please help my poor lionfish =(

[fishfeen]

i fed my lionfish some dried krill and now the left gill is swollen towards the bottom. i was in a rush so i didn't soak the krill fully until it was soft. i saw him eat it and somehow it got stuck (seemed like the krill was too big for it). eventually it went down somehow. i tried feeding him again right after that and when he tried to open his mouth, it was only opened partially, seemed like he was in pain from the krill being stuck somwhere. he spends most of his time now pointing his face directly towards the bottom gravel now. he is alert but doesn't want to eat. he swims around here and there though. looks like he's breathing normally even though his left gill is swollen.
UPDATE - 3-4 days after incident
my lionfish is hungry. i put in some ghost shrimp and he attempted to eat it. however, everytime he opens his mouth to try to capture the shrimp, his mouth can't extend all the way, it won't reach the shrimp. he could open his mouth though, he just can't extend it. his left gill is no longer swollen. this is very sad for me, seeing that he can't eat. he is alert and breathing normally and hungry! anyone have any suggestions? please please help me out. thanks in advance.

 

[tony detroit]

Originally posted by fishfeen
ii was in a rush so i didn't soak the krill fully until it was soft.

1. feeding even remotely partially frozen foods is bad to a fish. They are cold blooded, that lowers their body temp
2. Soaking your food in anything other than vitamins and garlic is not good, nutrients will "leech" out of the food
3. All this aside
how long has your tank been set up, what are TODAY'S ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity and temperature readings?

 

[djessem]

Feeed him some frozen brione shrimp...should be small enuff for him to get till his mouth heals

 

[fishfeen]

my tank has been set up for 2 years and i've had my lionfish ever since then. i tried feeding him some frozen brine shrimp but he doesn't seem interested. he seems very aggressive because when my emperor gets kinda close, he'll go after the emp, attempting to bite him to scoot him away. here are my readings for today:
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 50-60
ph: 8.2
salinity: 1.025
temp: 79.5
please help, thanks in advance.
Originally posted by tony detroit
1. feeding even remotely partially frozen foods is bad to a fish. They are cold blooded, that lowers their body temp
2. Soaking your food in anything other than vitamins and garlic is not good, nutrients will "leech" out of the food
3. All this aside
how long has your tank been set up, what are TODAY'S ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and salinity and temperature readings?

 

[kittykitty]

My fuzzy dwarf lion died about 3 weeks after feeding him a peice of dried krill. He just stopped eating completely. But I never noticed his gills swollen. At first, he just sat in one place for days at a time, then when his condition got worse, he started to breathe heavily, then eventually he just layed on his side on the sand with his mouth constantly gaped open until he passed away. The only fish that I feed dried krill to is my porcupine puffer.

 

[tony detroit]

Take a flashlight and shine the fish's gill area. Do you notice any swelling, increased respiration or discoloration?

 

[fishfeen]

gill area looks ok, can't really notice any discoloration, and not really swollen anymore. it was only swollen for like 3 days. he is breathing very normal. he is hungry because i threw in a silverside and he wanted to eat it. but he just can't extend and snap his mouth anymore. this is very sad. he hasn't eaten for 1 week now. how long can a lionfish go without food? any other suggestions? i think i might just take it to a lfs, what do you guys think? this really sucks, i've had him for 2 years and he's helpless.

 

[squidd]

I've heard stories about knowlageable people at an LFS that would "massage" the jaws on a Puffer that had "lockjaw" and couldn't/wouldn't eat...
I don't know if anyone has tried this on a Lionfish though...they are not quite as "petable" as the Porkys.

 

[fin follower ed]

that really sucks, I hope he gets better.

 

[velocity]

use a feeding stick and inpail the food and hold it up to his mouth

 

[tony detroit]

for all the newbies DO NOT MASSAGE A LIONFISH! They will sting you and hurt you

 

[daniel411]

Originally posted by tony detroit
for all the newbies DO NOT MASSAGE A LIONFISH! They will sting you and hurt you
Pick up that octopus today!

 

[tony detroit]

I do have my spare 55gal now that the boa is gone....hmmmmn.

 

[sebae0]

first off cold blooded has nothing to do with it, it will just slow him down, secondly whenever my lion eats he always points down at the sand and his colors get very dark. how big is your lion? give him some time.

 

[fishfeen]

Originally posted by sebae0
first off cold blooded has nothing to do with it, it will just slow him down, secondly whenever my lion eats he always points down at the sand and his colors get very dark. how big is your lion? give him some time.

my lionfish is about 6-7 inches. he hasn't eaten in 10 days, he's hungry because he will chase ghost shrimp but all he can do is stare at it. it really seems like something is wrong with his jaw or jaw bone. its like he has a locked jaw. he could open his mouth all way but he just can't extend and snap his food. anyone know how long he can go without food? this totally sucks

 

[tony detroit]

Originally posted by sebae0
first off cold blooded has nothing to do with it
Disagree
If you read the first post I think you will find that it does.
If a fish eats 15percent of his weight in food volume which is not uncommon in big fish like lions, and the food isn't totally unthawed you are going to
1. Hurt his digestive system
2. Lower its body temp possibly damaging other things

 

[fishfeen]

UPDATE
my lionfish finally ate something! however, the sad part is, he has lost his quick hunting skills. he is still not able to extend his mouth all way and snap quickly. i know i'm not suppose to feed him live goldfish feeders but i had to, just to get him to eat something. his stomach has been empty for almost 2 weeks. it took him literally 6-7 times to finally get the feeder fish in his mouth. and this was only after the feeder fish was dazed, barely swimming, and right next to his mouth. he use to eat anything i fed him and was a highly, highly skilled hunter. but now, he doesn't even bother with live ghost shrimp because he can't catch them. he use to love to eat live ghost shrimp. his ferocious appetite is not there anymore either. any opinions or suggestions? thanks in advance.

 

[tony detroit]

no suggestions, but good to hear he is eating now

 

[jared]

Okay, I am a COMPLETE newbie, and I have never raised salt water fish, I have however raised fresh water fish. I am just throwing out ideas and suggestions to maybe spark something in somebody's head.
Would maybe chopping up the meat into smaller bits help your lionfish eat? I think maybe (remember NEWBIE!) it would be best if the food didn't move at all. The less energy the fish uses hunting, the more it can use healing. If your fish can at least stay alive by eating something, the hunting skills may come back.
Remember, I am a complete newbie just throwing out ideas to maybe (hopefully) spark some ideas. I really HTH. I'd cry if my fish died, and I'm a hard-hearted testosterone driven 16 year old!
Wish I could help more. Sorry!

 

[sebae0]

my lion loves "thawed" cocktail shrimp what if you get some medium sized shrimp and put it on a skewer or get it close to his mouth do you think he would be able to grab it?