Dwarf Fuzzy Lion-Not Sure if He's eating..

[dameindistress]

I recently got the cutest little lion fish. Trouble is I'm not sure if he is eating. I put him in a CPR refugium with a small pump to circulate water in the crate and he will be in the corner face down. Eyes are brite blue, every once in awhile he will swim around and ruffle his pecs at my longhorn cowfish that seems to be very interested in him. I've tried feeding him mysis shrimp, a pelleted diet for carnivores(1-2mm in size), frozed- thawed clams, krill . One day I saw a turd in the box so I thought he is going to be hungry. When I get up in the morning, all the frozen thwed stuff is gone so is it 1) did he eat it or 2) did the circultaing pumps in the regugium and tank pumps squirt this out of the holes in the refugium? Is there a way I check this little guy? What about Freeze Dried Krill??? Brine Shrimp? I have damsels that he can work on - but alas he is too small yet. lol( will solve one tank problem for me)

 

[rcreations]

Lions in general don't eat mysis, flake and other small fish food. They like to eat whole frozen krill (thawed), pieces of raw shrimp, squid, silversides. But sometimes it takes them a while to start eating dead food. You sort of have to put it on the end of a stick and wiggle it so the lion thinks it's alive. You only need to do this until it starts eating. But sometimes they just refuse to eat dead stuff, so you have to feed them live ghost shrimp, then slowly switch them over to frozen stuff.

 

[srfisher17]

I agree with RCreations. Does he have enough room? I have always started lions on live ghost shrimp to get them eating, then gradually switch to an assortment of frozen seafoods, with added vitamins. IME, almost all lions need live food at first, that's probably what they got at the lfs.(Did you see him eat, if you got him at a lfs?) Getting a lion to eat dead, still food; probably for the 1st time in his life, would be very difficult. Especially in cramped quarters.

 

[dameindistress]

Well without mentioning names, I had purchased him from our sponsoring message board. So the answer to that is no- I did not see him eat. But how do you get some MUSHY food to remain tied to a stick and drag around the in-tank refugium? I had purchased the medium sized one 12x 6x8. I had emailed them to ask what his diet was that they were feeding him. So I am trying to duplicate this without him having to feel that he needs to compete with the other rascals in the tank. I was told he was eating a varied diet of chopped clams, pelleted diet,flake food, mysis, brine shrimp. I can try the ghost shrimp- have to find a lfs that has them, or get some brine shrimp cysts and hatch them. Any other thoughts??.....

 

[dameindistress]

forgot to mention I have the little aeration pump inthe refugium cranked @ dinner time for him so that the food is MOVING about him. The only thing(s) that drop down are the pelllets.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by DameInDistress
http:///forum/post/2646714
Well without mentioning names, I had purchased him from our sponsoring message board. So the answer to that is no- I did not see him eat. But how do you get some MUSHY food to remain tied to a stick and drag around the in-tank refugium? I had purchased the medium sized one 12x 6x8. I had emailed them to ask what his diet was that they were feeding him. So I am trying to duplicate this without him having to feel that he needs to compete with the other rascals in the tank. I was told he was eating a varied diet of chopped clams, pelleted diet,flake food, mysis, brine shrimp. I can try the ghost shrimp- have to find a lfs that has them, or get some brine shrimp cysts and hatch them. Any other thoughts??.....
Most good lfs have ghost shrimp. A good way to start a lion eating dead food is with a feeder stick; I use a piece of rigid airline tubing that has been cut to a dull point. Get some fresh raw shrimp or squid from your supermarket. Cut into appropriate size pieces and let them warm in some tank water. (some folks swear by adding fresh garlic, I like it too.) Stab a piece and make it act alive in front of the lion. If he shows no interest, wait. These guys will often go a week or more without eating. When you get him eating; forget most prepared food and use fresh seafood and silversides, etc. IMO, lions must be fed a variety of foods and vitamin supplements to thrive. BTW, how long have you had him, it may just be too soon for him to eat?

