Need help getting stonefish to eat!!

mustang1979

mustang1979

New Member
Well my local fish store got my stonefish (Synanceia Verrucosa) in two days ago as per my special request. He is an amazing fish and I like him there's just one problem...... He's only 1 INCH long!

I was expecting to recieve a speciman big enough so that I could put a few feeder fish in the tank and let him have his way, but alas it's not the LFS's fault because they had no way of knowing what size it would be....

I have put frowzen shrimp in the tank, he has no intrest in that...
Today I bought a cheep neon tetra (fresh water obv) and dangled it in front of the stonefish but agian he had no intrest... The feeder fish at all the fish stores around here are bigger than the stonefish so I can't put those in the tank....

So my question is this: Does anybody who has/had a stonefish know what I should get for food? Also what is the best emthod for feeding a speciman this small??
Thanks so much in advance guys! I don't want this little guy to starve to death! -Devin
 
txfishman

txfishman

Member
if he is that small i would try ghost shrimp or maybe even live brine or misis shrimp? I have never even heard of a stone fish this small before. Mine was 7 inches when i got him. Good luck and I hope you get him to eat!
 
A

arlene1995

Guest
Originally Posted by txfishman
http:///forum/post/2921623
if he is that small i would try ghost shrimp or maybe even live brine or misis shrimp? I have never even heard of a stone fish this small before. Mine was 7 inches when i got him. Good luck and I hope you get him to eat!
+1
Also, I would get a shrimp at the seafood counter and take a couple tiny pieces off. Then, take those pieces and soak them in Garlic Extreme. Garlic Extreme will get most fish to eat. Hope this helps! And... WELCOME TO THE BOARDS!!!
 
fmarini

fmarini

Member
live ghost shrimp, no scorpionfish will refuse them. you jut have to find the really small ones, BTW- why did you buy a 1" fish, at that size, your going to be hard pressed to find it food
 
mustang1979

mustang1979

New Member
Originally Posted by FMarini
http:///forum/post/2922251
live ghost shrimp, no scorpionfish will refuse them. you jut have to find the really small ones, BTW- why did you buy a 1" fish, at that size, your going to be hard pressed to find it food

As I tried to infer in my first post, I had no idea what size it would come to me. It was a special order and the distributer mentioned no size. I just expected to have one at least a couple inches long, not the size of a goby lol
Anyway thank you guys very much, I will try these tactics today! Wish me luck!
 
mustang1979

mustang1979

New Member
hahaha pebblefish!!!!!!!!! Funny but true. I'll try and get some pics of him up tomorrow so you guys can see what I mean lol
Anyway I bought a bag of the little live shrimp tonight. I can't think of the name but they are the real tiny orange colored ones. Anyway I put them in the tank and the clownfish went after them immedietly and I watched the stonefish for a while and I never saw him eat any, but they were flowing around the tank for hours so he could have, who knows......
Tomorrow I'm going to try soaking some frozen mesis shrimp in garlic gaurd and then feed him with the tongs..... I really hope he takes to it.....
 
-tara33-

-tara33-

Member
just wondering why you would order a stonefish to go with a clownfish when you thought the stonefish would be bigger and it possibly eating the clownfish? or do you have another tank? he does look awsome tho
 
mustang1979

mustang1979

New Member
I was going to trade the clownfish back to the store, I had it all arranged with the guy. But since the stony is so small, I mine as well hang on to them.....
I bet that stonefish just watches those clowns all day and thinks "one day I'm gonna eat those damn clownfish...." lol
 
mustang1979

mustang1979

New Member
I DID IT!!!!! I got him to eat. I bought 2 freshwater guppies and put them in the tank. As soon as they were in my clark clown grabbed one and brought him into his anemone lol. The other guppy sank down and my stonefish saw him, started to position himself and then snapped! It's amazing how fast he get the fish. I guess you need high speed cameras to actually see it take place....
Anyway this is great because now i can just go to the LFS twice a week and buy a $2 guppy!

here's some more, better pics of the little guy enjoy!



 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
hes so cute,,,,, just remeber not to feed it freshwater guppies for too long, hopefully in a few weeks you can get it converted over to SW food, much better for the fish in the long run. But good job just getting it to eat...
 
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