Finally got a Volitans!
- Thread starter StephLionfish
- Start date
StephLionfish
New member
Wow, she's gorgeous. ( like all the rest of yours 
) I've never seen one like her before. Just another to add to my " Future Lionfish List".
I saw another small Vol. at the lfs today. I almost bought him, but he's a good 2 or so inches bigger than mine. Don't know if it's that big of a risk, but I'd hate to have him eat my little one. He was a real deep brownish black.
) I've never seen one like her before. Just another to add to my " Future Lionfish List".I saw another small Vol. at the lfs today. I almost bought him, but he's a good 2 or so inches bigger than mine. Don't know if it's that big of a risk, but I'd hate to have him eat my little one. He was a real deep brownish black.
ashtree68
Active member
I agree tiny lions are the best, I ordered a fuzzy from blue zoo and it was suppose to be 3" it was MAYBE 2" but he's eating and active and is becoming more and more active. Unfortunately he was being picked on by another fuzzy (both turned out to be males) so he got moved to another tank until I can figure what to do.
Again, very nice lion will look great to get a couple of them in a 210.
Again, very nice lion will look great to get a couple of them in a 210.
StephLionfish
New member
ashtree68, that stinks. I had two Fuzzies fight once, and had to separate them. They where very little ( about 1 inch including fins), but still males I guess. I got my first lionfish ( Zebra lionfish) about a year and a half ago. He was also my first fish ( aside from Zebra danios lol). It took a solid month to get him to eat dead food, but it was so worth it! Here he is a day after I got him, not sure how big, but he was small.
Then a month or two later
And here he ( or she, the world will never know lol) is now. A beastly 5 inches.
I'm actually concerned...if you notice on the first recent pic, he has a dot on his pupil and a white dot on one of the stripes, then on the last pic, there are more white dots on the red stripes. And his eyes are a little cloudy. Not sure what it is :/ Excuse the crappy pics.
Then a month or two later
And here he ( or she, the world will never know lol) is now. A beastly 5 inches.
I'm actually concerned...if you notice on the first recent pic, he has a dot on his pupil and a white dot on one of the stripes, then on the last pic, there are more white dots on the red stripes. And his eyes are a little cloudy. Not sure what it is :/ Excuse the crappy pics.
StephLionfish
New member
He hadn't done it in several months, then last month he did 3 times I think... That's bad right? That he shed so many times in a month? He's still got the white dots.
StephLionfish
New member
They just appeared one day, then a few more showed up over the next couple of days. They don't go away, and it looks like they are on the skin and eyes.. I can take more pictures, closer up, of them if you'd like. My Dwarf Fuzzy has the same things on his ( or her (?) ) eyes. The Zebra and the Fuzzy are in different tanks, and it really worries me....
seahorsedreams
New member
White dots? Did I miss where we are talking about Ich?
EDIT: Ok, figured out my own confusion, your lion is about to get a full blown case of Ich. This is the first signs...
EDIT: Ok, figured out my own confusion, your lion is about to get a full blown case of Ich. This is the first signs...
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StephLionfish
New member
I don't think it's ich really, because I've had fish in the past (in a separate tank) with ich. I mean, it looks...eh, hold on I'll get a pic. ...
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ok, I just got a few pics, and the white dots ( one on the left side of the body, two or three on the right side) look like they are sinking into the lion's skin... They aren't as popped up as before. They are flatter against the body.
Now I'm waiting for the pictures to load to photobucket...
The lionfish, when he sits on this one rock, another fish comes up and literally lays on it's side, under the lionfish. So the lion pretty much sits on the other fish. I don't know why the other fish does this....and I'm surprised it doesn't get hurt. It irritates the Lion, but he doesn't sting the other fish. :hmm2:
The two are doing this right now...the lion is turning, trying to get situated and the other fish is pressing up against him...
I'll get those pics
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ok, I just got a few pics, and the white dots ( one on the left side of the body, two or three on the right side) look like they are sinking into the lion's skin... They aren't as popped up as before. They are flatter against the body.
Now I'm waiting for the pictures to load to photobucket...
The lionfish, when he sits on this one rock, another fish comes up and literally lays on it's side, under the lionfish. So the lion pretty much sits on the other fish. I don't know why the other fish does this....and I'm surprised it doesn't get hurt. It irritates the Lion, but he doesn't sting the other fish. :hmm2:
The two are doing this right now...the lion is turning, trying to get situated and the other fish is pressing up against him...
