Dwarf Lionfish, daily feeding?

[LordVega]

I have been reading lots:reading:, and the guy at the pet store said to feed him daily and with the light off... but i been reading in all kids of different things.

today its day 3
1. first day was swimming all over the place but was not hungry
2. second day i gave him pmysis (witch the LPS said to wash them out to get rig of the oil, he liked it but was too loose so old about 10% was consumed
3. today... don't know if i should just feed him a solid chunk or skip it? i mean he does not move much so is it daily or every other day? i am a bit clueless so i did not buy any live fish witch i was also told to give once a week

btw... his name is batman!!! think about it hehe

 

[CuttleKid]

I would get him eating chunks from a feeding stick and feed him 3 times a week. i feed my russells MWF.

Good Luck He/Shes Adorable

 

[rabbitfishy]

I would recommend feeding him every other day...try to give him a mixed verity of foods, such as; scallops, silver siders, black tiger shrimp, mysis shrimp..ect. The reason why you don't want to feed him everyday is because 1. slow digestion (they are not active fish and don't burn a lot of energy) 2. you don't want food rotting in their stomach 3. lionfish are always hungry even when full (most people might think they are doing a good thing by feeding them every day, because they give off the impression they are starving)

My one lionfish broke his jaw and con't eat for 7 weeks (he got really skinny that you could see through him)...we thought for sure he was not going to make it, but with time, jaw massages (don't do this unless you are prepared to get stung) and ghost shrimp mixed with B12 got him eating again...now he is as fat as a cow with a deformed jaw, but we love him anyways...the moral of the story is your lionfish won't starve if you feed him ever other day nutrient rich food

As the for the light thing...lionfish are nocturnal fish and generally eat at night, but I find that lionfish are pigs and will eat anytime food is available

P.s. I love the name ya choice and his tank looks amazing ^^

 

[Wolverine]

I agree with the others, 3 times a week should be plenty.

 

[CuttleKid]

The reason you were told to feed with the lights out was because lionfsh are dusk/dawn predators. They feed mainly when their is low light when the sun is setting/rising. i disagree with feeding every other day. i feel that there should be a short fasting period like the weekend to make sure all the food in their stomach is properly digested before throwing more food down their system.

 

[DoubleM 10]

tank looks good. Are you planning to upgrade? is that a 14gal Biocube? the dwarf lion will outgrow that very quick. I have had 2 fuzzy lions. one got from the size of a nickle to 6 inches in 6-7 months. is the lion the only thing in the tank?

i feed my lions 2-3 times a week. that is enough. they have a naturally slow metabolism.

agree with cuddlekid about the dusk. they are night hunters naturally. eventually you ccan break that. i never feed mine at night.

 

[LordVega]

Thank you all for the great info... So i just saw him do a back flip and swim straight up (hit the light hood) then shoot white stuff (looked like thick milk) all over... was that poop?!

rabbitfishy- what do the stings feel like? thats another thing that i was having a hard time finding out, read somewhere that if your alergic to bee stings make sure to wear gloves.

CuttleKid- whats mwf? ... im going to use chop sticks to feed hehe

DoubleM 10- you caught me hehe it is a 14g NC, I used to have 1pair of clarks clowns :love2: ... the female killed the the male when i brought in a LTA, they both outgrew the tank and had to part with them at $20 ea :sad2: im currently in college and they only allow 10gal tanks, but as soon as im done i plan on properly upgrade my tank.

Things to buy:
scallops, silver siders, black tiger shrimp

 

[LordVega]

Oh yea forgot the livestock:
1 2spot goby
1 turbo snail
2 margarita snails
2 ... the snails that travel under the sand and have a snorkel
2 hermit crabs... currently mia
yellow polyps
pulsating xenia

 

[namxas]

Nice-looking fish.

I was about to comment on the tank size as well. One thing I can say about that is when they are cramped, lions tend to sit around more because there simply isn't any room to swim. After all, if you were in a phone booth, you'd quit spinning in circles after awhile, wouldn't you?

Everyone is right-on about feeding your fish...3 times a week is PLENTY for a lionfish. You should definitely get it onto other meaty foods. Go to the market and pick up some small amounts of SW fish flesh (salmon, tuna, shark, snapper, etc), uncooked table shrimp, scallops, squid, etc.

Considering the size of your fish, you REALLY need to look into making a "stealth stick" rather than using chop sticks (see feeding article below).

Here are some good articles you should read:

Lions, and Turkeys, and Devils, Oh My! Lionfish in the Home Aquarium

Frank Marini's Lionfish Info Sheet

And finally, regarding feeding techniques:

Tools of the Trade: Equipment & Techniques to Convert your Fish onto Frozen.

If you read those three articles, you'll get a good handle on keeping lionfish. Of course, feel free to hit us up with specific questions!

 

[Recty]

CuttleKid- whats mwf? ... im going to use chop sticks to feed hehe

Monday/Wednesday/Friday.

He was recommending feeding those three days of the week.

 

[Mental1]

Your goby may disappear.

 

[LordVega]

that was some great info. thank you

 

[jarrod13]

The white milky stuff you saw was the lions cuticle, they shed it every once in a while and is perfectly normal

 

[ktaylor660]

I have a Dwarf Zebra Lion. I feed him 3 times a week also. I rotate between frozen krill and frozen silversides. I soak them both in selcon with 2 drops of garlic. I feed the silversides whole if they are small and cut the larger ones into 3 pieces. He feeds whenever I come to the tank, day or night. I use a pair of plastic tweezers and when he sees them come out of the drawer he goes to the top of the tank and waits for the food. I also agree that your goby may disappear. Good luck.

 

[LordVega]

My goby went MIA pretty much as soon as i read you guys said that it was in trouble. My LFS guy assured me that the goby was compatible so i bought him ahead of time. Kinda upset that was $25 wasted :headwally: I am secretly hoping that it will come back someday and thats just hidding somewhere... for the past 3 days:worried: