Lionfish Lair
Renee
I saw a fuzzy eat a regular clownfish one time.
Suddenly Shy Lionfish
- Thread starter td3025
- Start date
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My experience with dwarf lions has been a bit more challenging than some would write. Lionfish Lair has great info but weaning them and maintaining them on live food has not been easy. I've had a fuzzy and fu man chu for going on 3 years, a zebra for almost a year, and although technically not a dwarf: an antennata a little longer than the zebra. I have 3 large LFS here, 2 will bring them in for special request and one won't bring them in at all. They have all told me most of their customers had feeding issues and most didn't make it that long. What is happening to you seems to be a classic fuzzy move, he just got bored with dead food and needs live food to excite him.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
I have not found lions to be difficult to keep on prepared foods at all.
Not in my case, I feed mostly live, I don't have a problem doing it. It's funny how on the internet it's so easy for everyone. But every person I meet at a lfs and they find out I keep dwarf lions, they tell me how their's died. A few that just stopped eating after a few months. I found only one guy that had his over a year, he fed him a combo, including live.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Thankfully that's not the norm.
germs101
Well-Known Member
I'm having the same problem with our new Fuzzy. I was told it was eating frozen mysis before it was shipped, but I've only seen it eat once. I went out looking for ghost shrimp today, but the closest pet store did not have any. I thought since goldfish are so bad for them any of the freshwater fish would be a bad food source. Can I just buy the smallest fish they sell and feed them to a Lionfish?
Lionfish Lair
Renee
All freshwater fish will have the incorrect fats, but some FW fish are fattier than others. Some contain more thiaminase than others. There's rumors about the bulk of the skull of fish like the goldfish being a problem for digestion.
How big is your lion? How long have you had them? Can you get feeder guppies?
I only recommend FW fish for training, not for long term usage.
How big is your lion? How long have you had them? Can you get feeder guppies?
I only recommend FW fish for training, not for long term usage.
germs101
Well-Known Member
I think it was June 30th we got her (or him). She's only about 2". I saw some skinny 1" silvery "feeder fish", but I'm not sure what they were. I'm willing to drive the 30 minutes to get to a larger store in hopes they have ghost shrimp, but it's way better if I can get by with a 10 minute drive.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
I use guppies all the time for training. Other fish die soon after hitting the water, guppies and mollies will often live awhile, if not indefinitely. Those 1" silvery fish sound like guppies. Maybe you can try to use those first for training, then switch to ghosties if they don't take the guppies or if it looks like it's going to go on for too long. Ghosties and Guppies both have their pros and cons.
germs101
Well-Known Member
I went to the pet store today to get the guppies ( they were labeled "Ruby Reds") but discovered they did have ghost shrimp. I bought 10, fed them, then added two to the tank. They were instantly inhaled! I'm so relieved 
My question now is how many and how often should I feed the Lionfish?
My question now is how many and how often should I feed the Lionfish?
rayn
Bluefin Believer
Feed till you see a slight bulge in the belly.
Lionfish lair got me into a feeding schedule of M,W,F with the weekends off a long time ago and it works well.
Edit: not really my feeding schedule, but for the fish
Lionfish lair got me into a feeding schedule of M,W,F with the weekends off a long time ago and it works well.
Edit: not really my feeding schedule, but for the fish
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Germs, can you get a picture of the guppies for me?
You don't want them too well fed yet.... keep them a little hungry. If you have some ghosties left, freeze a couple. Have the container covered, as they didn't get their name "Popcorn Shrimp" for nothin'.
You don't want them too well fed yet.... keep them a little hungry. If you have some ghosties left, freeze a couple. Have the container covered, as they didn't get their name "Popcorn Shrimp" for nothin'.
germs101
Well-Known Member
I'll get a picture next time I'm there. The ghosties will last for awhile. I did look it up, and they're "Rosey red minnows". I'm guessing those aren't guppies.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Nope, if they look like the ones in your link, they're indeed Rosey Reds. You don't need to go through the trouble of trying to get a pic.
OP
OP
td3025
Active Member
Update on this post: yesterday out of nowhere as I was feeding frozen mysis shrimp to the clowns that share the tank with the lion, the lion swam out and started eating the frozen! He did so again today. For some reason, after over a month of rejecting anything but live he has reverted back somehow to enjoying frozen. Honestly I think the dead ghost shrimps that I didn't remove from his tank somehow helped. I think eventually he decided to eat them even though they were dead and now he's back to tolerating the frozen! Super happy about this. He's much more active now as well
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Ghosties are the bomb. Congrats!
germs101
Well-Known Member
That's great news! Ours passed yesterdayUpdate on this post: yesterday out of nowhere as I was feeding frozen mysis shrimp to the clowns that share the tank with the lion, the lion swam out and started eating the frozen! He did so again today. For some reason, after over a month of rejecting anything but live he has reverted back somehow to enjoying frozen. Honestly I think the dead ghost shrimps that I didn't remove from his tank somehow helped. I think eventually he decided to eat them even though they were dead and now he's back to tolerating the frozen! Super happy about this. He's much more active now as well
Update on this post: yesterday out of nowhere as I was feeding frozen mysis shrimp to the clowns that share the tank with the lion, the lion swam out and started eating the frozen! He did so again today. For some reason, after over a month of rejecting anything but live he has reverted back somehow to enjoying frozen. Honestly I think the dead ghost shrimps that I didn't remove from his tank somehow helped. I think eventually he decided to eat them even though they were dead and now he's back to tolerating the frozen! Super happy about this. He's much more active now as well
That's great, I'm glad you stuck with him.
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