Volitans lion still wont eat

[dragonzim]

For those that have been following, thanks for sticking with me. I got home from work really late last night and my fiance tells me that she had seen my blue throat trigger picking at the fins of the lion. This fish is normally the shyest, least aggressive inhabitant. When I got home tonight his fins now look more like sticks with some webbing and not the flowing mane he had. I am at a complete loss as to why the blue throat would have attacked him out of nowhere like that. The trigger is only about 2.5 inches long!
I medicated the tank with Melafix. Unfortunately I do not have a QT that I can put the lion in. I'll see if I can get something set up over the next week or 2 but I kind of doubt I'll be able to.

 

[wanabebell]

Originally Posted by Cartman101
you aren't the only one

My lion still wont eat frozen...

Not tryin to pick on you
but you dont let your get hungry enough for it to have a desire to eat frozen

 

[unleashed]

well you have already medicated your main tank if you can add a partition to keep you other agresive fish away from the lion until hes back to health may help reduce the stress.removing him now could be more traumatic for him.one given reason I do not go without melefix in my home. unfortunatly mine has be comming down with ich also my spiney boxfish caught it too.both stopped eating but I however use the melafix first for a couple days before noticing the lion had some spots .I only has a brittle star in my 125 no other inverts.the melafix seamed o help with the lions appetite but not the puffer so I coppersafed the tank adde4d a UV sterolizer it killed the star but thats ok it had killed a bunch of my reef fish anyways no major loss.but after a couple days in the coppersafe both are eating again and spots going away.when I a lion stops eating there is a cause you just have to find it. all of my fish eat on a daily basis when they refuse food I look for a cause.
as for this statement:Nirates don't really affect fish, if anything they affect then indirectly (i.e. hair algae, cyanobacteria) I wouldn't worry about it.
thats very false nitrates at high levels are toxic to fish along with amonias and nitrites.who ever gave you this idea was highly mistaken.I notice a big change in my fish if my nitrtes amonias and such go above 10.they get lissless start hiding more lose appetites.one reason why thats the first question asked when you have changes in fish behavior.

 

[clown123]

dragon go to fish and reef and if he dies go to aqua hut they have black one antenet a nice fuzzy that i might get there very nice to

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by clown123
dragon go to fish and reef and if he dies go to aqua hut they have black one antenet a nice fuzzy that i might get there very nice to
I was in Aqua Hut the other day and I saw all the new lions they got. Looked like they had about a dozen small volitans and a few fuzzy's. I'm thinking now though that if he does die on me that I am not going to replace him. I have a 75 and it's bordering on overstocked as it is. If I do replace him I think I am going to go with something that will produce a lot less waste since I am not in a position to get a bigger tank right now.

 

[scubadoo]

Melafix is good to heal any external wounds/damaged fins but will do little to nothing on any internal disease if in fact that is the issue. Also, I know you do not have a QT but adding meds (even the so-called natural ones) to the display can often cause issues with the system.

 

[dragonzim]

The lion still isnt eating. I was sitting and watching the tank tonight and he was hanging out at the surface in a completely vertical position with his eyes out of the water. As I was watching my humu trigger swam up underneath him and took a few nips at his tail. At this point all of his fins as well as his dorsal spines have been nipped down. You can actually see the needle points of his dorsal spines. I am going to talk to a buddy of mine tomorrow about borrowing a 55 that he isn't using right now. This was actually my old tank before I moved and got the 75. The last time I was there the tank was still set up at his house. I"m hoping its still up but if not I should at least be able to get it to my house and running so I can get the lion QT'd.

 

[unleashed]

Originally Posted by ScubaDoo
Melafix is good to heal any external wounds/damaged fins but will do little to nothing on any internal disease if in fact that is the issue. Also, I know you do not have a QT but adding meds (even the so-called natural ones) to the display can often cause issues with the system.
I have been using melafix for 4 yrs now for treatments for my fish .melafix is an antibacterial and fungal medication .for more internal infection you can also dose at the same time with pimafix.as for 20 on the nitrates you need to get them down also if you have not already.as for him not eating yet maybe you can make barricade for him to keep your triggers from picking him to death.this is most likely not helping reduce his stress levels.you may want to contact your lfs and return the lion for one you can accually see eat frozen foods before you take it home.if they are feding live fw fish you may end up with the same problem.but id dare to say your trigger is his problem.

