non-eating lionfish

[annell]

I have a v-lionfish that was eating great for 6+months and then stopped eating...period. It went over 2 weeks without anything, then ate a little krill, and now, has not eaten again in over 3 weeks. I've tried everything. He seems like he's interested, but then, loses interest and goes back to being sedentary. For the first six months, he swam all over, ate whenever fed, and appeared very happy and healthy.
Any ideas??? Tank is 95 gallons and includes a stars and stripes puffer, 2 triggers, tomato clown and three damsels.

 

[annell]

Thank you soooo much for responding. I fed it 2-3 times a week, an amount equal to 2-4 krill a week. Miso shrimp go in the tank for other fish, but he's not interested at all.
Just fed again tonight and he came up looking to eat, but looks at the food, then backs away. I've tried 'go shrimp' a couple of times, but he won't go after that either. It's almost like he wants to be spoon fed???
How long can he go without eating??
We water change every 2-3 weeks and the water always tests out GREAT in all areas. We test the water, as well as, our local fish store, and they can't figure it out either.
Any other ideas, please let me know.
I'm stumped, and don't want to loose him. He's beautiful!!!

 

[beth]

Annell, I'm going to copy this over to the Aggressive Forum where folks have some more specific knowledge about the habits of this fish.
However, spoon feeding lions is not out of the question. You may actually have to do this.
I would post up info regarding your tank size, type tank, other fish in tank, swiming room, size of lionfish, in addition to all your water readings [including nitrates and pH]. Even if they are "great" it is good that we know that info.
Copying you over to Aggressive.

 

[novice150]

I'm no lionfish expert ... but here's my .02.
Have you tried feeding him silversides? Mine always went right after them. They stink to high heaven, and the "shinny" scales of the fish really seem to catch their eye.
Also, maybe a couple live gold fish or guppies could get him interested again, and then you could switch him to silversides.
What are you using to present the food? If your not already, I'd use a piece of rigid airline tubing (or solid acrylic rod) sharpened on one end.
HTH