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by DameInDistress
http:///forum/post/2646714
Well without mentioning names, I had purchased him from our sponsoring message board. So the answer to that is no- I did not see him eat. But how do you get some MUSHY food to remain tied to a stick and drag around the in-tank refugium? I had purchased the medium sized one 12x 6x8. I had emailed them to ask what his diet was that they were feeding him. So I am trying to duplicate this without him having to feel that he needs to compete with the other rascals in the tank. I was told he was eating a varied diet of chopped clams, pelleted diet,flake food, mysis, brine shrimp. I can try the ghost shrimp- have to find a lfs that has them, or get some brine shrimp cysts and hatch them. Any other thoughts??.....
Most good lfs have ghost shrimp. A good way to start a lion eating dead food is with a feeder stick; I use a piece of rigid airline tubing that has been cut to a dull point. Get some fresh raw shrimp or squid from your supermarket. (as mentioned by RCreations's Avatar
RCreations ) Cut into appropriate size pieces and let them warm in some tank water. (some folks swear by adding fresh garlic, I like it too.) Stab a piece and make it act alive in front of the lion. If he shows no interest, wait. These guys will often go a week or more without eating. When you get him eating; forget most prepared food and use fresh seafood and silversides, etc. IMO, lions must be fed a variety of foods and vitamin supplements to thrive. Flakes, pellets, tiny frozen food just isn't for them, they only need to be fed a 2-3 times a week. BTW, how long have you had him, it may just be too soon for him to eat?

 

[rcreations]

It's a real battle to get some lionfish to eat non-live food. It took me over a month to get my fuzzy dwarf to eat anything except ghost shrimp. But now he eats anything I put in the tank. On the other hand my spotfin ate frozen food right from the beginning.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2646761
It's a real battle to get some lionfish to eat non-live food. It took me over a month to get my fuzzy dwarf to eat anything except ghost shrimp. But now he eats anything I put in the tank. On the other hand my spotfin ate frozen food right from the beginning.

There are as many stories of lionfish eating patterns as there lionfish. I saw a med volitan eat guppies at a lfs while still in the shipping bag!

 

[dameindistress]

He's been here just under a week. I week to my lfs yesterday and got their last ghost shrimp and then augmented with some sw guppies- smaller ones. When I got home, poured off the water and popped in the shrimp- BAMM he was gone in a wink. I had dumpped the in the few guppies , this lion really has speed- gulped a few before the others sped thru the holes of the refugium. Then the danged damsels took care of them. Danged Damsels !@#$%^&*() But now this AM The Lion is swimming nicely in his refugium sashaying back and forth as the longhorn cowfish admires his quarters. I wonder , How long now should I keep him in the refugium isolated? I'm sure he does not enjoy this as he would rather be in the rocks hiding now with a full belly.

 

[rcreations]

btw, not sure if you know this but in case you don't, it's not good to feed lion fish every day. It's actually bad for them. You should feed 3 times a week at most.
As for keeping it in the refugium, a lot of people keep lions separated until they start eating non-live food. This way they don't have to compete with the other fish and you can take your time trying to get it to eat.

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2647600
btw, not sure if you know this but in case you don't, it's not good to feed lion fish every day. It's actually bad for them. You should feed 3 times a week at most.
As for keeping it in the refugium, a lot of people keep lions separated until they start eating non-live food. This way they don't have to compete with the other fish and you can take your time trying to get it to eat.

Textbook quality advice!

 

[dameindistress]

Thank You all for your advise! I feel alot better about his condition now. I am so relieved that I have so many to lean on for advise. Just thank You all for being around!

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by DameInDistress
http:///forum/post/2647819
Thank You all for your advise! I feel alot better about his condition now. I am so relieved that I have so many to lean on for advise. Just thank You all for being around!

I sure wish these forums were around when I started; although at that time in my life I knew everything anyhow. After 30 years, I still learn more from other hobbiests than every book I could possibly read. IMO; this forum is an priceless exchange or ideas, experiences, and opinions. No member is an expert all the time on every subject. Common sense is the magic ingredient that sorts it all out.