Help me with feeding my lionfish

R

rcreations

Guest
Hey everyone, I have a Fuzzy Dwarf that's giving me a hard time eating. The other lion I have eats like a pig anything I drop in the tank. He even tried to eat a mushroom I was trying to place on a rock.

Anyway, back to little fuzzy. She'll eat ghost shrimp like crazy, no problem there. I've had her for about 4 weeks and she's grown already, she's about 4" now. But I've tried to feed her sliverside, krill, pieces of raw shrimp, she just won't touch them. She'll look at them, know they're not ghost shrimp, then turn away. I tried everything I could think of... twirling them, shaking them in front of her, tried using garlic, nothing works. She's extremely smart and knows the difference between her favorite ghost shrimp and the other stuff.
Anyone have any ideas what I can try? I don't want to feed her ghost shrimp forever.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Here is what I've done successfully to wean Lions onto frozen foods.
First, QT the fish. You need it alone to target feed it and to keep it's attention.
I started by using a strong bottled liquid garlic like Kent's Garlic Xtreme. Soak their live food in it for a few minutes. Pour some of the water into the tank before feeding. In a few days you should notice the garlic is stimulating feeding behavior when you pour the water in. Get the Lion used to equating garlic with food.
Then try to feed some live, some dead ghost shrimp. Maybe wait a few days between feedings, get it good and hungry, then feed 1 live, then try a dead. That kind of thing.
After you have it eating dead shrimp, begin to mix in other foods, again soaked in garlic.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
Thanks for the suggestion. There's no way for me to QT the fish but competition for food is not an issue. This is a lionfish only tank and the only other fish there, is another spotfin lion. And the spotfin never bothers the fuzzy dwarf when I'm trying to feed, as long as I fed it first. I can dangle food in front of it for 10 minutes, no problem.
I did try the garlic method. Soaking the ghost shrimp in garlic to get it used to the garlic flavor and associate it with the shrimp. It's also eaten dead ghost shrimp no problem. It eats from a feeding stick, from my hand, as long as it's ghost shrimp. But this lion is really smart. I'm not kidding... it looks at the food and can tell it apart. Like it will look at the krill and then turn away. I can dangle it in front of its mouth, it doesn't care.
I feed it every other day. I've even tried to get it hungry by not feeding it for 4 days and it still won't touch frozen food. Is there any live food besides ghost shrimp I can feed it that is healthy?
 
R

rcreations

Guest
Anyone have any other suggestions? Are there any other frozen foods I should try?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2544193
FEED LIVE MINNOWS OR GUPPIES
Multiple experts have tested and explained the health risks associated with feeding fw feeders to sw predators. These experts have actually necropsied dead Lionfish and studied their digestive tracts amd imtermal organs.
Please do some research on this before suggesting it as it is bad advice that will lead to shortened life spans of SW predators.
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2544085
Anyone have any other suggestions? Are there any other frozen foods I should try?
Hmm.. Well if you have it eating dead shrimp you are halfway there. Have you tried attaching a bit of krill or other shrimp along with the ghost shrimp at the same time?
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2544557
Multiple experts have tested and explained the health risks associated with feeding fw feeders to sw predators. These experts have actually necropsied dead Lionfish and studied their digestive tracts amd imtermal organs.
Please do some research on this before suggesting it as it is bad advice that will lead to shortened life spans of SW predators.
wow i thought some fish ate live fish?mabey!!! i have never seen wild fish in the ocean eatin some frozen prepared stuff.just seems 1 sided and whatz the differance between frozen silversides and live?live 1s you can see there some what healthy, dead 1s you have no clue.
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2543348
Here is what I've done successfully to wean Lions onto frozen foods.
First, QT the fish. You need it alone to target feed it and to keep it's attention.
I started by using a strong bottled liquid garlic like Kent's Garlic Xtreme. Soak their live food in it for a few minutes. Pour some of the water into the tank before feeding. In a few days you should notice the garlic is stimulating feeding behavior when you pour the water in. Get the Lion used to equating garlic with food.
Then try to feed some live, some dead ghost shrimp. Maybe wait a few days between feedings, get it good and hungry, then feed 1 live, then try a dead. That kind of thing.
After you have it eating dead shrimp, begin to mix in other foods, again soaked in garlic.
itz sadd you have to wean a fish from somethin it would normally eat.how is that the correct thing 2 do?
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2544588
wow i thought some fish ate live fish?mabey!!! i have never seen wild fish in the ocean eatin some frozen prepared stuff.just seems 1 sided and whatz the differance between frozen silversides and live?live 1s you can see there some what healthy, dead 1s you have no clue.
Please more carefully read what I posted.
Saltwater fish (SW) should not be fed Freshwater (FW) feeders... You said "guppies" and "minnows". Both are typically freshwater fish.
Feeding live SW fish is also dangerous unless you are properly QTing feeders...
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2544590
itz sadd you have to wean a fish from somethin it would normally eat.how is that the correct thing 2 do?
In the wild Lions and other predators feed on a very wide array of fish and inverts. You wean them off of live foods so that you are able to better feed them a wider and more healthy diet.
 
R

rcreations

Guest
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2544558
Hmm.. Well if you have it eating dead shrimp you are halfway there. Have you tried attaching a bit of krill or other shrimp along with the ghost shrimp at the same time?
Thanks! That's a great idea!
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2544558
Hmm.. Well if you have it eating dead shrimp you are halfway there. Have you tried attaching a bit of krill or other shrimp along with the ghost shrimp at the same time?
dead shrimp that soundz so healthy .
that seems like badd advise.wood u eat something that has been dead with out cookin it?i wood think bacteria in a dead invert wood not be good.!!but u the MAN
 
R

rcreations

Guest
First of all I would not feed guppies to my Lion. I know they're bad for them. I'd just continue feeding ghost shrimp before guppies.
Second, I don't think anyone was talking about ghost shrimp that have been dead for a long time. When I said it ate a dead ghost shrimp I was talking about one that just died. I put it in the garlic juice for too long and it died, RECENTLY like within 15-30 minutes.
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by RCreations
http:///forum/post/2544810
First of all I would not feed guppies to my Lion. I know they're bad for them. I'd just continue feeding ghost shrimp before guppies.
Second, I don't think anyone was talking about ghost shrimp that have been dead for a long time. When I said it ate a dead ghost shrimp I was talking about one that just died. I put it in the garlic juice for too long and it died, RECENTLY like within 15-30 minutes.
all good you asked for a suggestions ,i gave 1.i feed my trigs and eelz fresh water feeders i have no probz. he said 2 feed frozen stuff?but do u no if that stuff was healthy before it was frozen. ive never seen a spice rack in the ocean either.a very few select people feed live feeders most dont.but i wood bet that that lion wood love some live stuff.wood have no trouble feedin then.or just stave it it will anventually eat anything
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2544823
all good you asked for a suggestions ,i gave 1.i feed my trigs and eelz fresh water feeders i have no probz. he said 2 feed frozen stuff?but do u no if that stuff was healthy before it was frozen. ive never seen a spice rack in the ocean either.a very few select people feed live feeders most dont.but i wood bet that that lion wood love some live stuff.wood have no trouble feedin then.or just stave it it will anventually eat anything
And you've also admitted on other threads that you don't care if your fish die...
Did you properly read the original post? His lion is eating fine... He wants to wean it to frozen foods. No risk of starvation.
Sorry Slackjawed, feeding frozen foods is far more beneficial for hobbyists, for a variety of reasons:
1. Frozen prepared foods can have added vitamins
2. No risk of introducing SW disease
3. No risk of introducing SW parasite
4. Able to provide much more variety
5. More properly acclimates fish to captivity
6. Easier to keep on hand
The major zoos and aquariums of the world don't feed live foods to their fish and animals for the same reasons as a hobbyist shouldn't.
 
slackjawed

slackjawed

Member
Originally Posted by 1journeyman
http:///forum/post/2544859
And you've also admitted on other threads that you don't care if your fish die...
Did you properly read the original post? His lion is eating fine... He wants to wean it to frozen foods. No risk of starvation.
Sorry Slackjawed, feeding frozen foods is far more beneficial for hobbyists, for a variety of reasons:
1. Frozen prepared foods can have added vitamins
2. No risk of introducing SW disease
3. No risk of introducing SW parasite
4. Able to provide much more variety
5. More properly acclimates fish to captivity
6. Easier to keep on hand
The major zoos and aquariums of the world don't feed live foods to their fish and animals for the same reasons as a hobbyist shouldn't.
well ok!! like i said u the man!!zoo feed frozen because it wood be so expensive for them 2 feed live. feedin lions or tigers live food
that would be awsome too!!.most not all diseases cant make the tranfer from fresh 2 salt.i just dont understand, you say feed frozen.when you have the option two feed live and see that the fish"looks" healthy insted on the hopin it was.we as humans half 2 worrie about our "frozen or prepared foods" E-COLI ring a bell.what about the 5 $$ a hr flunkey who prepared our food for our fish.soundz clean and disease free.because you no the standards are so high . but i do understand your way of thinkin about triin to keep aggressive fish mellow. i do care about my fish they are totally fine.did u read his "quote"it asked for suggestions??????? right?? but i no im wrong and all my fish will go postal and die because i feed live and thats unhealthy as u have stated.and i thought this is a place to state your thoughts.........
 
1journeyman

1journeyman

Active Member
Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2512937
....i just like aggression and hell whatz 40 $$ nuttin...i have no use 4 the weak

Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2512907
... and yea some r missin finz just the pork puffer and lepard eel a kind of gettin but kicked but every one else is a o.k levelz r all good 2 honestly it s not that bad hidin placez 4 all

Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2525207
AND IF IT ENDS BADD I NO CARE PLENTY OF$$ ONLY LIKE 2 K IN FISH NOW WILL START OVER AND DO THE SAME
THANK 4 THE WELL WISHIN


Originally Posted by slackjawed
http:///forum/post/2544926
.. i do care about my fish they are totally fine...........

I'm glad you now care for your fish. In many previous threads, including several that have been deleted, you have specifically pointed out you don't care what happens to them.
I never said you can't post your opinion. Your opinion, however, will be challenged by more knowledgable hobbyists anytime you post ridiculous comments on threads such as this.
Your comments on live fish looking healthy is absurd. Can you look at a feeder fish and tell how nutrionally valuable it is going to be? Freezing prepared foods for our pets kills the majority of parasites and diseases. I've never heard of a fish contracting E. coli before. Feel free to provide a link for that... In fact, as E coli is found on the surface of skin and tissue and humans often get it from eating under cooked meat I highly suspect eating raw fish would give you a greater risk of contracting it; that is, if it was really an issue..
You are correct in that feeding FW fish to SW fish greatly reduces any risk of parasites, or infections. What you conveniently refuse to address, however, is the issue that feeding fW fish to SW predators leads to an unhealthy fatty buildup on internal organs and leads to vitamin deficiencies. Not to mention that SW fish need a variety in their diet, something FW guppies and minnows fail to provide. According to Fenner's website, for instance, FW feeders have a type of body fat that SW predators cannot adequately digest.
I'm not "the man" by any means. I learn things every day in this hobby and on this forum. That said, it's clear on this particular topic I have chosen to educate myself on properly feeding fish. You have not. FW feeders are not good, long term choices, for SW fish. Ever.
 
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