LION FISH

[jojostevie]

i purchased a 3rd lion fish today, the first 2 i had died, first one cuz the ammonia was high and second because he would not eat anything we gave him. the one i got today was sitting upside down when i went in to get him and he is still upside down, he is breathing and all but is this normal for a lion fish to do or is he gonna die?

 

[saxman]

define "sitting upside down"...lions will often put their bellies to the ceiling of caves and overhangs. i have also seen them swimming with their bellies against the surface of the water for short periods. our bluefin lion occasionally will do a "barrel roll" when chasing food items in the water column.
that being said, if the lion is just sitting on the bottom or on the rockwork upside down, there's a problem.
what species do you have?
what are your major water parameters (temp, pH, NH3, NO2, NO3)?
tank size and age of setup?
tankmates?
was the fish shipped or did it come from LFS?
can you post a pic?
help us help you...

 

[meowzer]

I'm a little curious as to how long you wait before adding these lions after each one has died

 

[jojostevie]

i have heard it is a red lion or a volitan, its has red zebra like stripes. ph is 8.2, nitrate is 0 nitrite is 0 and ammonia is 0. the fish was shipped to my local pet store, what is lfs? havent figured out how to post a pic yet sorry. and it has its mouth to the top of the water belly up just sitting there doing nothing but breathing, seems to be breathing kind of fast and hard. temp varies between 82 and 86.

 

[jojostevie]

my last one died about 3 weeks ago.

 

[saxman]

why on earth are you running your tank so warm??? you should be running about 76*F for this fish. it is likely that the fish is starved for oxygen. drop an airline into the tank and get the temp down (slowly) as warmer water holds less dissolved O2.
BTW, LFS = Local Fish Store.

 

[sepulatian]

How did the other's die? A temp of 82-86 would not kill him. A fluctuation that big would though. Is this tank new? Lions require very stable parameters.

 

[oceankid]

I'm so sorry to hear this...I didn't know that lion fish is that hard to take care of...

 

[btldreef]

Also, are you aware of their eating habits? Most come from the LFS not eating frozen food and have to be wheened off fresh to frozen.
They produce a lot of waste, especially when they're still on live food which can cause an ammonia spike very quickly and then you'll have another dead fish to deal with.
Your temperature needs to be stable, and 82-86 is too high. As others have stated, bring it down slowly, but you need to keep it down once it gets there. Strive for your tank to be 76-79 degrees if possible.

 

[saxman]

Originally Posted by OceanKid
http:///forum/post/3283634
I'm so sorry to hear this...I didn't know that lion fish is that hard to take care of...
many lions, especially P. volitans, P. russelii, and D. brachypterus are fairly "bulletproof" fish. lions are, however "special needs" fish in terms of feeding,in that the old "just toss them a few feeder goldfish" or keeping them in undersized tanx because "they don't swim much" ideas of keeping them are dead wrong.
just as with any other fish you decide to keep, you should learn about them before acquiring them, and once you take the time to get your fish established and weaned, they are long-lived, disease-resistant fish that will give you many years of pleasure.

 

[jstdv8]

what did you try feeding the last one that it wouldnt eat?
What are you trying to feed this one?
What other tank mates are in there with it?
PH needs to be stable
my lion lived through a mini cycle in my tank when I got it witht het ank I bought. they are pretty tough, but at the same time its easy to watch them an know there is something wrong with your tank. Mine would not sit level in the tank if the PH dropped (got better after I added sump)
He would sleep with his belly on a verticale section of rock with his mouth near the sand and his tail towards the top of the tank. They will also take this position if they are afraid and trying to defend themselves against attack. They stick the spines towards the enemy.