Lionfish behavior???

[petjunkie]

My lionfish came in yesterday a spotfin, we dripped for 2 hours and put him in the tank and he dropped like a rock to the bottom and hasn't really done much. He's moved around the tank a little but kinda seems like he can't swim well. When he moves around he seems to be lopsided swimming as if he can't move well. He was breathing really heavily at first. Is this normal behavior or should I be really worried. Tank specs are 55 tall with Emperor 400 and two powerheads, no skimmer at the time because ours died but it hasn't been down long. Specific gravity is 1.025 according to two hydrometers, Nitrite 0, Nitrates 10, Alk 2.2 , temp is 80 degrees. Tank inhabitants are a maroon clown, cbs, cleaner shrimp, arrow crab and hermits. Any ideas????

 

[jon321]

lionfish can be odd fish, its almost impossible to describe wats "normal". the spotfin lion is a little more shy, so staying close to the bottom is normal. id wait 24 hours, lionfish are VERY hardy, and its rare to see a fish in poor condition if kept in properly cared for. altho the lionfish should be looking for food the next day, if it wont accept live food, you got a problem.
Jon

 

[petjunkie]

Nope my lion is dead, came home and the hermits were eating him!!! No respect. However, I did get a refund on it and think maybe I will stay away from lions for a while. My friend got a voliton lion last week and the exact same thing happened. Conspiracy??? Anyways the whole thing sucked, it was sooo pretty.

 

[harlequin]

Might be the place you are ordering from. Lions typically are one of the toughest fish there is besides damsels(they used to be a recommended cycling fish). For two to be acting this way if they are from the same place says to me that either this place isnt doing things the way they should or their distributers arent. Doesnt sound like you did anything wrong, even if you did it would still act normal at first and then go from bad to dead. I would not give up on lions(they are my favorite family of fish heheh) and just try ordering from somewhere else.

 

[gamedawg]

Yea, Lions are weird. I've had 3. On one hand they are hardy, but on the other hand, they can die for unknown reasons. My first was a Russell's, and he was really cool. Very social, and ate great. One day, about a month or more after I had him, he developed kind of a fin rot, and it killed him, no matter what I did. The second was a Volitans, all black, and he hid all the time. He would only eat live guppies. (damn LFS) When I got him, one of his spines looked like it was unsheathed. I was told this is normal. Well, it got more and more uncovered, until it just looked like a hypodermic needle coming out of his back. It spread to his backbone, and killed him. I layed off Lions for a while. Getting a lionfish was THE reason I got a salt tank. I waited a while, then I got another one, and he's been great. He likes to hide a little, but that's normal for a Volitans. BTW, I went to 2 different stores for the 3 of them.

 

[xtech]

my lion will not accept live food,however he does eat occasional flake and will eat krill by the ton.i have only had him a week,should i be concerned ??

 

[shark bait]

no, lions are awsome just dont use live fish. Maybe ghost shrimp or a gamma on a feeding stick. Garlic will help it eat right. I saw a awsome red lion from africa but when I asked the store to feed it he put in a gold fish. I knew I could not buy him. It is like telling Oprah not to eat candy. Once the lion has a goldfish he will never want anything else. It is best to use good feeding tricks early on. On one day he will eat chunks of krill and squid just like the other mates.

 

[starr]

Our Volitan lion is a big puppy dog, he eats krill like crazy, which is what you want! Yours not wanting to eat live food is kind of good, if he is eating then no worries. We do give ours ghost shrimp for a treat every once in a while. I would agree, it is probably the LFS that is the problem! Not you Try ording a lion off line, he is the favorite pet in the house! Even my 60 yr old mom loves to hand feed him, it keeps her young! Just had to add my two cents!! Enjoy "taming the lions"

 

[carpe_diem]

my volitan is great, the only problem is feeding. i tried starving him for acouple of days and threw in some krill but he just looked at it as it went by him. i have to feed him ghost shrimp and guppies. it was a pain in the ass having to buy shrimp every couple of days but i bought a breeder trap and store the shrimps in there now. mine use to sit right on top of my liverock and watch all the fish go buy but hes everywhere now. he likes sitting next to the breeder trap in all kinds of directions. he'll be upside down under the trap, sideways against the glass, and his fav spot is near the heater. the moment he sees me getting the container to let some shrimp out, he sits next to my hand waiting for them to come out.