Dwarf Zebra Lionfish

[fisher1234]

Ive had my dwarf lion for about a week now. He has amzing color and is pretty active. I rele havnt gotten him to eat so im getting worried. I know hes been eating pods and wat not but its not enough. Ive tried frozen silversides and formula 1 but he just swims away. Really need some advice anyone hav ideas or personal experience thanx.

 

[Absint Reefer]

keep trying the frozen food but also once ever 6-8 days give him a few ghost shrimp so the lionfishes health remains stable while weaning onto prepared foods

 

[mattsilvester]

I have done this would both a Dwarf Fuzzy Lion and a Volitans.......

Get some fishing line (if not thin thread will do). Take a piece of frozen krill - as "whole" looking as you can get it, and tie the fishing line around its tail (loosely). Then dangle the shrimp around the lion.......

Try and be as "realistic" as possible......... drag it along nice and slowly, then "twitch" it a few inches, the way a shrimp does.......

Only do it for a minute or two, then remove it if he doesn't bite. He'll gradually take more and morei nterest in it, until he bits..... took mnie 4 or 5 days and within two weeks they would take anything meaty dropedu nder their nose.

My wife used to feed the volitan with chop-sticks! I had a pink tail trigger that would eat all the grub first otherwise.

HTH

Matt

 

[FMarini]

FISHer--
in general terms, WC lionfish do NOT eat dead foods, ergo him not recognizing dead silversides

your role is to wean him onto prepared foods, but this takes time.

In the interim you'll need to feed him live foods, and I highly recommend live ghost shrimp, consider this for a few weeks while the lion gets tank adapted then try Matts technique or the one I recommend in the lionfish infosheet
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-11/fm/feature/index.php

 

[JJ21]

i second ghost shrimp for a few weeks while trying to wean it onto prepared foods

 

[fisher1234]

Thanx for all the help. So how do i go by feeding with ghost shrimp? Do i just drop them in the tank and hope he gets them???

 

[FMarini]

YES----
just drop the ghost shrimp in, once he sees them, he'll hunt them down and eat them, guarenteed.
Assuming you don'thave a bunch of other fish that eat them first