Lion Fish Wont eat

[jd]

I have had my lion fish for a little over 2 months now now, He was in the LFS eating freshwater feeders for baout 4 months.
I kept feeding him feeders until he recognized me as his food source. Then held the guppeies in my hand so he was eating out of my hand. Then tried holding small frozen shrimp, spit them out, tried holding warmed up shrimp, spit them out.
Then i tried only feeding him warm shrimp, that i was wiggling aroung, going to wait him out, he didnt eat for so long he almost died
He will literally only eat live swimming fish. My fish store does not carry any live saltwater shrimp at all. Only freshwater shrimp and feeders.
What are my options for feeding him, where can i order live feeder shrimp from?

 

[primetime]

Hey JD,
I just got my Lionfish about a 3-4 weeks ago.
Go get yourself a feeding stick and place a silverside on it.
You may want to wiggle it a little bit or place in the current of your jets to make look alive. My guy hangs out all day long upside down in his cave, until I put that stick in there, then he jumps on it like lightning.
Or you may want to check your livestock, he may have chomped on them for food.
I hope this helps you out. And I wish your new buddy good luck.
Dion

 

[guineawhop]

i agree try the silversides because if he takes the krill and just spits it back out maybe he doesn't like the taste, silversides will have the taste he's looking for.

 

[jer4916]

my lion is the same way, he will only eat goldfish, but i've noticed he likes to eat 3 or 4 each time hes eatting i've been mixing in brine shrimp with the goldfish and hes starting to eat it more then the goldfish, you might just want to feed him two things at the same time like i do...it might work for you,..worked for me!... plus keep in mind goldfish feeders ...are not a great choice for a consistant food diet for him, it lacks vitamins he needs...etc
chris

 

[cubfan]

Try ghost shrimp for a while. I usually get my lions comforatble in the tank for about 3 to 4 weeks, feeding 2 to 3 ghost shrimp every other day. Then, after about a month, I toss in about 20 ghost shrimp and it's everyone for themselves. Then, I don't feed anything for 5 days. Then, I toss in a krill and the lions are so hungry, they jump right on it. If they don't eat, try again the next day. Contrary to popular belief, lionfish will NOT starve themselves to death if appropriate food is offered. They're like little kids, they'll eat when they get hungry enough. Good luck.:happyfish

 

[lion_crazz]

Here is the process that I designed to train lionfish to accept frozen foods and it has never failed with a healthy lionfish.
**Whatever you do, or whatever your lfs tells you, DO NOT USE FRESHWATER FEEDERFISH! THIS WILL KILL YOUR LION! It gives them fatty liver disease!**
Start him out with live ghost shrimp and wean him to frozen that way. The way that has worked for me, and many others, including people that I have helped is as follows. Buy your live ghost shrimp. First, make sure he accepts ghost shrimp and eats them pretty quickly. They normally always do. Feed him only one at a time. Once he eats the first, put another into the water. If he does accept and eat them quickly, feed him a few days straight of just putting them into the water and allowing him to grab them quickly. Then, after a few days, begin to feed him every other day. The lion will start to recognize you as the food source and he will periodically swim to the top of the tank when he sees you. When it comes time to feed him, take out one ghost shrimp and instead of just dropping it in the water, hold it between your fingers and make him want the food. Drag it along the surface and make him follow your fingers. After he follows your fingers for a few seconds, release the food and allow him to eat it. Continue to feed him this way for a week. In one week, he should very readily accept frozen silversides this same way without any problem, because he will recognize in his brain that your fingers mean food. Then, after a week or two of doing it with the silversides, feeding him should not be an issue at all.

 

[jer4916]

how long does this fatty liver problem take to come about?....because my lion has been eating feeders for 4 years and had never had a problem, and hes more active than any other lion i've ever seen.
thanks

 

[guineawhop]

Originally posted by Jer4916
how long does this fatty liver problem take to come about?....because my lion has been eating feeders for 4 years and had never had a problem, and hes more active than any other lion i've ever seen.
thanks
yours is a lost cause i'd say, but if you really want to try and save it at least switch to mollies, or try and wean it off of goldfish. out of any feeders goldfish are the worst fish to feed. they carry disease like it's their job and no nutrients except protein.

 

[ophiura]

Why risk a lionfish to a $.10 feeder fish that is a totally foreign food source (asian freshwater carp to indo pacific saltwater fish?). Not to mention when you could feed it something you keep in the freezer (btw, it should be thawed, don't feed frozen food, nor warmed up food).
How long have you gone without feeding this lionfish? Few predatory fish are, IME, so stubborn that they will starve to death rather than eating other food. But I wouldn't necessarily go from live feeders to shrimp. I agree on the silversides. That's a good plan. The ghost shrimp is another good way, but either way, you might very well have to "starve him out" for several days. Don't let him train you. I wouldn't feed him for several days and try the silverside method.

 

[jd]

LFS has some freshwater ghost shrimp, but nothing else, where do i go about getting silversides?
Thank you for all of you replies, ill try waiting him out now i guess.
Lion Crazz, i have been trying you method, that worked great for my eel, but not at all for my lion. It is agreat way though, and i reccomend it to anyone

 

[lion_crazz]

Thank you for the compliments.
As to the lionfish, that is surprising. You are the first person to tell me my method did not work.. good luck regardless.
Anyways, I am surprised you are having trouble finding frozen silversides. Send me an email at Ry84@MSN.com and I will try to see if I can find a link where you might be able to buy them online.

