I have a med sized lion fish maybe body is 5-6” inches as wondering how many minnows to feed he went two days without feeding now today I fed 4-5 little minnows some half inch some maybe close to inch there not very big. How many should I feed
Feeding lionfish question
- Thread starter Sexytang
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When I kept a fuzzy dwarf lion he would normally eat 2-3 smallish guppies or minnows every 3-4 days. I kept the tank with them in it next to his and he would always let me know he was hungry by moving to the side of the tank next to them and sit there staring at them.
I would feed one at a time a few min apart to allow him time to eat. Once full he would stop going after them.
I would feed one at a time a few min apart to allow him time to eat. Once full he would stop going after them.
Most information I had read before getting the fuzzy dwarf recommended feeding once or twice a week. You can probably train him to take thawed silversides from a pair of extra long tweezers fairly easily too. Silversides are better for him anyway as freshwater fish tend to be fattier, and less hassle with keeping a second tank with feeders in it. Another thing you can do is toss a bunch of ghost feeder shrimp in there every few weeks. He'll eat when he gets hungry and ignore them otherwise.
laverda
2500 Club Member
Lion fish have a hard time digesting the bones of fresh water fish especially gold fish. This causes them to starve to death as the bones collect in their gut blocking them from digesting food.
I got mine to take them but it did take a while to train him to take them regularly.
With the size he is now you would want to start with the smaller whole silversides that are about the same as what he is eating now. Get yourself a pair of extra long tweezers like these.
Extra long tweezers
What worked for me was using the tweezers and offering them to him a day or two after the normal feeding interval so he's starting to get really hungry. Then holding the silverside, do so from the tail as they prefer to swallow their prey head first to avoid potential injury from the dorsal spikes many fish have. Slowly move the fish near him like so he sees it and judge his interest. He may be put off by the tweezers at first but as he gets hungrier and more use to having the tweezers in the tank, and start to show interest as hunger will override his cautiousness and sooner or later he'll strike. Once he learns to associate the tweezers with food, he'll readily come eat when you present them to him.
With the size he is now you would want to start with the smaller whole silversides that are about the same as what he is eating now. Get yourself a pair of extra long tweezers like these.
Extra long tweezers
What worked for me was using the tweezers and offering them to him a day or two after the normal feeding interval so he's starting to get really hungry. Then holding the silverside, do so from the tail as they prefer to swallow their prey head first to avoid potential injury from the dorsal spikes many fish have. Slowly move the fish near him like so he sees it and judge his interest. He may be put off by the tweezers at first but as he gets hungrier and more use to having the tweezers in the tank, and start to show interest as hunger will override his cautiousness and sooner or later he'll strike. Once he learns to associate the tweezers with food, he'll readily come eat when you present them to him.
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