No QT? Because you already have a trigger, a QT would have been a great place to help the lion to swtich to the new food without competition. Like Sage said though, maybe the trigger will be a help with showing the lion that this is the food he needs to eat.
Well, the difference is he was eating live food at the store and you're now feeding him frozen. It could take up to a couple of weeks before the lion accepts frozen if he has never done so before. Mine may have taken 10 days to switch.
Just keep using the feeding stick and wiggling the food around in front of the lion to catch his interests. Try the frozen cubes of Formula 1 and Formula 2. Using both will add more variety to the diet, but feed the carnivore food 2 or 3 to 1 of the herbivore for the lion. My lion never liked or ate silversides - don't know why. Frozen squid, cut into appropriate size, can be another treat. I got mine from the grcery store. Also try soaking the food in garlic juice before feeding, that can also help entice the lion to eat.
Lions are great fish and are smart. Always feed the lion in the same spot of the tank. I trained my Volitan to eat in the front, right corner of the tank. Eventually, he didn't need the feeding stick any longer. You can just drop the food in that spot an he'll go right after it.
Good luck. Weaning a lion can be distressing, but just keep trying. If he doesn't accept it for awhile, don't worry too much as a healthy lion can go without food for quite some time, plus a little hunger will also motivate him to eat what you're offering.
I hope it works out for you.