 

[puddinpop]

i had a lion fish for along time til i switched to a reef tank i always fed him live fresh water fish ( rosies and guppies) depending on what the pet store had i always got goast shrimp from walmart and those were his fav. they are also fresh water but with the way lion fish eat i would go with guppies there .10 a peice and the easiest things in the world to breed

 

[cubfan]

I understand the frustration is weaning lions to frozen food, but you will cut your lion's lifespan more than in half if you feed FW feeders (that includes goldfish, mollies,, guppies). Trust me, if you have to starve the fish for 5 to 6 days, it'll probably be more painful for you than the fish.

 

[femmeartist51]

My ifs sold me guppies as feeder fish, I gather that isn't good for my lion. Of course, he was just put in the tank yesterday. Why don't the supplier to the ifs tell the store what the fish have been eating, in my case what has the lion fish ate. I guess it won't kill the lion to put the few guppies in there. He won't eat them anyway. Won't eat krill. I know my puffer will. So he will be so happy. So ghost shrimp, my ifs doesn't have ghost shrimp. Been trying to find ways to make this lion eat frozen food. I might have to get him some fresh shrimp at the grocery and see if he will eat that. He hangs upside down, not doing much. I put a very thin light weight stick, in the tank with a krill on it, seemed to have annoyed him. He didn't want that either. Oh well stubborn fish. Thanks

 

[saxman]

WOW...looks like you jumped into a thread that is like 8 years old! Next time, it may be best to start your own thread because some peeps see "2005???!!! That's a OLD thread!".
Anyhow, I can help you out with your questions, but I have a few of my own for you:
1. What species of lionfish do you have?
2. How big is it?
3. Is the lionfish in the same tank as your puffer (what kind of puffer, and how big is it?)? Lionfish and puffers really don't mix well...puffers tend to nip at the lionfishes fins.
4. How large is the tank?
5. What other tankmates are in the tank?
6. Did you QT the lionfish?
If you can post a pic of the lionfish, I can help acertain it's general condition.
The reason I ask about tankmates is because lionfish are very passive fish and rowdy tankmates can cause them to refuse food, esp. if the lionfish is the newby.
The chances are that the lionfish haven't been fed properly at the wholesaler, so they may not be eating ANYTHING. The wholesalers really don't plan on the fish being there very long, and lionfish are "special needs" fish. They also assume that LFS owners know how to feed their fish.
I'm not sure how much you know about lionfish, but I do recommend giving both of these articles a read:
Lionfish Care:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/careguides/lionfish.shtml
Feeding Predatory Species:
http://www.lionfishlair.com/feedingtechniques/toolsofthetrade.shtml
Check out the articles and answer my questions, then we'll see where we stand.

 

[femmeartist51]

Hi, thanks for info. I have read and researched about lion fish, Got a volitan, think it is called black. Just put into tank yesterday. Did the trickle and soaked before I put in the isolation tank for his trickle. They say he is medium, I had asked for a small one, his body is 3-4". All the other fish, the puffer stay away from him. The puffer doesn't care a thing about the lion fish. That can change I guess. I had heard the puffer is ok with the lion, as is the niger trigger I have. Those two are very passive fish. The trigger hides all day in his special place. The puffer is about 3-4" also. Porcupine puffer has blue eyes. Really cool. Have a niger trigger. Researched and was told this was ok with a lion. Other triggers might not be. I have a damsel. Not sure what will happen with her and a larger clown fish. Too large so far for the lion to eat. I have read and researched about lion fish. Found out I will have to try to feed using a feeding stick. My ifs sold me guppies, wow they don't know do they. Read guppies are not great for the lion. He won't eat them, also tried krill. He is not interested in it. Of course this is only 2nd day and not really 2nd day more a day and half. He is not hiding now. Which is a good sign, funny all the other fish stay on one side of tank and him on his side. Turf war maybe, well not war yet. I keep an eye on them for sure. Tank is 90 gallon. He is a healthy fish. I will try and take a picture thanks for your help. Oh I read that they need to learn to eat frozen, or dried food. I did try the guppy on a thin piece broom straw. He was not interested. He will be a stubborn fish. I use to raise koi fish, so much different with them, as they eat all the time. Pigs with fins lol. thanks for your help

 

[saxman]

P. volitans is very rarely hard to feed. Your fish will need to settle for a few days, esp. since it's not alone (QT is the best place to wean preds, BTW). A healthy lionfish can easily go a month without food, so don't fret.
Guppies aren't so bad, esp. short term, and live ghost shrimp are an excellent food. However, you do need to watch out for krill...it's completely devoid of vitamin C, tends to contain high concentrations of thiaminase, and their shells contain excessive amounts of fluoride. To make matters worse, they can be rather addicting, causing the fish to refuse other foods.
I strongly recommend making yourself a "stealth stick" as described in the article I linked in my post above...they are absolutely the best tool you can have for weaning your fish.