HELP WITH DEAD LIONFISH

[JJ"sSouthernAquatics]

Hey guys, so i got a dwarf zebra lionfish the other day and he was doing fine until this morning, i found him dead! i checked my parameters, amm: 0 ppm, nitrite: 0 ppm, nitrate: 0 ppm, salinty: 1.026. I have a picasso trigger that is only about 2 inches and an ocellaris clown that is a bit bigger then the trigger and when i got the lionfish he was bigger then the clownfish!! can anyone tell me what might have happened??? or @lion king if you could help me id really appreciate all the answers!

 

[Bucs20fan]

Were his fins nipped at all? Alot of times triggers will eat the spines off of lionfish, they love crunch things and are not afraid of lionfish.

 

[JJ"sSouthernAquatics]

Were his fins nipped at all? Alot of times triggers will eat the spines off of lionfish, they love crunch things and are not afraid of lionfish.

i just looked at him again and i didnt see much nipping, but his tail didnt look right im not sure what that would be from either the trigger or from him starting to decompose since i dont know how long he was dead for...

 

[Bucs20fan]

Lionfish are known for internal parasites, theres no way of telling how long that could have been going on while it was at your LFS or the distributor.

 

[Bucs20fan]

i just looked at him again and i didnt see much nipping, but his tail didnt look right im not sure what that would be from either the trigger or from him starting to decompose since i dont know how long he was dead for...

The sudden death its the confusing part. Clowns have known to be mean especially to newcomers, it could have been a stress induced death as well. A 2in picasso isnt really grown enough to get into their most aggressive part of their life.

 

[JJ"sSouthernAquatics]

The sudden death its the confusing part. Clowns have known to be mean especially to newcomers, it could have been a stress induced death as well. A 2in picasso isnt really grown enough to get into their most aggressive part of their life.

Oh i just remembered. i dont know if this helps anything but i actually work at my LFS where i got this lionfish. and my boss had told me that they were not shipped properly; they were being fed up until they shipped them. and one DOA the other died the next day and i got the third one, but he was there for about a week doing alright

 

[Bucs20fan]

Dwarf Lions have a much higher mortality rate in shipping than other larger species of lions do. But i will say this that in my observed experience at different LFS, Lions in general dont ship/ acclimate well. Even more so if they were treated with heavy antibiotics at some point. If they were fed until shipping, then depending on your LFS acclimation protocol, that could have made it worse. IF the bag had ammonia in it, you would be better off doing a very very quick salinity acclimation. Once the bag is exposed to new oxygen the ammonia content in the bag explodes and can become very toxic in a few minutes.

 

[Aspect]

How long was the Lionfish acclimated for? 1.026 is high salinity compared to what Fish stores keep their livestock so it would have needed a long acclimation. Also, triggerfish should not be kept with Lions as they will nip at their fins because they are slow moving and triggers consider them an easy target.

 

[Bucs20fan]

+1 to its not if its when the trigger eats the lions fins.

 

[lion king]

Dwarf lionfish have an extremely high mortality rate, if you are interested in getting another one, I suggest you read through some of my threads. Click my name and "find all threads".

If you don't set up an observation tank, acclimate matching sg, prepare to treat for internal parasites if necessary or even prophylactically, and plan to feed live food, chances of success are slim. It's almost a guarantee they will initially need live food and there is no guarantee they will take to dead food or a dead food food diet that will provide long term success

 

[JJ"sSouthernAquatics]

Thank all of yall for responding to my post. i will keep this answers in mind as

 

[TastesLikeChicken]

I have never been able to keep lionfish alive. I don’t know what it is, but I feel they are more delicate than the average fish.