw. There is only ONE way to cure lockjaw. This treatment is VERY dangerous for your FISH and YOU.
First, get some nutritious varied food including squid, and mysis. Mix it in a blender and add some vitamins like zoecon, zoe etc.
Next, get a turkey baster or something to carry food.
This is when the project gets VERY tricky and dangerous. Take the lionfish out of the tank, put it on a plastic bag.
Open his mouth with a pair of tweezers. Squirt some of the food in his mouth. Net him and put him back in the tank. Do this every three days for two months, or when he seems better.
I do not recommend this treatment, (since you are taking them out of the water, which could kill them) but it is the only way to treat lockjaw
5. Cuticle Shedding
Some of you hobbiest that have lions, know about lions shedding their cuticle. It looks like white, stringy, mucus, and the lion is flashing around the aquarium. Lions will shed their cuticle to get rid of any unwanted hitch hikers. It is okay for them to shed it once in a while, but if they start shedding continuously, bad water quality is present.
If there is anything that I missed please say!
