Feeding Lions

[petem]

Hey all, I bought my first Lionfish, after asking the lfs what they eat, he responded by saying anything. I give my Picasso Trigger frozen Krill, and frozen clam. I guess I can try that. I feed my snowflake with tongs. The Lion is small, and he seems afraid of the big bulky tongs. Is there another method in feeding? Also, I seem him swimming down the tank wall at times. My wife thinks he's eating the algae on the wall, but I disagree, arent they strictly meat eaters? any advice would be appreciated. thanks.

 

[unleashed]

he will do fine on the krill.you can try stick feeding him.lions are hunters so his food has to move for him to want it.most lions wont eat food just lying about.if they cant chase it its not good food.as far as grazing from the bottom your very right hes not eating algae.hey are hunters not scavengers.the cool thing about lions is that hes one of the few fish i have ever seen that will accually sleep belly up or upside down tail up. lions need only meaty foods but a variety works best for them feeding one type alone can cause malnutrition.each type of food you feed has its own diet thus making it part of the lions diet.best foods are as followed<krill,sccallops,silverslides(if to large they can be broken into smaller form )suid.avoid very small food they normally wont go after it.also avoid very small fish in tank they WILL go after that.(my 6-7 in lion rescently swallowed my 4 in dragon wrasse)once you get him used to you feeding him you can gradually train him to get the food without a stick.congrads on your new lion you will grow to love him. :happyfish

 

[petem]

Is the stick method safe? I'm thinking, of a bamboo skewer, I used to feed my eel with that, but then I got visions of having eel shishkebob. That's when I switched to the tongs. Hey, thanks for the advice.

 

[unleashed]

if you have only a skewer they can work in a pinch but dont reuse it.I use an acrylic feeding stick the ends are not pointed I normally use a knife and make a small point at one end of the stick.makes sure its not to sharp dont want to poke the little fellas.they make then feeding sticks long enough to keep hands out of the tank .they are just a couple bucks at most LFS.and because they are clear they dont startle the fish like a stick would

 

[tnt]

I started out feeding live ghost shrimp because my lion wouldn't eat anything dead. After a couple of weeks I tricked him into eating squid tentacles by putting them in front of the powerhead. He would chase them across the tank and gobble them up. We then moved to stick feeding. Now I can hand feed him or just drop the food in front of him. They will start to recognize you as a feeding source and take anything you offer. I bought a frozen seafood mix in the seafood section at walmart. He eats silversides, squid, shrimp, mussels, crab, fish, and ghost shrimp. He also ate one of those frozen cube things that I was feeding my other fish. He evidently got over being picky!

 

[petem]

I'm wondering If I do the same, I used to feed my eel silversides, and he couldn't get enough of them. If I wiggle it in front of the powerhead, that may entice him. Thanks I'll try that. He's actually tiny. I don't know if that's a problem?

 

[unleashed]

if hes extremely tiny he might go after mysis shrimp floating around the tanl .they do move alot.just depends on your fish.my smaller of the lions wont normally eat floating mysis but he'll devour an emerald entrese cube.which is aglae and mysis shrimp

 

[petem]

Just got off the phone with my LFS, and he said they feed the rest of the lions, live guppies, and or minnows. But how long would these freshwater feeder fish last in the saltwater. before the lion notices that they are alive. I'm afraid they'd die before he notices them.

 

[tnt]

They won't last that long in saltwater and freshwater fish aren't the best diet for a lion. I think they're ok for a treat every now and then, but not as their staple diet. I would try some ghost shrimp if he refuses to eat dead food, and keep trying with the frozen stuff. I would just cut it into smaller chunks if he's small. Good Luck!!

 

[petem]

I bought about a dozen guppies. placed about half in the tank, and of course my trigger proceeded to devour each one. After cornering him in..uhm...the corner, with a net, I dumped the rest of the guppies in the tank, and the lion immediately went after them. So, he ate about three. So far, two people have told me not to feed freshwater fish to my Lion, that's it for me. I'll try to get some ghost shrimp. One other LFS, stocks them, but his chiller was busted so he was out of stock. How are these shrimp kept? so I could feed them to the lion? I know eventually, I need to get him on the frozen stuff, but in the mean time...any more ideas? Thanks

 

[tnt]

They're freshwater so we just kept ours in a 10g. I fed them fish flakes. They come right up to eat. They're easy to keep. I had some real plants and snails in the tank. We bought 3 dozen at a time. They are only $2.50 a dozen here. I just ran a air bubbler and no filter. My tank was always clear.

 

[unleashed]

surf around on other sites one which i cant mention name of sells sw shrimp as feeders they are just like ghost shrimp but a sw species.very good price too

 

[petem]

So I finally got my Lion to eat frozen Krill. This was after I ordered my live ghost shrimp. Is it okay to give him a live treat every now and then or is that just defeating the purpose?

 

[angelsrock]

i feed mine krill. you are gonna have to feed him feeder fish(not goldfish though) until he starts eating them as soon as they touch the water. then start tricking him and throw in a piece of krill or silverside. after that you won't have a problem.