lionfish wont eat

[djxtc21]

so we got a volitan lionfish about a week ago, it is doing great in the tank
but he wont eat, in the store they said he was eating frozen krill - so i picked up the same type
they recommended to start him on ghost shrimp and then move onto the frozen..so I did this
now when I feed the krill he goes after it within seconds of it entering the tank, he holds it in for about 5 seconds then spits it back out in little pieces
what do I do?

 

[kmart189]

Did you thaw it out? If not do so and also you might want to try silversides. How big is it?

 

[djxtc21]

yea they have been thawed in a glass of tank water
he is a smaller lion, id say the actual body (not includig fins) is roughly 4"

 

[pbnj]

Make sure it's thoroughly thawed and soak the krill in garlic.

 

[cranberry]

Mine occasionally spits out his supper. That means I head back to the freezer and pick something else to thaw. Don't thaw it in water. I take mine out of the freezer in the morning and thaw it in the fridge. In the evening I let it sit out a bit to get the chill off.
2 times, when his nitrates got high, he went off his feeds until I changed his water... oops.... lesson learned.
The word is coming out that krill may not be the best food and has been connected to lock jaw and other issues. Frank Marini and Kelli Jedlicki speak of this so you could probably google for more info.
You really need to mix up the food items. I give mine frozen saltwater fish... I pick up a different variety each time at the pier... squid, scallops, shrimp, clams, silversides... all sorts of stuff.
Also make sure you aren't giving him too big of a piece. Giving them multiple smaller pieces is better than fewer larger pieces.
Always be careful of what the LFS tells you... you really should see the fish eat instead of believing the fish eats based on what they tell you.

 

[srfisher17]

Lions often need to be re-weaned after the stress of moving. They can go a long time without food; but if he doesn't eat soon, I'd feed some live ghost shrimp just to get him eating. Then start the weaning all over.

 

[wacky_volitan]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
http:///forum/post/2990657
Lions often need to be re-weaned after the stress of moving. They can go a long time without food; but if he doesn't eat soon, I'd feed some live ghost shrimp just to get him eating. Then start the weaning all over.