 

[kolody117]

dude my lionfish wouldnt eat either. i went to the local petsmart or ***** and bought ruby reds. little freshwater fish they are 8 for a buck. drop one in and the lion will go crazy for it. after about a week or so drop a piece of krill into the tank with the ruby and he should go for it. hope this helps.
Mike

 

[kolody117]

the lion must start out on live b/c that is that he is used to.. when you are ready to start weaning him off the live fish make sure the krill is DEFROSTED. He wont go for it frozen. and dont get worried if the other fish in the tank go for the ruby reds. just drop another in and DONT try to make the fish swim to the lion let him go for it. any type of net or stick will scare the lion and he wont go for the fish. Try that and let me know.

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by kolody117
the lion must start out on live b/c that is that he is used to.. when you are ready to start weaning him off the live fish make sure the krill is DEFROSTED. He wont go for it frozen. and dont get worried if the other fish in the tank go for the ruby reds. just drop another in and DONT try to make the fish swim to the lion let him go for it. any type of net or stick will scare the lion and he wont go for the fish. Try that and let me know.
I think you may have missed part of what I was saying. I had this fish for close to 2 years. In that time he had eaten nothing but frozen.
Unfortunately things took a major turn for the worse tonight. I had a buddy of mine who works for a LFS come by to take a look and he said that even if I got the lion into his own tank it was very unlikely that he would recover. While I was at work today my triggers went to town on him again. Most of his tail was gone as well as a good portion of both of his side fins. I had to make the very tough decision to put him out of his misery. My friend suggested putting him in a bucket with a few gallons of tank water and putting the bucket outside. Its supposed to get down to about 40 degrees tonight. He said that the water would cool off slowly enough that the fish would go into a torpor and just die in his sleep.
Very sad night around here

Thank you everyone for your suggestions and support.

 

[debbie]

Do you not have another tank he could be put into? Or what about asking your LFS if they have a tank to hold him for you and treat him.
Sorry to hear that, they are such nice fish we pay a heafty price here in Canada for all our saltwater fish, believe me I would be doing everthing I could for him.
Good luck to you.....Deb

 

[tjake68]

Before you do that and i know its a hard deceison why dont you put a tank divider in seperate him and try feeding anything you can think of throw in clams from super market try shrimp from super market i use a clam with half the shell my triggers and lion go nuts for it ithey also love the shrimp from super market cut up a little piece its good enough for people its got to be good for fish.my triggers always get alot more food faster then the lion so i try to distract them by throwing food by them then at same time put some by lion its not easy.Do what you think is best its your decision im sure you will use the best jugement and do whats best for your fish you seem dedicated.Triggers are attacing lion because they sense he is week good luck

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by tjake68
Before you do that and i know its a hard deceison why dont you put a tank divider in seperate him and try feeding anything you can think of throw in clams from super market try shrimp from super market i use a clam with half the shell my triggers and lion go nuts for it ithey also love the shrimp from super market cut up a little piece its good enough for people its got to be good for fish.my triggers always get alot more food faster then the lion so i try to distract them by throwing food by them then at same time put some by lion its not easy.Do what you think is best its your decision im sure you will use the best jugement and do whats best for your fish you seem dedicated.Triggers are attacing lion because they sense he is week good luck

I had already tried all that. I got fresh shrimp, scallops and clams from the fish market. I also tried frozen krill, silversides and mysis, all of which he used to eat. I put a piece of acrylic in the tank to divide it off so that he had half the tank to himself. He was just swimming around in circles, not even paying attention to any of the food. I really think he lost his eyesight because there were plenty of times that a piece of food would float right in front of him or even hit him in the face and he gave absolutely no reaction at all. He was the same way when I got some live feeders and ghost shrimp. I trust my buddiess judgement. He's been working in fish stores for around 15 years.

 

[lion_crazz]

I might have missed it, but I did not see anywhere where you posted your specific gravity and what you measure it with. Just to be curious, could I ask what you keep it at and what you are measuring it with (i.e. hydrometer, refractometer, etc.)?

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by lion_crazz
I might have missed it, but I did not see anywhere where you posted your specific gravity and what you measure it with. Just to be curious, could I ask what you keep it at and what you are measuring it with (i.e. hydrometer, refractometer, etc.)?
I had been using a plastic swing arm hydrometer. It said my SG was at 1.022. I brought a water sample to my LFS and they confirmed. I've actually got a bid out on the big auction site for a refractometer though. I should know in about an hour if I am winning it.