Just another dwarf lion feeding question. PLEASE HELP!!!

[thoroughbred]

Thats great to hear! Now that he realizes when you stick your arm in the tank food will be there he should take it every time. Once hes got a taste for food you can try some other ways to feed him (ways that don't get you all wet

).
Smooth Sailing from here

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by leftyblite
I tried holding some frozen brine shrimp with my fingers that I had thawed out and soaked in vitamins today. At first it didn't want anything to do with them. Finally I got one to swim away as if in a panic using my finger, he circled it and at the last second I released it, and it immediately attacked and ate!!!! I did this with 2 other shrimp and the same thing happened. I hopefully am finally getting him to start with frozen.

Glad to hear it! A lion is a natural hunter, and his instinct to hunt and eat was the way to go. IMO; we need to remember the fish's natural feeding method when trying to get any reluctant fish to eat. When he stops being so picky, freeze-dried krill soaked in Selcon is a good food. Get away from the brine shrimp asap; mysiss shrimp is much more nutritious.

 

[hammerhed7]

just keep working at it, the main thing is to keep him eating for the first few weeks so that he will be off t a good start in your tank. I have had similar experiences with my lions, and yours will come around. My 2 volitans ill eat anything that hits the water. Ghost shrimp are good, you can even get by with guppies also. Alot of people on the forum panic if you feed your lion freshwater fish. As long as you keep this temporary you will have no problems. Dietary problems in humans and fish are not immediate, for example, eating at McDonalds occasionally will not have any effects on your health, however if you were to eat it every meal every day overtime it would kill you (There was a movie made on this).
Consider fresh water feeders to be fast food, while not the best answer, if only done until he is weaned to better foods it will not pose a problem.
Just my way too long winded opinion.
Good Luck!

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by Hammerhed7
just keep working at it, the main thing is to keep him eating for the first few weeks so that he will be off t a good start in your tank. I have had similar experiences with my lions, and yours will come around. My 2 volitans ill eat anything that hits the water. Ghost shrimp are good, you can even get by with guppies also. Alot of people on the forum panic if you feed your lion freshwater fish. As long as you keep this temporary you will have no problems. Dietary problems in humans and fish are not immediate, for example, eating at McDonalds occasionally will not have any effects on your health, however if you were to eat it every meal every day overtime it would kill you (There was a movie made on this).
Consider fresh water feeders to be fast food, while not the best answer, if only done until he is weaned to better foods it will not pose a problem.
Just my way too long winded opinion.
Good Luck!
I'm hesitant to say it; but I'm glad to hear someone else say an OCCASIONAL FW feeder is ok for a lion. From what I've read, (Fenner,et al) the big problem is fatty deposits developing around a lions liver. Anyone who has ever fished for and caught both FW &SW fish can tell how much "fatter" FW fish are. A big part of this whole problem is that lions are so much fun to watch while hunting that their owners do it far too often....then again, maybe damsels do have a purpose....

 

[leftyblite]

I tried 2 LFS near me today looking for mysiss shrimp but couldn't find any. I found some krill that looked like shrimp but wasn't sure if it would be OK or not. The 2nd store I went into I only went into to check for the shrimp and when I asked they told me the krill would be good, but I decided to research it first.

 

[leftyblite]

Sorry Srfisher, didn't quite catch the krill part on your post, until I re read it this morning. I'll go back in the next day or so and pick them up. Only question is they were frozen not freeze dried. Is this still OK or is there a difference???

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by leftyblite
Sorry Srfisher, didn't quite catch the krill part on your post, until I re read it this morning. I'll go back in the next day or so and pick them up. Only question is they were frozen not freeze dried. Is this still OK or is there a difference???

Sure, just thaw in a little tank water first. A tiny bit of garlic, added while thawing, can often get a finicky eater to scarf it up. Also; what kind of LFS doesn't have frozen mysiss shrimp?