Dwarf Lionfish question

ktaylor660 · Feb 25, 2013

I have a Dwarf Zebra Lionfish. I've had him for almost a year now. The last 2 - 3 weeks, he has been acting weird. 3 weeks ago, when it was feeding time, he would come to the front and took 3 lance fish only (fed 3 times, ate same each time), then settled back to his normal spot. 2 weeks ago, he took 2 krill at 2 feedings, and 1 lancefish at another. This week, he hasn't even came to the top for food. He stays in the back of the tank, and today when I put the food on a feeding stick and put it right in front of him, he didn't even acknowledge it. Is it normal for a lionfish to go without eating? I'm worried that he is sick and dying, and I don't want to lose him.

revsgirl · Feb 26, 2013

Bump

Tonya

ktaylor660 · Feb 26, 2013

Anybody? Bump

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larangcon · Feb 26, 2013

when was the last time he ate, how's the other fish in the tank

ktaylor660 · Feb 26, 2013

Everyone else is fine. It's been a week and a half now. He stays in the back and rarely swims. Tomorrow is feeding day again.

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Breakin Newz · Feb 26, 2013

Hmm, maybe he dislocated his jaw? What kind of stick do you use?

larangcon · Feb 27, 2013

I had a Black Volitan a long time ago and he would go days at a time not eating, sometimes he would just look at a krill and ignores it, then there are times when he haunts me down follow me from side to side to feed him. Hopefully its just a phase, keep an eye on him, keep us updated.

Reef Fever · Feb 27, 2013

I know you said you fed your lion about a week ago. but typically what is the frequency of your feedings throughout the week?

ktaylor660 · Feb 27, 2013

He eats every other day. I use tweezers with rubber tips like you would use for a lizard. I vary between lancefish and kill every time I feed. The kill is frozen, not freeze dried. I used to feed silversides, but can only find the large ones now. He only would be interested if it was a whole silverside, and I had to cut the large ones in pieces.

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Reef Fever · Feb 27, 2013

Couple things..
Your lion typically should only be fed about 3 times a week. Secondly I would try some other foods. Go down to the grocery store and buy a few different things to try. I.E scallops, lobster, cod, shrimp, etc. I would also occasionally fortify the food by either pellet stuffing or soaking in a supplement such as selcon. IMO I think your lion sounds okay, just kinda full. If you could post some pics of him/her I think I might be able to give you more security as to whether or not it looks okay. I would try the silversides again. If you look back into my post history, towards the last pages, i posted in a thread with "fuzzy dwarf lion in the title." I give a detailed how-to on weaning your lion to frozen. In your case it may help you to get it to accept a wider variety of things

ktaylor660 · Mar 8, 2013

Well...I think I know what's wrong with him. My wife was cleaning the glass and he was right in front, and he didn't flare up, move, or anything. I then put a piece of pvc in the tank to see how he reacted. He didn't do anything until I touched him with it. I think he has gone blind. So that brings me to....how do you feed a blind lionfish? It's been almost 3 weeks since he last ate. :sad: