Help with lionfish!!!!!!!!

[seahorsecu]

:help: So we adopted a lionfish from a fish store and he won't eat! We have tried frozen and live goldfish at night too. Also he is hanging around at the top, but not like dying, his eye is at the surface. He doesn't have a crevice or cave yet but he is the only fish in a 55. I don't know the water perimeters but the temp is at 80.4 and the salinity is stable. What is happening???!!!

 

[woolfe]

I'm kind of new too but I do know that you need to know what the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels are. Your also probably going to be asked how old the tank is before anyone will answer you. Include all that info. and you'll probably get a quicker response.

 

[sugarfox03]

How long has the tank been set up?

 

[seahorsecu]

thanx my tank is about 1 month old

 

[sign guy]

did the tank cycle?

 

[seahorsecu]

We gave it a week or so, and a little algea that has grown.

 

[sign guy]

sounds like your tank has spiked You need to test your water I would do a 25% water change

 

[seahorsecu]

How do we get him to eat? Am I feeding him the right stuff? Should I make him a cave?

 

[sign guy]

sounds like he has food and a cave alredy try live brine
but if your prams are high he is dieing

 

[seahorsecu]

Thankx anything else?

 

[sign guy]

was he eating at the lfs?

 

[saltfreak4]

I agree, you really need to know what the water parameters are, and quick. I would take a sample in to the store if you don't have a test kit at home. A week is not really long enough for most tanks to cycle. If it were me I would take the fish back to the store and see if they will 1) acclimate it to their tanks, carefully and 2) see if they will fish sit him until your tank is ready. Also, ask the LSF guy if he was eating at the store. Some people on this site have said it's hard to get them to eat and they are actually dying at the store, they just finish dying at your house.
Hope this helps.

 

[seahorsecu]

Thanx soooooooooo much!!!

 

[saltfreak4]

Glad to help.

 

[1journeyman]

As stated above, if your water parameters are off the fish is dying and probably won't eat. You need to get a good test kit and ALWAYS check that at the FIRST sign of trouble.
What type of lion is it? Some do not fair well in captivity.
Do a search on this forum for "cycling" to get an idea of the ammonia>nitrite>nitrate cycle and how it affects your fish.
Also, do some reading up on Lions. Marine fish need to be fed marine foods. Feeding a lion goldfish will eventually kill it (I seem to recall something about fat building up on the liver or something like that...)
Good luck with him.