Lion is struggling...help

[hocky98]

My Lion is sitting on the bottom. It looks like he is struggling to get up. I checked all my water levels and they are fine. I have a fireplace in the tank room and it was on today. The water temp went up 2 degrees to 81. Is that the problem? They ate alot of fish. I was excited to show how they eat and maybe over fed them. The wolf eel is doing well, but what is wrong with the lion?

 

[hocky98]

I feed the lion about 6 feeder goldfish in the first 3 days. Do you think he may just be overfed?

 

[lion_crazz]

You are quickly killing that fish with kindness. Stop feeding him ANY type of freshwater fish! That is the easiest way to kill your lionfish. If you want a cool show for your guests, feed the lion ghost shrimp. Otherwise, train him onto frozen food. Right now, your lion is in the early stages of fatty liver disease, which is lethal. Switch him to ghost shrimp immediatley before it is too late.

 

[hocky98]

While waiting for a reply, I monitored the lion. He doesn't have any visable illnesses. He is now moving about the tank, but not as lively as in the first 4 days. Maybe he is just a little over fed. How much and how often do I want to feed these guys? What type of food should I offer?

 

[lion_crazz]

See above post.

 

[liontamer]

There could be problems with yer bioload in there right now too. As i said a while ago, you took things really fast with this tank, and putting 2 large fish in it too start wasnt a great idea cuz the tank probably wasnt mature enough for both of those fish at the same time. And, hes right about the goldfish. Plus, if u wanna show off yer fish to yer friends, then get a grouper, not a lion. Its not really taht fun to watch a lion eat, cuz they stalk the food, rahter than shoot after it like groupers do. Definitely get him on a healthier diet though

 

[hocky98]

OK I can stop giving him goldfish, but how often, what amount, and what type of food should I offer. I know I should also offer a variety of food. Accually, the wolf eel is the one that puts on the show...and gets the first meal.

 

[lion_crazz]

There really isn't as much bioload problems as there is dietary issues. A wolf eel and a small lion is not a very large bioload to a new, cycled aquarium if you are feeding them properly, which you are not. The lion should be eating healthy food every few days, not 6 goldfish every day. The wolf eel does not put out the wasteload of an eel, so you are okay there.
Also, I would not advise on getting anything for the "show" or the art of the hunt. It's an easy way to make your fish a lot more aggressive than they need to/should be.

 

[liontamer]

There is no SHOW my friend, and u should feed em every other day on like fresh shrimp and silversides, squidd, clams and scallops. Try to get as much fresh as u can from the market, its cheap, but start with frozen silversides. Once it figures out yer the foodgiver, itll eat mostly anything u put in the tank.

 

[lion_crazz]

You should be feeding both of your fish frozen food. The eel should get frozen meatier food every day to every other day, and the lion should be fed frozen krill and frozen silversides every few days. However, you will not get that lion to eat frozen right now, so you will have to train him to do so with live ghost shrimp. Offer live ghost shrimp every other day.
How large is the lion? What type is he?

 

[lion_crazz]

It may be very difficult to train your lion to take frozen food, but if you follow my method below, I think you will find it very simple.
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. 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. Feed him until you see a slight bulge in his stomach. Then, after a few days, begin to feed him every few days. 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 you fingers. Please though, be careful not to let him get too close to you! 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 or so. 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.
Hope this helps! This has proven to be very successful for me, and many that have come to me with finicky lions!

 

[hocky98]

He is a volitan lion and is about 4 inches of body.

 

[lion_crazz]

Sounds like my volitan. You will need to feed him about 5 to 7 ghost shrimp each feeding until he gets on frozen food.

 

[cubfan]

Lion_crazz's advise is very soud, follow it I did, and it took only about 6 weeks to fully acclimate my V. lion (also about 4") to frozen food. I use about 3-5 frozen krill every other day. I, too, like to show my friends the lion, but I only "show" during normal feeding time.

 

[liontamer]

haha, that was a good chuckle. Siz months, really? Follow my plan and ud get yer lion eating frozen in no time. Maybe a week at tops, no prob. He he, but noone ever listens to me anyway, so y bother telling? Mine started eating frozen in like week, the fuzzy dwarf in only two weeks. But whatever.

 

[fishy411]

i think squid is the healthiest but i could be wrong.

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally posted by Liontamer
haha, that was a good chuckle. Siz months, really? Follow my plan and ud get yer lion eating frozen in no time. Maybe a week at tops, no prob. He he, but noone ever listens to me anyway, so y bother telling? Mine started eating frozen in like week, the fuzzy dwarf in only two weeks. But whatever.
Liontamer, cubfan actually said six weeks, not months. It varies depending on the fish. It took me 3 days when I got my volitan, and it took me two weeks when I had my salinity crisis. I have told 4 people that I help at work now and their time for acclimating them varied from a week to 4 weeks.
I never would tell anyone that their method is wrong, but I offer this method because it has worked so many times for me now and the person with the lion can spare the overfeeding of frozen food in the process of acclimating them.
I, for one, would be interested in hearing your method, liontamer. I am always open for new things and suggestions! This hobby is an ever-learning hobby.
fishy, there is not any one source of food for lionfish that is supreme above others. More importantly, variation is what will do them the best. Squid is very good though!

 

[liontamer]

okay, 6 weeks big deal, i skrew up a lot, im just a haggard old mofo

 

[hocky98]

It has been 3 days and the volitan lion is still lumbering at the bottom of the tank. It has no visable problems and is breathing normal. Should I just let it go and it will pass or is there something I can do? I tried to feed it frozen prawn, It swam over to me, but would not come up to eat and did not eat what dropped down to it.

 

[lion_crazz]

When was the last time you fed the lion? Get on a routine of only eating every three days. Every three days, give him some ghost shrimp. Don't even bother with the frozen right now because he is not going to take it.