Lion fish not eating

[fugetaboutit05]

I started an aggressive (predator) SW tank, aside from the main display.

I have had a lion fish for about a week, and he’s not eating. Started the first 2 days with freeze dried hand feeding, nothing. Went back to the LFS and picked up live feeder fish, nothing. Went back for frozen silversides, and still nothing.

After reading and researching for days, i know that they can be difficult sometimes when added to new tank. If anyone has a method they have used to get them to begin eating I’m all ears.

Tank is a 48g Bowfront, L.E.D. Lighting, PMs stabilizing (toxic levels below .20ppm) temp 80 deg F, 1 PH at 565gph (good water movement)

The one thing i didn’t do before i bought him was , ask the LFS if they had fed him since they had him and how he was eating. During my research i read that should have been something to find out before bringing him home.

 

[Crustaceon]

Freshwater glass shrimp. Always use tongs if you do this. With any luck, the lion will associate the tongs with food and after a week or so will take other foods off of them.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

What species of lion fish is it?
Jay

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Freshwater glass shrimp. Always use tongs if you do this. With any luck, the lion will associate the tongs with food and after a week or so will take other foods off of them.

Shrimp is the one thing I didn’t try lol.... thanks. Ill pick them up today

 

[fugetaboutit05]

What species of lion fish is it?
Jay

I believe it to be the spotfin lion

 

[ehealy13]

Had the same problem, and eventually got him eating live rosy red minnows. Then, silversides after a few months. He seemed to eat better at night, with the lights off, when his tank mates were less active.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Had the same problem, and eventually got him eating live rosy red minnows. Then, silversides after a few months. He seemed to eat better at night, with the lights off, when his tank mates were less active.

Is there an alternative to the red minnows? I don’t believe the LFS has them.

 

[Crustaceon]

Shrimp is the one thing I didn’t try lol.... thanks. Ill pick them up today

I was in the same boat as you for a week with my dwarf lion years ago. Literally the only thing it would touch were those live shrimp. It was super into them though, lol.

 

[ehealy13]

Is there an alternative to the red minnows? I don’t believe the LFS has them.

Most should carry them, if not Petco/PetSmart do. You mentioned live food in your first post, were you using goldfish? If not, that's an option, just make sure you get them the right size. I also trained mine by putting the feeder in the net, holding it to the glass and releasing when he was close. After a few days he saw the net and knew what it meant.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Most should carry them, if not Petco/PetSmart do. You mentioned live food in your first post, were you using goldfish? If not, that's an option, just make sure you get them the right size. I also trained mine by putting the feeder in the net, holding it to the glass and releasing when he was close. After a few days he saw the net and knew what it meant.

Bait shop carry them also

@lion king

 

[lion king]

Immediately treat with general cure in the water, do not wait. Usually the next day he will start to eat. You must offer live food; ghost shrimp, guppies, or mollies. Appropriately sized, not too big. So small mollies or even fancy guppies if small enough. No rosies or no goldfish. You can even get a peppermint shrimp if necessary, no saltwater fish because of disease.

They many times come in with internal parasites and almost always need live food.

 

[lion king]

If you haven't tried the appropriate food yet, you can feed some of what I suggested then immediately dose general cure in the water column. Feed him enough to see a nice bulge in the belly, but be careful not to over feed. They will gorge and become insatiable, especially after not eating for a while.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I believe it to be the spotfin lion

Volitans are the easiest to get to feed, spotfins sometimes have health issues that keep them from feeding. Is it holding its fins up? Or are they laying down? Does it seem to be breathing fast?
Jay

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Volitans are the easiest to get to feed, spotfins sometimes have health issues that keep them from feeding. Is it holding its fins up? Or are they laying down? Does it seem to be breathing fast?
Jay

Update on the lion fish, sadly it died this morning. Some of you may have been right, when u suggested internal parasites.

This guy wouldn’t eat ANYTHING. I tried even just feeding the coral shark and green wolf eel so that they wouldn’t eat anything live that i put into the tank for the lion fish. They left it alone long enough for this lion fish to see it and ignore it. But within a day, the other predators would clean house. I did this several times, to no avail...

I appreciate all the input and suggestions. I am going to wait to get another for a while. Maybe once the tank calms down some with the other predators.

There were plenty of hiding spots,caves,perches that the lion would take to and come out in the evening when the blue lights come on. I event tried feeding him then. Nothing worked unfortunately.

First fish i lost like this, other fish i lost (only 2) were eaten or forced out of the tank by a territorial tank mate.

Going to do more research and reading on the species before i add another.

