overfeed a dwarf lion?

shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
Ok, so on sunday I traded the puffer I had just bought (the thing was eating my corals.. even though he was cute
) and got a fuzzy dwarf lion.
When I brought him home he was a bit antisocial, so I waited to try and feed him until today.
I brought home 4 ghost shrimp. I was worried he wouldnt eat b/c the LFS I bought him from said they just got him in and he hadnt eaten yet.
Well he ate like 3 (one got away in the tank).
I went back to the LFS because I was so excited that he ate. I got another 8 shrimp.... He ate those too.
QUESTION IS:
Did I overfeed him?
Do fish (lions) have a mechanism for the 'feeling of being full' or will he just keep eating until he gets sick if I allow him?
He is about 3.5". How much can I expect him to eat a day, and a week.
Any suggestions on weaning him off the live food? I tried to trick him with a peice of silverside in between feeding him the shrimp( I grabbed them with some long medical tweezers and he ate the shrimp right out of them)... and he had no interest in the silverside.
Are there any other live foods that would contain a better nutritional value? the ghost shrimp cant be that good for him, and I know he needs to be weaned.. but in the meantime, any other food suggestions would be helpful.
I think he is a healthy fish, and the fact that he ate makes me feel better about his 'future'. I continue to read up and search forums, but no advice is as good as the people here. IMO.

SORRY FOR LONG POST

Thanks guys
Jessica/Shrimpi
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
Lions will keep eating, feed just until you see a slight bulge in the stomach area. If you are using ghost Shrimp, feed them some thing nutritional before feeding them to your lion. You can feed them Flake, Pellets, Cylopezee, meaty foods and so on..... If you want to try another live food you can try Fiddler Crabs for your lion.
Keep trying the frozen foods, you can try Raw Shrimp, Scallops, Crab and so on.... Your Lion will need a variety of foods soaked in Vitamins, again feed just until you see a slight bulge in the stomach area, when feeding frozen you can feed every other day, as your lion matures you can than feed every 2 - 3 days.
When weaning your lion, you want it to go a few days hungry, than try a piece of frozen food, but you do not want to starve your young lion. This is where it takes patience, try the frozen food everyday, if your lion will not eat the frozen than feed the ghost shrimp, try and try again. Some will eat frozen fast and others take time, it will just depend on your lion.
You can pick up a feeding prong from your LFS, this will make feeding frozen foods much easier than holding it (you do not want to get stung) or dropping it in your tank and letting it sit.
Lions are known to jump, cover your tank............
Kaye
 
v-lioness

v-lioness

Member
It's fine to feed your lion crickets, just not a staple diet of crickets, I do feed crickets, but as a treat not a main part of their diet. My trigger and wrasses go nuts when I feed crickets.
Kaye
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
mine also hangs out in little corners alot, and right now for instance- he is snuggling up to the mag-float in the upper corner of the tank.
I know the dwarfs are more 'sedentary' than other lions but will he get more comfortable in the tank in time? It seems he has his 'guard up' alot. - at least in comparison to my mandarins sociality.
Will he get 'happier' with his surroundings? I have provided places to hide and a few caves for him just in case.
 
legoalie31

legoalie31

Member
my lion seemed happy just in the top corner of my tank he would snuggle up against the heater and just stay there until he was hungry or wanted to roam around
 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
He actually became a little more active as soon as the daylights went off and just the actinics were on this evening. I was so happy. I took some snaps. He is the cutest thing. I tried to coax him into eating some frozen silverside again today, but he probably isnt STARVING being that I fed him too much yesterday.
He seems very alert, and his colors have become more 'contrasted' and more 'saturated' even since I brought him home (just this past sunday). When I got him he was a little 'washed out' as far as color, but he seems to have bounced back now that he has been fed, and has places to hide and play. He was checking out the 'ricordia corner' of the tank today pretty closely. There is usually a peppermint shrimp that hangs out in the shrooms.... havent seen him today... Rhut Rhoh

Heres the pics I snapped quick while he was being social. They suck I know. and they are actinic.... I know. But I still think he is adorable. His little eyes look at you like he is 'figuring you out'
I will get more as he becomes more social. I dont want to frighten him.
Is this normal to be this obsessed? Between fuzzy and Mr. Mandarin my schedule is booked. Haha.


 
shrimpi

shrimpi

Active Member
night time pics (I used the flash fyi)
He is becoming more social when the lights go out now...

 
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