Volitan Lionfish is not eating

pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
Ive had this guy for over a year now. he was about 4 inches when i got him. now he is about 8 inches. problem is, he is not eating now. seems like he is really grumpy and still agressive. just sitting on the bottom of tank. his breathing looks a little heavier today. i been feeding him dried krill.....fish store was out of ghost shrimp. so i got some red roses he nipped at one but didnt eat him.
125 g
all param still look good.
sal 1.021
ph 8.2
ni 0
na 0
am 0
need some help please! thanks!
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
The dried krill could very well be your problem. It has been associated with such ailments commonly referred to as lockjaw. BUT, the fact we is not acting like his normal self has me concerned. Did he stop and and then slowly came to the "grumpy" state or did they both just kind of occur together?
How old is your tank?
How big is your tank?
What are the lions tankmates, if any?
When did you add these tankmates?
When did you do a water change and what percentage was it?
When was the last time he ate?
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I agree with the above, and, as well a very limited diet will lead to malnutrition (even in the absence of weight loss).
Do you notice any read gills? Look at the fish closely using a magnifying glass to see if you notice any abnormality anywhere.
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
hes actually just keeping to himself right now. not swimming around much staying on the bottom.
tank is 4 years old.
125 g
mates are - harliquin tusk, flame angel, foxface, blue hippo, niger trigger, clown trigger, humma humma (he hates him).
water change was done 4 days ago. 20%
last time he ate was prob about 8 days ago....maybe more.
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/3267355
I agree with the above, and, as well a very limited diet will lead to malnutrition (even in the absence of weight loss).
Do you notice any read gills? Look at the fish closely using a magnifying glass to see if you notice any abnormality anywhere.
i dont see any red gills....there is a little redness at his bottom "tail" could be from sitting on bottom of tank though. not sure.
 
S

shrimpy brains

Guest
Originally Posted by pcollins249
http:///forum/post/3267386
niger trigger, clown trigger, humma humma (he hates him).
I'm betting your problem is with the above fish. Triggers are not good tankmates for lions!
Poor diet could be contributing also, but you either need to rehome the lions or the triggers, IMO.
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
the triggers dont really mess with him. he defends himself when he gets picked on. he stuck my blue hippo when i first got him. here are a few pictures i just took


 
S

saxman

Guest
you'd know if it was lockjaw, as the fish's jaws would be locked into a permanent "yawn". sometimes, the fish work themselves free of the condition, and sometimes it's necessary to intervene and attempt to pop the fish's jaws back into joint manually. often, a fish that has had lockjaw will have the condition recur repeatedly.
however, as mentioned, other symptoms of malnutrition can be any of these: clamped fins, neural disorders, cessation of feeding.
also mentioned: the triggers may indeed be stressing the fish to the point of not eating as well, especially if the lion is feeling the need to defend itself.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Has this fish eaten at all?
The redness indicates a bacteria infection. Do you have an established QT?
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
still has not ate. .... tuesday the fish store is getting some more ghost shrimp. going to try and get him to eat. i have a tank at my other house right now. its been up for about 5 weeks now. ill be moving in about 2 months into that house. i was going to use that tank (55g) to put fish in untill i get the 125g moved and setup.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
Originally Posted by saxman
http:///forum/post/3267525
you'd know if it was lockjaw, as the fish's jaws would be locked into a permanent "yawn". sometimes, the fish work themselves free of the condition, and sometimes it's necessary to intervene and attempt to pop the fish's jaws back into joint manually. often, a fish that has had lockjaw will have the condition recur repeatedly.
Actually, they can "stick" closed as well. They don't know what causes it yet and there are a couple of theories which are connected with krill (more predominantly dried krill). there is a study going on yet they are having trouble receiving enough dead specimens who had this affliction to come to "real" conclusions. What has helped with this in th epast is tube feeding. I'm not well versed on doing that to anything but a seahorse and I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is experienced in handling venomous fish. I'm certainly not going to be responsible for making that recommendation.
There's also been some "work" on dosing fish with B12 if they have simply stopped eating. Again, it's not well known how this works, but some of the peeps I really trust are doing and recommending it. I've done it once recently and wow, the fish starting eating. But I can't say the B12 was the "cure", but I'll be trying it again when I run into such a situation.
Redness, like Beth said, is pointing towards an infection. It's not from sitting on the bottom of the tank.
 
S

saxman

Guest
another thing that has worked is fresh water dips (match temp and pH). this tends to make the fish defecate, and once they do, it is reported that many fish resume eating.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Are you saying that you can use the other tank as a QT? Does it have live rock, live sand?
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
Originally Posted by Cranberry
http:///forum/post/3267581
Actually, they can "stick" closed as well. They don't know what causes it yet and there are a couple of theories which are connected with krill (more predominantly dried krill). there is a study going on yet they are having trouble receiving enough dead specimens who had this affliction to come to "real" conclusions. What has helped with this in th epast is tube feeding. I'm not well versed on doing that to anything but a seahorse and I wouldn't recommend it to someone who is experienced in handling venomous fish. I'm certainly not going to be responsible for making that recommendation.
There's also been some "work" on dosing fish with B12 if they have simply stopped eating. Again, it's not well known how this works, but some of the peeps I really trust are doing and recommending it. I've done it once recently and wow, the fish starting eating. But I can't say the B12 was the "cure", but I'll be trying it again when I run into such a situation.
Redness, like Beth said, is pointing towards an infection. It's not from sitting on the bottom of the tank.
ok how abouts doing the B12?
 
pcollins249

pcollins249

Member
Originally Posted by Beth
http:///forum/post/3267624
Are you saying that you can use the other tank as a QT? Does it have live rock, live sand?
it was going to be the transfer tank for them to stay in till i move the tank. i would like to save the lion fish but tomorrow im goig to store and try ghost shrimp. will go from there....ill let ya know how it goes.
 
cranberry

cranberry

Active Member
You have to get him out of there and get him treated with antibiotics or I fear you will lose him.
When did you add your last fish and what was it?
 
S

saxman

Guest
i think that's an injury caused by one of your other fish (probably one of the triggers) that has become infected. about the only place the lion can be attacked is its tail.
Cranberry is right, remove the fish and treat it, pronto.
 
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