lionfish not eating?? or is he..

[amdninjaboy]

I picked up a dwarf lionfish to go in my 90 gal tank, fish store fed him frozen mysis in front of me so I knew he was eating.. Since I've had him(sunday) I havent seen him eat at all.. I tried shrimp, frozen squid,mysis with no luck.. Got some guppies last night and he didnt even give them a second look. They were swimming right in front of him. I had a small CUC in the tank, 5 turbo's, 5 conch snail, 12 nassarius, 3 peppermint shrimp and a blood shrimp.. All the shrimp are still there, I only see one conch snail now and maybe 3 or 4 nassarius.. Maybe thats why hes not hungry?? Could he eat a conch snail? I figured the nassarius might be history and the peppermint shrimps but the concs are huge.. Didnt think he had a chance getting those??

He sure doesnt look like hes wasting away to nothing..

Shane.

 

[namxas]

Your lion didn't eat your conch. Assuming it's a fighting conch, it's likely buried in the substrate. Lions won't even look at snails as food.

The fact that all of your peps are still there isn't a good sign, as lions LOVE shrimp.

Is the fish in QT? If not, what other fish are in the tank?

How is the fish's respiration rate...is it gilling hard when at rest?

Does the lion have any caves or overhangs to retreat to?

Have you tried feeding it under subdued lighting?

How are you presenting the non-living food to the fish?

Is your fish a dwarf fuzzy or a zebra?

Lions can go quite awhile without a meal, so don't sweat that. In fact, you can use that to your advantage when weaning them That being said, most lions will typically take live food within a couple of days.

 

[amdninjaboy]

There arent any other fish in the tank.. Its a dwarf zebra, no gilling that ive seen he looks very content.. Lots of caves and a few overhangs in the rock and he likes to hang out in all of them.. Tried feeding under both just actinic and just the moonlights. I thought it might be the bright light as I have a 4 tube t5 setup but it didnt help.. Im just dropping the non living food into the tank right in front of him and he just lets it hit the sand and doesnt even look at it..

 

[namxas]

It's entirely possible that if the LFS was feeding it daily, and feeding it a good amount of food, that it may be full, but I'd keep an eye out for anything abnormal, such as spots, cloudy/spotted eyes, labored breathing.

Assuming the fish is indeed healthy, it simply may be that it's still becoming accustomed to its new digs.

As far as food presentation, we have some fish (lions included) that won't even look at food unless it's on the end of a stick or it LOOKS like it's on the stick, which means the food fell off and we follow the food with the stick.

Another thought is the size of the food item...it's best to go with food items that are about the size of the fish's eye, as large pieces/items tend to intimidate the fish (sounds odd, but IME, it's true). Smaller food items are actually easier on the fish's GI tract as well.

If you haven't read THIS ARTICLE, it may help. Also, if you haven't read Frank Marini's excellent Lionfish Info Sheet, you should give it a read as well.

 

[amdninjaboy]

Thanks namxas, both of those links were good reading.. I dont see any spots or cloudy eyes but will keep an eye on him..