Little emergency people!

cartman101

cartman101

Active Member
Well my dad brought home me 2 fish for a christmas present.... One a volitan lionfish and the other a Auriga Butterflyfish. I have no clue on what this butterfly eats and i dont wanna make my dad sad about taking this fish back... Man i dunno what to do...... Why so soon!!!
 
J

jcrim

Guest
Taken from another website...
"Feeds on various foods such as enriched brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and spirulina algae."
Try various meat and vegge foods. Dissolve meaty foods into small pieces. Don't be so high strung... sounds like a great gift. :jumping:
 
space_geek

space_geek

Active Member
Well, for the lion, get a feeding stick or some tongs, or something, and put some SQUID (VERY STRONG SMELLING) on it and wiggle it in front of the lion to give it the impression it is live. This way has never failed on me, and I acclimated probably 30 or so lions for the 2 years I volunteered at my LFS. And for the butterflyfish, try cyclopeeze to get it to START eating. Even the freeze-dried stuff seems to work well. Again, I have acclimated several of these as well, at that LFS, and that way only failed once. Aurigas are one of the hardier butterflies....it shouldnt be too difficult to eventually get them eating flake.
 
cartman101

cartman101

Active Member
will he eat flake foods? I will have to get him the right kind of food on moday because my main lfs is closed today.
 
space_geek

space_geek

Active Member
The threadfin (auriga) butterfly SHOULD eat flake EVENTUALLY. I have had luck with vagabonds eating flake right away, but I do not have much experience with aurigas, however, I do know that they are extremely hardy. Let me know what happens!
 
cartman101

cartman101

Active Member
I just turned the lights on and WOW!!!!! is that butterfly fish beautiful!! Hes picking at stuff on the rocks right now, i wonder what?
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
Sounds like he is settling in. Check him for reddening around the mouth and fin base. They like low nitrates too and hopefully your tank is about 6 months old.
These guys are often injurred in transport so hopefully the lfs had this one for a little while.
Make susre you have plenty water movement...a must.
 
cartman101

cartman101

Active Member
well......tank is actully about 6 months old! Maybe 5 1/2? Absolutly NO redness anywhere! The fish is about 4-5in. I threw in some flakes but she didn't go for them, she just wants to pick stuff off the rocks! I want her to start eating something so that i know she will eat, will lettuce or any other veggie work? I'm headed to the lfs tommorow to pick up some food for her.
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
That is good becuase the 3-5" size will do better and adapt to aquarium life easier than the juvi's and adults.
Try feeding it some meaty foods. Also, you can try a little live brine just to stimulate the appetite and feeding but do not include it as a regular part of the diet. It is probably eating algae off your live rock.
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
In captivity they have proven to be non-finicky eaters of freeze-dried, fresh and frozen/defrosted meaty foods (plankton, shrimp, shellfish, fish fillet).
Live brine shrimp or Tubifex works well to encourage feeding in new specimens and their is nothing like a freshly opened clam to "bulk up" a thin individual.
 
scubadoo

scubadoo

Active Member
Originally Posted by Cartman101
Its dead ScubaDoo.....
Sorry to hear......Butterfly fish in general are tough to keep. Specimen selection is very important in order to increase possible success.
These fish need to be monitored for at least tow weeks once they arrive at the lfs. They often get injured in collection and shipping.
Sorry for you loss
Is the Lion doing okay?
 
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