Volitan Lion not eating

[andrewkw]

Maybe I should have asked for advice earlier but this has been going on for some time. I've had him just under a year. He is in a 90 gallon by himself. Nitrates are high but not toxic (close to 100ppm but I am lowering). Temp, salinity are both normal. Other then ammonia which I don't have a test kit for I don't think any other parameters would cause this. Since he is the only fish and I remove uneaten food ammonia is very unlikely to be an issue.

He's doubled in size at least since I got him and he would eat very much with gusto. Maybe for the last month or so he has reluctantly ate. ie he'd eat 1-3 pieces of shrimp a week when before he'd eat 1-3 shrimps a couple of times a week.

For the past 2 weeks he has not eaten at all. Unfortunately 95% of his diet is uncooked shrimp. He would occasionally eat scallops but got turned off those a while ago so I've just been feeding him shrimp with a couple of feedings of mysis shrimp. The mysis are messy though. I would loves to feeds LRS chunky but with no reef shops nearby paying $50 for dry ice shipments is not ideal.

Today I soaked the shrimp in garlic and still no effect. I did try some fish in the past and he did not touch that. If there was a reef shop near I'd get a chromis or something but since that is not an option I plan on dripping a couple of mollies to try and stimulate him. He's never had issues eating from tweezers in the past though.

He doesn't look too thin, his eyes are clear and he's still active as far as a lion fish gets. His top fins are not up as frequently but they do still go up sometimes when he's swimming. I can take some pics later but he more or less looks normal.

Other than mollies and maybe some fresh salmon anything else I should try? - keeping in mind seafood selection for me sucks here, never mind him. Most options are fresh water / frozen.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

Nitrates that high have to have an ammonia source since they are a biproduct of the breakdown of ammonia in the nitrogen cycle. High ammonia will make a fish lethargic and not eat. I would do some substantial water changes and get things back down to a normal fish-only level. I don't think food is the issue, my money is primarily on water parameters.

 

[elisa h]

I’d check for ammonia but I don’t think nitrates are going to kill a saltwater fish. Lots of fish only systems have high nitrates. But I doubt there’s ammonia in an established tank. I don’t have experience with lion fish but internal parasites come to mind. That’s what happened to my bangaii cardinal. He became progressively pickier and had less and less of an appetite. when he stopped eating and I realized what was wrong it was too late. Have you seen him poop? Is it white? I’ve heard eels go on hunger strikes and won’t eat for a while not sure if that applies to lion fish. Good luck I hope he starts eating again for you

 

[elisa h]

I’d check for ammonia but I don’t think nitrates are going to kill a saltwater fish. Lots of fish only systems have high nitrates. But I doubt there’s ammonia in an established tank. I don’t have experience with lion fish but internal parasites come to mind. That’s what happened to my bangaii cardinal. He became progressively pickier and had less and less of an appetite. when he stopped eating and I realized what was wrong it was too late. Have you seen him poop? Is it white? I’ve heard eels go on hunger strikes and won’t eat for a while not sure if that applies to lion fish. Good luck I hope he starts eating again for you

 

[ajhudson15]

I had one stop eating like that. Went to petsmart and bought live ghost shrimp. cost like 30 cents each and tossed them in. They stay alive long enough for them to be noticed and since its like food it attracts them a little more. You could try that at least until he gets better. The ghost shrimp are at my lfs that doesn't have saltwater so you should be able to find them. Our walmart has them every now and then

 

[HB Fisheye]

I think @ajhudson15 has a good suggestion. I've done that before. I've also had luck feeding mine chopped up silversides soaked in Vita-Chem. Hope he bounces back.

 

[andrewkw]

No luck with ghost shrimp. I did get some Mollies which I understand will take days to acclimate to salt water.

I really live in the middle of nowhere I couldn't find an ammonia alert badge at pets mart or a indie pet store. I would use the badge for qt tanks too I highly highly doubt ammonia is an issue. Especially with him not eating much over the past 2 weeks. The tank has been setup a year but the live rock is 10+ years wet.

I bought fresh salmon for me so I'll try that first.

I'll test the nitrates again later but 100 is the high end they are likely lower as I've been carbon dosing a few days and did a 10% water change which in theory alone dropped them 10%.

There aren't even snails in the tank just astrena starfish and limpets from my reef. There was once a snowflake eel with him but he was added last April with the lion.

 

[ajhudson15]

I did the drip method for mollies in an hour and they lived for about 6 months

 

[andrewkw]

I am really sad to report the Lion passed away overnight. The mollies are still acclimating - I used a brs dosing pump that is 1.5ml a second to give them a really slow drip. I was pretty concerned, but did not expect him to just die like this. I figured it would be a long time before he starved. I also discount most diseases unless he has had it for an entire year. As throughout his life there were no new additions to the tank.

I suppose now the Mollies will be canaries. If they drop dead of something then he had a disease.

 

[lion king]

I consider 100ppm to be high, I've found nitrates even as low as 50 effect some fish's appetite. I would think internal parasites would have shown up way before now, although could not be completely ruled out. In the case of lions, ones that have been through a history of drug cocktails; especially containing copper, will just stop eating and die within a year.

1st thing I'd do is bring my nitrates down to something close to 50 or lower. Adding something live may trigger a feeding response, then I would start feeding his regular diet soaked in metro/focus just in case o internal parasites. Plus on Mollies and ghost shrimp are good choices for live food. If it's the case of excessive exposure to meds, there's nothing you can do and it's not your fault.