I'll get those pics
StephLionfish
New member
Mmmk, I tried to draw black arrows at the dots ;J
And on the other side...
And on the eye..
And the eye on the left, is the other eye....
Any ideas on what's on my baby?
And on the other side...
And on the eye..
And the eye on the left, is the other eye....
Any ideas on what's on my baby?
seahorsedreams
New member
Looks like Ich.
I'm not sure if I have any pictures of that stage, but I'll have a look and see.
I'm not sure if I have any pictures of that stage, but I'll have a look and see.
StephLionfish
New member
Time to set up QT? 
May I ask what kind of treatment...or is that another thread on another forum thing?
May I ask what kind of treatment...or is that another thread on another forum thing?
seahorsedreams
New member
You know, once upon a time I would be hopping on the treatment wagon immediately. He's still eating, right? I would feed him the best died that he's EVAH seen. I can't say enough for Beta Glucan powder if you could get some aquaculture grade to stuff in his food.
Who is in the tank with him? Is there a source of stress in the environment? For us one time it was a vibrating pump. We fixed the pump, changed some water (always a good idea) and fed him seriously well. He's still with us.
The one advantage scorps have is that they shed. He'll shed alot, and that's a good thing in this situation. Remove all cuticles from the tank.
Who is in the tank with him? Is there a source of stress in the environment? For us one time it was a vibrating pump. We fixed the pump, changed some water (always a good idea) and fed him seriously well. He's still with us.
The one advantage scorps have is that they shed. He'll shed alot, and that's a good thing in this situation. Remove all cuticles from the tank.
StephLionfish
New member
Yep, he's eating. He's a little finicky, it took me FOR-EV-ER to get him to eat dead food last year, and since day 1 of eating dead food he'll cough up anything that he doesn't like. ( In the end he does not get his way, he keeps down whatever I feed him and that's that 
) I feed him from my fingers ( I've had bad experiences with the wooden skewers. When I was trying to get him to eat dead food in the very beginning, he got some stick in his mouth and it scared us both :L )
He's in a 55 gallon with a Dwarf Half-Black Angelfish. And here's where the pain comes along.... I was wanting to move him to another 55 tomorrow, him and the angel, tear down the previous 55, and put a 75 in its place. Once the 75 is cycled, move the Zebra and the angel back in there. I will admit, the 55 he's in now..is NOT a suitable environment. Which is why I'm tearing it down. He really can not stay in the tank he's in now....but will it hurt him too much to move him while he has ich?
Diet....he gets Silversides that I cut up into pieces that are a little smaller than a dime. He's officially 5 inches as of last week, and I always feed either too small or small, instead of big pieces. I'm still a little iffy on what kind of food to buy at the grocery store... Should I look out for something harmful? I wish there was a link or something with a list of certain foods to buy by name....
Beta Glucan powder? Stuff it...like, cut something open and fill it and serve? Is there anything else to add or stuff the food with?
When he sheds, the Angel eats it before I can get to it....
) I feed him from my fingers ( I've had bad experiences with the wooden skewers. When I was trying to get him to eat dead food in the very beginning, he got some stick in his mouth and it scared us both :L )He's in a 55 gallon with a Dwarf Half-Black Angelfish. And here's where the pain comes along.... I was wanting to move him to another 55 tomorrow, him and the angel, tear down the previous 55, and put a 75 in its place. Once the 75 is cycled, move the Zebra and the angel back in there. I will admit, the 55 he's in now..is NOT a suitable environment. Which is why I'm tearing it down. He really can not stay in the tank he's in now....but will it hurt him too much to move him while he has ich?
Diet....he gets Silversides that I cut up into pieces that are a little smaller than a dime. He's officially 5 inches as of last week, and I always feed either too small or small, instead of big pieces. I'm still a little iffy on what kind of food to buy at the grocery store... Should I look out for something harmful? I wish there was a link or something with a list of certain foods to buy by name....
Beta Glucan powder? Stuff it...like, cut something open and fill it and serve? Is there anything else to add or stuff the food with?
When he sheds, the Angel eats it before I can get to it....
StephLionfish
New member
Also, when I feed him, it's like he didn't even eat it... I measure how much to feed by the bulge in their bellies, and with the others, I can see a bulge, with him, I can feed and feed and feed and it doesn't swell that much. ( Don't take that the wrong way, I only feed him every other day, 3-5 pieces dime sized or smaller) And, unlike the others, he gets full and leaves on his own sometimes.
Oh, i forgot to mention, we put a powerhead to get some flow, and he's out more, swims and plays in the current.Even with all the lovely caves I made him, he's rarely hiding.
He looks a little...eh, right now. He's on the sand and really slumped and it leaning a little to the side...fins and "stingers" down...! Is that bad!?!
Oh, i forgot to mention, we put a powerhead to get some flow, and he's out more, swims and plays in the current.Even with all the lovely caves I made him, he's rarely hiding.
He looks a little...eh, right now. He's on the sand and really slumped and it leaning a little to the side...fins and "stingers" down...! Is that bad!?!
seahorsedreams
New member
He's not playing in the flow :-( He's trying to get the Ich/cuticle off. We have alternating flow, and every 5 min-ish, the flow would switch and the Ich infested Volitans would swim over to the other one. This is one of the first thing I notice with Ich when all else looks well.... they sit in front of the flow and they shed alot.
Have you ever seen my feeding stick? There is ZERO chance of injury to ANYONE using that method. Lions may not be aggressive, but mistakes happen and a hand fed lion is a risk for a poke. Eating is important right now. It can encourage a shed and that will reduce the numbers on him.
If he won't take a varied frozen diet right now, I would get some ghosties and load them up with a bunch of enrichments. I can't speak enough about the importance of tip top nutrition when dealing with such things.
I would not bring this issue over to the new tank. If anything, I might get that one ready and use the current 55 as a QT... it could still go that way. Moving him around now would absolutely be the worse thing for him unless it's out to a tank for a hyposaline treatment.
I'm honestly not really liking the angel with him, and IMO that could be a source of stress. You don't have to see it for it to be there. But, I'm not the Tankmates Police
Vitamin C boosts immunity, so if you are unable to do the Beta Glucan right now, I would add Vitamin C to the tank water. There's hobby preparations out there, but you can also use Human grade drug store stuff. I've never used that form, so you'd have to read about that elsewhere. I've been using vitamin C for ailed fish, and I have noticed a HUGE improvement.
But if something is still stressing him, this could be moot. Ya gotta find the source of the stress.
Have you ever seen my feeding stick? There is ZERO chance of injury to ANYONE using that method. Lions may not be aggressive, but mistakes happen and a hand fed lion is a risk for a poke. Eating is important right now. It can encourage a shed and that will reduce the numbers on him.
If he won't take a varied frozen diet right now, I would get some ghosties and load them up with a bunch of enrichments. I can't speak enough about the importance of tip top nutrition when dealing with such things.
I would not bring this issue over to the new tank. If anything, I might get that one ready and use the current 55 as a QT... it could still go that way. Moving him around now would absolutely be the worse thing for him unless it's out to a tank for a hyposaline treatment.
I'm honestly not really liking the angel with him, and IMO that could be a source of stress. You don't have to see it for it to be there. But, I'm not the Tankmates Police
Vitamin C boosts immunity, so if you are unable to do the Beta Glucan right now, I would add Vitamin C to the tank water. There's hobby preparations out there, but you can also use Human grade drug store stuff. I've never used that form, so you'd have to read about that elsewhere. I've been using vitamin C for ailed fish, and I have noticed a HUGE improvement.
But if something is still stressing him, this could be moot. Ya gotta find the source of the stress.
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seahorsedreams
New member
You can buy it in the vitamin section, but the beta glucan:filler ratio is a little heavy on the filler side. The powder is pretty white. I buy aquacuture grade online, but I don't think I can post that here. THAT powder is brown and potent.
namxas
Things With Stings R Us!
We have a pretty fair amount of flow:
The main pump is a Little Giant 4MDQX-SC which alternates between each upper corner of the tank via a SCWD. This pump also feeds a 1/4 hp chiller.
There's a 3-output CL across the lower part of the tank about 6" from the bottom. The pump is an Iwaki MD40RLT.
The main pump is a Little Giant 4MDQX-SC which alternates between each upper corner of the tank via a SCWD. This pump also feeds a 1/4 hp chiller.
There's a 3-output CL across the lower part of the tank about 6" from the bottom. The pump is an Iwaki MD40RLT.
