lion feeding habit

[mckoi]

well we acquired a young/small vol. lion from the board weve read they eat krill and silversides? correct?
well we went to the lfs and they said they feed theirs guppies so we fed it some and it ate great, a few days later we decided to try the ghost shrimp we read about. it ate those great as well.
now we have a few ?'s.
by gutloading the shrimp, what exactly does that mean?
what type of garlic does one have to dip or soak these foods in?
also since our lfs said they do not carry the krill/silversides, where do we get these treats? also any other treats and recipes for our young lion would be appreciated.
one more ?. after eating how long til he digestes everything, we check on him and he has a fat belly thats a little dark, is this normal?. thanks.

 

[sharkboy13]

Originally Posted by McKoi
well we went to the lfs and they said they feed theirs guppies so we fed it some and it ate great
bad bad bad lfs, fresh feeders r deadly to saltwater, he might be ready to try some foods, wait for lion_crazz and v lioness. gut loading from what ive understood it as is u put ghost shrimp and some stuff u feed the fish in (like if u wanted to feed it brine [dont] u would put a brine shrimp cube in there and wait until it seemed the shrimp wer getting some of it in their stomachs, its easy to tell becuz its visible.

 

[v-lioness]

well we acquired a young/small vol. lion from the board weve read they eat krill and silversides? correct?
Volitans love their food are are pretty easy to wean, you can pick up a feeder stick from your LFS for about $2.50. Place the frozen food on the feeder stick and wiggle it, use smaller chunks of food when weaning your Volitan.
also since our lfs said they do not carry the krill/silversides, where do we get these treats? also any other treats and recipes for our young lion would be appreciated.
Volitans will eat a variety of foods, such as: Raw Shrimp, Crab, Mahi Mahi, Shark Steaks, Ocean Perch, Squid, Octo, Flounder, Red Snapper, Frozen Silversides, Frozen Sand Eels and Scallops.
As you can see most of the foods can come from your Local Grocery store.
by gutloading the shrimp, what exactly does that mean?
This mean feeding the shrimp something nutritional before feeding them to your lion. You can feed the shrimp Pellets, cyclopeze or even flake food.
what type of garlic does one have to dip or soak these foods in?
When using garlic, I use fresh garlic from the market, I just take a clove peel it and cut into a few chunks place it in a glass with some tank water, and let my fish foods thaw in the tank water and garlic before feeding it to my fish.
Along with garlic you should use vitamins (Zoe/Selcon) when soaking your foods.
one more ?. after eating how long til he digestes everything, we check on him and he has a fat belly thats a little dark, is this normal?
When feeding you can feed until there is a slight bulge in the stomach area, since your Volitan sounds young, wean it over to frozen foods, feed a small chunk daily, as your lion matures you can begin feeding every other day, once they reach adulthood you can feed every 2-3 days.
Over feeding is not healthy for your lion and feeding fresh water feeders such as guppies & goldfish will lead to the demise of your lion in a matter of months.
Hope this Helps,
Kaye

 

[psusocr1]

you can order silversides online from pet stores.
also you can feed any saltwater fish to your lion also including, octo, squidd, shrimp etc.
fresh garlic pressed is the best or kent marines garlic or garlic extreme etc. etc.
i feed my lions every two to three days and their happy with that!
as mentioned NEVER feed freshwater fish to saltwater fish!
need anythign else just ask away and good luck with the new lion

 

[psusocr1]

v-lioness just beat me to it!

 

[1journeyman]

The Kent Garlic extreme liquid seems to be great. My fish love the smell of it!
I too purchased a tiny Volitan from the pet store. It took him just a few days to start eating frozen foods along with the other fish.

 

[k-rok]

I just picked up a small - medium sized Black Volitan on friday and couldn't get him to eat until yesterday. (tuesday) Since I didn't have a small feeder stick I used a piece of fishing line. I tied a loop (very loose, just enough that the silverside wouldn't fall off) around the silverside and dangled it in the water - moved it around to make it look lifelike - otherwise the Lion wasn't interested in it. He grabbed it and tore it right off the line. I asked the LFS about a feeder stick and they no longer carry them. I hope to get the Lion used to me feeding him frozen stuff because he acts timid now.