new dwarf lionfish not eating

[cajundolphin]

I am new to the saltwater tank so need a little help. I just bought a dwarf lionfish and a yellow tang. The pet store told me that the yellow tang may not eat for the first week but the lionfish will. They sold me some goldfish for it. I have tried feeding it the goldfish 2 different times but he wont even notice them. The goldfish die within a few minutes in there so I remove them. Am I not doing something right?

 

[usc932000]

Originally Posted by cajundolphin
I am new to the saltwater tank so need a little help. I just bought a dwarf lionfish and a yellow tang. The pet store told me that the yellow tang may not eat for the first week but the lionfish will. They sold me some goldfish for it. I have tried feeding it the goldfish 2 different times but he wont even notice them. The goldfish die within a few minutes in there so I remove them. Am I not doing something right?
Please take the Goldfish out of your tank NOW if any are still in there and DO NOT feed GF as a live feeder source. GF are known disease carriers and are the leading cause of premature deaths for Lionfish. I wont tell you to not return to the LFS who sold and told you to feed the GF to your Lion, but I would be suspect about them if I were you. Both the Tang and Lion may be stubborn about eating anything for a day or two, but they both will come around quickly. What food advice did they give yor for the Tang?

 

[cajundolphin]

thank u so much for the info and warning. What do u recommend to feed the lionfish. I have heard of feeding them ghost shrimp. Would that be good? they gave me flake food for the tang....color enhanced marine flakes to be exact.

 

[sepulatian]

Buy some ghost shrimp. Dwarfs can be finicky eaters. Never feed a saltwater fish fw feeders.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by cajundolphin
thank u so much for the info and warning. What do u recommend to feed the lionfish. I have heard of feeding them ghost shrimp. Would that be good? they gave me flake food for the tang....color enhanced marine flakes to be exact.
What sized tank do you have, how much LR and how long has it been running?

 

[deltablack22]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Buy some ghost shrimp. Dwarfs can be finicky eaters. Never feed a saltwater fish fw feeders.
The ghost shrimp we get around here are "fw feeders"...
I have a Fuzzy Dwarf that did not want to eat initially. I tried everything (except fresh water feeders) and she would not eat anything. Eventually I used some store credit and picked up some cheap damsels and put in the tank. She accepted these one at a time over the course of a few weeks. She slowly started accepting Frozen Mysis that was fed to the rest of the tank. Once eating mysis I introduced her to fresh shrimp/scallops from the grocery store that I cut up and froze. It took a lot of time working with her everyday and eventually her hunger I think made her break down and eat. It did pay off though, as she now accepts anything I offer her right out of my fingertips. She knows when its feeding time and if I'm sitting on the couch she swims over to the corner of the tank and stares at me like a dog waiting to be fed...

 

[grabbitt]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
Buy some ghost shrimp. Dwarfs can be finicky eaters. Never feed a saltwater fish fw feeders.
Ghost shrimp actually have very little nutritional value, as well. However, you can feed them the right nutrients and THEN feed them to the lionfish to make them healthy for your lion.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by GRabbitt
Ghost shrimp actually have very little nutritional value, as well. However, you can feed them the right nutrients and THEN feed them to the lionfish to make them healthy for your lion.
That is brine shrimp that you are thinking of. You are correct that "gut loading" the ghost shrimp will help with more nutrition.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by DeltaBlack22
The ghost shrimp we get around here are "fw feeders"...
I have a Fuzzy Dwarf that did not want to eat initially. I tried everything (except fresh water feeders) and she would not eat anything. Eventually I used some store credit and picked up some cheap damsels and put in the tank. She accepted these one at a time over the course of a few weeks. She slowly started accepting Frozen Mysis that was fed to the rest of the tank. Once eating mysis I introduced her to fresh shrimp/scallops from the grocery store that I cut up and froze. It took a lot of time working with her everyday and eventually her hunger I think made her break down and eat. It did pay off though, as she now accepts anything I offer her right out of my fingertips. She knows when its feeding time and if I'm sitting on the couch she swims over to the corner of the tank and stares at me like a dog waiting to be fed...
LOL my hawk does he same thing. He comes when I say his name as well. It is too cute!