Thanks again everybody.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

Immediately treat with general cure in the water, do not wait. Usually the next day he will start to eat. You must offer live food; ghost shrimp, guppies, or mollies. Appropriately sized, not too big. So small mollies or even fancy guppies if small enough. No rosies or no goldfish. You can even get a peppermint shrimp if necessary, no saltwater fish because of disease.

They many times come in with internal parasites and almost always need live food.

I lost the lion today, i believe it to be a combination of what everyone here was posting. But i am very interested in this general cure that you mentioned.

Can you give me more info on this? Brand, Name, dosage or treatment that worked for you?

I am going to attempt to use this even now, due to my coral cat shark giving me some issues.

 

[ehealy13]

Update on the lion fish, sadly it died this morning. Some of you may have been right, when u suggested internal parasites.

This guy wouldn’t eat ANYTHING. I tried even just feeding the coral shark and green wolf eel so that they wouldn’t eat anything live that i put into the tank for the lion fish. They left it alone long enough for this lion fish to see it and ignore it. But within a day, the other predators would clean house. I did this several times, to no avail...

I appreciate all the input and suggestions. I am going to wait to get another for a while. Maybe once the tank calms down some with the other predators.

There were plenty of hiding spots,caves,perches that the lion would take to and come out in the evening when the blue lights come on. I event tried feeding him then. Nothing worked unfortunately.

First fish i lost like this, other fish i lost (only 2) were eaten or forced out of the tank by a territorial tank mate.

Going to do more research and reading on the species before i add another.

Thanks again everybody.

Sorry, never easy.

 

[lion king]

I lost the lion today, i believe it to be a combination of what everyone here was posting. But i am very interested in this general cure that you mentioned.

Can you give me more info on this? Brand, Name, dosage or treatment that worked for you?

I am going to attempt to use this even now, due to my coral cat shark giving me some issues.

General Cure(gc) is by API, many lfs carry it and you can get it on Amazon Prime. Follow dosing instructions on the box, do not follow instructions by people online that know better than the manufacturer. It's 1 packet per 10g of "water volume", you must take displacement into consideration. Obviously remove carbon, etc; turn off skimmer and dose in water column, dose again 2 days later, then 25% water change and remove 2 days later. There are some species that may react adversely, but most times it's an overdose that causes it. I use gc for the treatment of internal parasites, it is a combination of praziquantel and metronidazole, together these cover the broadest spectrum of parasites and worms. This is the only med I will even use prophylactically. Gc is not considered reef safe.

If you decide on another lion, it's pretty simple; a healthy lion will eat right away if offered the proper food, live ghost shrimp is a good first choice. If he eats, let him eat a couple of times to fatten up and get strong. Then start gc, if you a very skilled and observant you could skip treatment if he continues to eat regularly, but there is no problem and good insurance to treat prophylactically. The fact is lions come in with internal parasites more often than not. It is very common for predatory fish to have internal parasites, because they tend to only initially eat live food, their handlers will feed them diseased and dying fish along the way.

Many times the notoriously difficult to feed species, are suffering from internal parasites and don't recognize what you are feeding is food. Many predatory fish will be saved by simply treating with gc and offering live food.

 

[fugetaboutit05]

General Cure(gc) is by API, many lfs carry it and you can get it on Amazon Prime. Follow dosing instructions on the box, do not follow instructions by people online that know better than the manufacturer. It's 1 packet per 10g of "water volume", you must take displacement into consideration. Obviously remove carbon, etc; turn off skimmer and dose in water column, dose again 2 days later, then 25% and remove 2 days later. There are some species that may react adversely, but most times it's an overdose that causes it. I use gc for the treatment of internal parasites, it is a combination of praziquantel and metronidazole, together these cover the broadest spectrum of parasites and worms. This is the only med I will even use prophylactically. Gc is not considered reef safe.

If you decide on another lion, it's pretty simple; a healthy lion will eat right away if offered the proper food, live ghost shrimp is a good first choice. If he eats, let him eat a couple of times to fatten up and get strong. Then start gc, if you a very skilled and observant you could skip treatment if he continues to eat regularly, but there is no problem and ood insurance to treat prophylactically. The fact is lions come in with internal parasites more often than not. It is very common for predatory fish to have internal parasites, because they tend to only initially eat live food, their handlers will feed them diseased and dying fish along the way.

Many times the notoriously difficult to feed species, are suffering from internal parasites and don't recognize what you are feeding is food. Many predatory fish will be saved by simply treating with gc and offering live food.

Much appreciated bud. The shark i have does exhibit behavior along the same lines as what u are describing. He has eaten small amounts, sporadically. Nothing like what the research I’ve done says he should be consuming.

Once i get him on track ill consider another lion fish.