Dwarf Lion Wont Eat!!!

[thedocta]

I have recently purchased a fuzzy dwarf lion that on the first day ate a silverside but now 4 days later he wont eat. All i have is silversides right now because my LFS only has feeders that are way to big for him. The store i bought him from said he wouldnt eat krill so i dont know what else to feed him. If he doesnt eat soon im afraid he'll starve so i need suggestions. Im gonna try him with some ghost shrimp tommorow so maybe that'll work. If anyone has any suggestions please tell me.

 

[mr.smiley]

Yes,ghost shrimp will work! All saltwater fish love ghost shrimp!

 

[dskidmore]

Someone suggested painting eyes on any headless pieces of seafood you give. Apparently it's important to swallow head first.

 

[thedocta]

I usually have no need to because i feed my lion the heads and eel the rest. It seems like my lion's kinda lazy...do they get more active when chasing down food like ghost shrimp or do they wait for the shrimp to come near them?

 

[liontamer]

Wiggle it at the surface of the water to get their attention, then drop it in front of a current. They dont really like dead food alot, its kinda like stooping to the level of a scavenger in a sense. Im not sure if they really are "proud" creatures, but they like their food wiggling. Also, try krill, i dunno wat yer lfs is talking about. Usually a good mouthful of krill is good. Its tougher to get them on that though, but lions diets are mainly shrimps and fish. Good luck though, they are tough to get to eat, but tey are great fish

 

[thedocta]

Hey liontamer...thanks for the advice i've got one question still. If I can't get the lion to eat whats the best thing to wit him...how long can he go without eating...when should i take him back to my LFS?

 

[squidd]

My PV Lion like Sally's squid Chunks (course he likes just about anything I put in the tank... )
He had also gone without eating for 10 days to 2 weeks one time and then just reverted to his normal self...
Keep trying different things (including Krill) and maintain a varied diet once he does start eating...
Just because he responds to one type of food do not keep feeding that day after day...Even if some are not eaten with the same zeal as the others, the varity will be good for him and his digestive system...

 

[squidd]

Originally posted by DSkidmore
Someone suggested painting eyes on any headless pieces of seafood you give. Apparently it's important to swallow head first.
I have noticed the "Krill" with the eyes get a "quicker" response then those that don't have them...:yes: And I had thought about "adding" eyes to some of the larger pieces of "fish flesh" I toss in...But a "lively" wiggle seems to elicit a feeding response just as well..
Course once they realize I'm there to feed them, most anything I drop in the tank gets "snapped" up...

 

[thedocta]

The ghost shrimp worked great thanks for the advice.

 

[liontamer]

Dont rely on ghost shrimp forever though, slowly move it to frozen food, one week at a time. Alternate with like two live foods one week, then a live then froze, then next week a frozen and a live, then the week after, full frozen, It usually works. And they can go a while w/o eating, trust me.

 

[thedocta]

Ok ill try that...also i was wondering how often to feed him. I fed him on big ghost shrimp today and he seemed to be pretty full after that (wouldnt even look at the second). I dont want to over feed because right now i dont have a skimmer at all just a hang on filter and a pwerhead with filter but on monday ill have a protein skimmer, but not a top pf the line one but hopefully it'll work.

 

[liontamer]

Wen the fish looks hungry, then feed it. If it is a juvenile, u should feed it a lil bit every day to support its growth and watnot. It will soon "tell you" wen it is hungry, wen it knows where the food is coming from. Theyll swim to the glass. If theyre not hungry then theyll just chill out still.

 

[thedocta]

Ok ill watch to see when hes hungry but right now im treating my tank for ick...should i feed the normal amount during this?

 

[liontamer]

Yea, they need the food so their immune system can still function properly.

 

[thedocta]

Ok im feeding them normal but they seem to be less hungry than normal...i think thats tipical. My lion is slightly off color but shows no other signs of ick at the moment so maybe its starting to die off.