Dwarf Lion sitting vertical in tank?

[ashleigh234]

I have a dwarf lion who is about 2-3 inches long so hes only small, i have only had tank for a week or two but prev owner of tank had him in there for about 6 months i think.
He seems to sit vertical in the tank up near the corner by the overflow, and he will just sit on top of certain rocks in the tank.
He is still eating, loves his food, he will even go upside down through rocks on his mission to catch his food, when he can be bothered getting off the rock hes on, he will come and see me at the front of tank
All paramaters are normal.
I have seen that they do this sometimes, do you think i have anything to worry about or is this just normal?

 

[crypt keeper]

they sit in all sorts of positions. Lions will swim vertically looking upward at the surface because they know that is where food comes from.

 

[ashleigh234]

He tends to look at the ground rather than the top of the tank ... would this be a cause for concern?

 

[lion_crazz]

Not at all. My lions are always in odd positions. Is he responsive when you are around the tank?

 

[ashleigh234]

Half the time, normally only bothers to move when i come close in the mornings - he knows its food time!
He moves around 3-4 different spots normally, and changes throughout the day.
He swims around for about half an hour at a time i think, then goes and sits on the rocks, or with his tail sitting beside the overflow - must help him stay there.
another question ... is one guppy fish enough to feed him each day? thats what the lfs advised previous owner, has been having 1 a day for 6 months or more

 

[crypt keeper]

no. he needs a mixed diet and it will almost be very hard to get him off live food. If anything he should be eating saltwater fish not guppies. Try really small damsels or shrimp.

 

[cranberry]

Really small fish require more frequent feeding than the bigger ones. But a 3" fish would do fine with the adult interval. I do Mon. Wed and Friday personally.
Have you tried weaning to frozen food? If not we need to get that on the go. He's been fed guppies for far too long. You're probably not going to find Damsels small enough. Your best bet would be live ghost shrimp.
But first things first... have you attempted frozen?
What kind of dwarf is he?
His behaviour sounds perfectly normal.

 

[ashleigh234]

So feeding him every day isn't really necessary?
I havent tried him on frozen food, but will definately give it a go
He knows that the 'little green net' = food so thats probably a good start at getting him to eat frozen.
What is the best way you could recommend? And what frozen food do they tend to like?
I have mysis shrimp currently for the other fish, he swims around where im putting it in sometimes, but doesnt try to eat it or anything.
Hes a fuzzy dwarf.
I would rather get him onto frozen if possible as it saves having to keep a supply of fish for him.

 

[calbert0]

When I had a fuzzy dwarf, I would stick chunks of scallops, squid, silversides, etc... on the end of a clear zip tie.
Then i would jiggle the food infront of my dwarf fuzzy until it showed some interest. As it approaced the food, i would pull the ziptie back (to replicate a fish backing away from the lion). This would trigger a feeding response, and the lion would snap the food off of the zip tie.

 

[ashleigh234]

OK I will give it a go tonight to see if he will eat it, if he doesnt, im sure someone else in the tank will be more than willing to eat it (if i chop it up more for them)
Will let you know how it goes.

 

[habsfan]

My fuzzy dwarf eats krill and jumbo sticks. Feeding everyday is too much. Sitting vertical or on rocks or even in the sand is very normal. They will also swim upside down because it keeps thier spines downward towards other fish and protects them while it's feeding time.

 

[cranberry]

Krill as been indicated in several pred aliments such a lock jaw and nutritional deficiencies. I've given up feeding krill to any of my preds, but I believe freeze dried is of greater concern. I know these ideas were about to be studied, but I'm not sure where the study lays at the moment. My sources seem unsure as well.
I'll have a little write up ready to go tonight if you would like to give it a read. It's tips for training your preds. Eventually it'll have videos but I'll need a new fish to train to do that..... and a new video camera....