2 quick questions.... fuzzy d lion, and lil sail fin tang

ericjn

ericjn

Member
Hi all hope all is well, I have been a way for a while moved to texas for a while so I sold all my fish. Luckly after things didnt fall through down there my dad hadnt taken down my tank so I got to start all over :D. Any ways I recently got a porcupine puffer, niger trigger, and now a sail fin tang and a fuzzy dwarf lionfish. All of the fish are juvi's so still pretty young well except for the fuzzy lion not so sure how old he is. I have 2 quick questions about the sail fin and the fuzzy d< haha that could be his name!
1. The lil sail fin is eating like a pig, he ate an hour after i placed him into the Q tank and even the display tank (2 weeks ago) however he is only eating the frozen brine and mysis, i put up some alge sheets in the tank but he wont touch the things. I dont want him to get malnuerished I just dont know what I should do to get him to eat the sheets. Formula 2 doesnt work either maybe its because hes a juvi i wanna say hes about 3 inches long...and tall??? But any one have any thoughts on that?
2. The lion fish I got was from a petstore (duh) and it was owned by one of the people that work there, he would go to the top of the tank when he went by and begged for food (cute i know) before i bought him i made sure he fed him to make sure he was healthy and eating. And well hes pretty healthy. The problem im having is they were feeding him feeder goldfish, and I know those are bad for them. Too fatty and what not, but I cant get him to eat anything else right now, Ive been feeding him goldfish just to make sure he eats, while i try diff things to entise him....oddly enough he hasnt attacked my blue damsel in the tank... yet lol. Any one have any ideas on how to get him off the junk food?
Thanks have a good one
 
ericjn

ericjn

Member
Yea Ill give them all a try. Ive been trying silver slides like crazy, he doesnt go after ghost shrimp, do you think its a color thing maybe he sees the color and knows its food? Like i said he hasnt touched my blue damsel and im shocked he hasnt even chased it. Ill deff give mollys and guppies a try and I think ill give some of those techneques a try ive tried the stick, and the focepts. I also thought of going back to the pet store and ask the previous owner (since he works there) what he did cus I dont think he could feed goldfish for too long with out any health problems. To be honast Ive seen you online before and was thinking of sending just you a message since you have the pic of your lionfish on there lol
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
They can be fed a long time on goldfish, so they could have been eating goldfish the whole time. I haven't run across too many that wouldn't eat ghostshrimp. But if they ate goldfish, they should recognize guppies. They don't have the same level of thiaminase in their skin as goldfish does. Thiaminase is an enzyme that metabolize thiamine, which is vitamin B1. Thiamine deficies can lead to poor appetite, muscle atrophy, loss of equilibrium, neurological issues and poor growth.
Guppies and mollies aren't ideal because they have an inappropriate fat composition, but they lack the thiaminase the carps are loaded with, hence are safer in difficult situations.
Damsels are quick, even with active hunting, they can elude the lions mouth for awhile. Guppies and mollies are much easier to catch and are sometimes a little "herp derp" when they are thrown into the saltwater.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericjn http:///forum/thread/381371/2-quick-questions-fuzzy-d-lion-and-lil-sail-fin-tang#post_3321388
1. The lil sail fin is eating like a pig, he ate an hour after i placed him into the Q tank and even the display tank (2 weeks ago) however he is only eating the frozen brine and mysis, i put up some alge sheets in the tank but he wont touch the things. I dont want him to get malnuerished I just dont know what I should do to get him to eat the sheets. Formula 2 doesnt work either maybe its because hes a juvi i wanna say hes about 3 inches long...and tall??? But any one have any thoughts on that?
Try breaking up the algae sheets - my coral beauty would not eat from the sheets of algae but as soon as I broke them up she ate them, I think it was Cranberry or BTLReef that gave me that idea.
Good luck
 
ericjn

ericjn

Member
hmmm ic... Well i got 2 mollys today he ate them right up, my pufferfish stared one down until the lion came over it was kinda funny like what in the world are you? haha, Im going to keep trying silver slides, and shrimp till i can get him to bite. The Lion is very active, searches the tank non stop looking for things to eat or just looking around Ill have to get some pictures. On the sail fin I did notice when the sheets broke up in the tank that he would go and eat some, maybe i need to get diff types of alge as well im using the red alge right now. But like I said ill have to get some pics of the lil guys :)
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericjn http:///forum/thread/381371/2-quick-questions-fuzzy-d-lion-and-lil-sail-fin-tang#post_3321388
1. The lil sail fin is eating like a pig, he ate an hour after i placed him into the Q tank and even the display tank (2 weeks ago) however he is only eating the frozen brine and mysis, i put up some alge sheets in the tank but he wont touch the things. I dont want him to get malnuerished I just dont know what I should do to get him to eat the sheets. Formula 2 doesnt work either maybe its because hes a juvi i wanna say hes about 3 inches long...and tall??? But any one have any thoughts on that?
I will not comment about the lion, as I have no idea how to keep one. The best advice I could give anyone about keeping a lionfish is to talk to Cranberry and she's already commenting.
As for the sailfin,
Are either the brine or mysis enriched with spirulina?
As Al&Burke mentioned, breaking up the algae sheet usually fixes the issue. My tangs will eat off the clip, but my dwarf angels will not and I was forced to start holding the sheet in the water and rubbing it between my fingers in a higher flow area (I usually do this right in front of a powerhead) and breaking the sheets apart until it almost looks like I'm feeding flake food. All my fish will eat it this way. If you Tang is captive raised, it might be unfamiliar with eating algae sheets. Try breaking it apart before you buy more sheets that it will probably also refuse. Another method is to tie the sheet to a small rock with a rubberband and place it at the bottom of the tank. The theory is that this looks more "natural" to the fish. I have never had success with that method, but others have. You can also try frozen foods designed for herbivore/omnivores. I prefer San Francisco Bay Brand Emerald Entree for my tangs.
Tangs do need algae in their diet so it is imperative that you get it to eat greens in some form.
Good luck.
 
ericjn

ericjn

Member
ic thanks for all the comments have alot of new things to try. The sail fin flat out ignors the sheets, but does pick at the live rock and somtimes in the sand so hes getting a lil bit but not enough of his greens. Both the misis and brine have spirulina in them. Ive tried the Emerald entrees in the past but ive never had one fish eat them so i may give them one more shot since hes a new fish. the good news on him is hes pretty fat and his coloration is amazing :D i will deff have to try the tieing the sheets to the rock, since he picks at them all the time
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by ericjn http:///forum/thread/381371/2-quick-questions-fuzzy-d-lion-and-lil-sail-fin-tang#post_3321654
ic thanks for all the comments have alot of new things to try. The sail fin flat out ignors the sheets, but does pick at the live rock and somtimes in the sand so hes getting a lil bit but not enough of his greens. Both the misis and brine have spirulina in them. Ive tried the Emerald entrees in the past but ive never had one fish eat them so i may give them one more shot since hes a new fish. the good news on him is hes pretty fat and his coloration is amazing :D i will deff have to try the tieing the sheets to the rock, since he picks at them all the time
Breaking up the algae sheets also allows for it to get all over the rocks as well, which helps. I'm surprised to hear that you've never had a fish pick at Emerald Entree. It's just mysis and brine mixed with greens.
 
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