Upside down lion...

[rsxgirly]

After my tank going crazy and it finally recycling... the water got perfect and I decided to start new again with a lionfish and a coral. I put both in yesterday. The coral is doing wonderfully and the lion fish...well that's another story... he's in a corner of the tank..upside down.. belly up towards the surface... can anyone please explain what's going on with him?? Is this normal?
thanks a lot!
Jackie

 

[drew2005]

Belly up to me means dead or on it way out. Is he breathing? Give us more info on your tank. Size, levels, etc.

 

[psusocr1]

not truw in certain situations. if he is belly up , upside down on rocks that is what lions do, they are a ambush predator so they will lay still in crazy postions waiting for the right fish to swim by and then hes a goner! mine will evan lay upside down against the side wall of the glass near the rocks
its a natural occurance in some situations as said, but if he is belly up floating at the top of the tank, and he hasnt been eating thats no good

 

[rsxgirly]

Tank details:
55 gal
wet dry system
all levels are at 0
about 30 lbs of rock...
He is breathing. He will eat the live shrimp but only one... out of the two that we're supposed to give him. when u go to feed him he will drop down to the bottom part of the tank, but after he finishes eating he goes straight up again... he's between the box that collects the water to put it through the filter and the walls of the aquarium

 

[darknes]

If he's eating, it's a good sign.
Can we get a picture, and does he move around the tank at all?
Maybe you just have a quirky fish. :notsure:

 

[dischirm]

What type of a lion is it?? I have a dwarf who like to hang upside down, but only under rocks. My Volitans used to hang upside down at the water surface, so just keep and eye on your water quality. They are poop machines!

 

[rrwsims]

any ideas on how to get a lion fish to eat i been giving him guppies but he dont seam intersted

 

[rsxgirly]

Here is my fishy.. he's a volitan...

after taking a few pictures, he got bothered by the flash and moved down a bit

 

[psusocr1]

if hes eating its totally nortmal, try building him a rock cave he will love it!

 

[dischirm]

Originally Posted by psusocr1
if hes eating its totally nortmal, try building him a rock cave he will love it!

exactly!

 

[rsxgirly]

Now my fish has gone crazy

His fins are half the size they used to be, and they're not open anymore.. they seem to be curled upon themselves they even look pointy... I can't really explain it so here are some pictures. Any idea what this could be? I took him out of the 55 gal and put him in my 5 gal quarantine. All levels are also zero and temp is about 76 degrees.

 

[king4345]

My lion will spend the whole day upsidedown under the rocks, in the top corners, and under or around anything he can find to accomidate his size. I've had him for 3 years this way...

 

[surfinusa]

a volitan in a 55 gallon he will get over 15 inches and will need like a 100 gallon tank so they are very fast growers and i hope you plan on upgrading soon

 

[fallnhorse]

that's a red voilitian or russel lionfish. They don't get much over 13" they are fine for a 55gallon. They have longer fins compared to the common volitian. Their body don't get nearly as big either of course. So these fish are more compatible for 55 tanks. Those are commonly sold as common lionfish. They aren't. But are very hardy. I have one. Best fish i ever had. Has him for 6 months now. You'll see the difference as you see more lions. Or look it up on the net.

 

[rsxgirly]

thanks so much for the info but how about his fins? why did they suddenly shrink in size and become pointy instead of being open like they were in the first couple of pictures??
thanks a zillion!

 

[v-lioness]

This is a Volitan and 15 inches in not uncommon, they can reach 15 inches and I agree a 55 is to small for this lion.........
Are the tips of the fins missing?
Do you have a power head without a larger guard on it?
I am not sure what you mean by shrinking?
Can you get a good picture of the fins?
Is there any other fish in the tank?
Have you tested your water since you added the lion?
Fin Rot is pretty common in lions but we need to see if we can rule this out first before any treatment.
Kaye

 

[fallnhorse]

Tell you about mine. When i got him from the petstore. The next day his big fins fell off over night. I don't know why to this day. If he bumped them wrong or when they netted him if they got his fins. But they went limp and fell off. They grow back slowly and don't seem to care. They still are growing and 90% there. They where only 40% day after i got him. I think red voilitians fins are much more delicate since they are twice the length.