Feeding Lionfish

CaptainsReef · Mar 6, 2019

I have a fuzzy dwarf lionfish that was eating fine in quarantine. He has been in the DT for two weeks and hasn't eaten in two weeks. He did nip the tongs so I think he's scared now. He was eating frozen krill.

From what I have read I will probably need to get him on live food until he starts eating good again. Anyone have any experience with us? If so what do you recommend feeding? Thoughts on guppies? They seem to be cheap and abundant at Petco and the girl who works there says they can be drip acclimated and live just fine in saltwater.

Mastiffsrule · Mar 6, 2019

I used feeder fish but that was full size lion and years ago.

lion king · Mar 6, 2019

That's the thing about dwarf lions, even when you think he is eating dead, a move or given enough time, they just stop eating dead food. I feed my dwarf and medium lions a combo dead/live diet or live only. Guppies are fine feeders, realistically you don;t have to acclimate, if he;s healthy he'll snatch them up as soon as you drop him in. Live ghost shrimp are also a good food. For long term success it would good to give him at least one live feeding a week, most people that try to do a dead only diet, don't keep them very long. They are also common to have internal parasites or intestinal worms, treatment for such adds to success, they can be eating and doing fine for as long as a couple of months, then just stop eating. Some signs are an insatiable appetite, fading color, and the classic white stringy poo.

If he doesn't eat the live food, like right away, then you will need to act fast on treatment for internal parasites. Let us know how it works out.

Feeding only dead krill won't do for long either, try to get him eating other chunky meaty foods, and even PE mysis. You can gently squirt some in his direction with the pumps turned off

Edward Harevich · Mar 6, 2019

My old lion, (big boy) was on a diet of frozen cubes and live. He preferred live so I used goldfish to feed, cheap live food made him grow like crazy! I had to get rid of him when he outgrew the 55 he was in,was bummed out but he needed another home. He was a bit over 12" or so when I got rid of him, didn't dare take a tape measure to him it was hard enough getting him out of the tank.

welsher7 · Mar 7, 2019

Have you tried a feeding stick? I always had better luck with one over using tongs. The feeding stick is just clear 1/4” rigid airline with a bit thick fishing line glued on the end

CaptainsReef · Mar 7, 2019

lion king said:
That's the thing about dwarf lions, even when you think he is eating dead, a move or given enough time, they just stop eating dead food. I feed my dwarf and medium lions a combo dead/live diet or live only. Guppies are fine feeders, realistically you don;t have to acclimate, if he;s healthy he'll snatch them up as soon as you drop him in. Live ghost shrimp are also a good food. For long term success it would good to give him at least one live feeding a week, most people that try to do a dead only diet, don't keep them very long. They are also common to have internal parasites or intestinal worms, treatment for such adds to success, they can be eating and doing fine for as long as a couple of months, then just stop eating. Some signs are an insatiable appetite, fading color, and the classic white stringy poo.

If he doesn't eat the live food, like right away, then you will need to act fast on treatment for internal parasites. Let us know how it works out.

Feeding only dead krill won't do for long either, try to get him eating other chunky meaty foods, and even PE mysis. You can gently squirt some in his direction with the pumps turned off

Thank you for showing the great info. I've been having trouble finding ghost shrimp but finally got hold of 3, he ate 2, the other got out of sight and died and he had no interest. They're so tiny! How many signs he eat in one feeding?

CaptainsReef · Mar 7, 2019

welsher7 said:
Have you tried a feeding stick? I always had better luck with one over using tongs. The feeding stick is just clear 1/4” rigid airline with a bit thick fishing line glued on the end

Thank you for sharing, that's a great idea!

lion king · Mar 7, 2019

CaptainsReef said:
Thank you for showing the great info. I've been having trouble finding ghost shrimp but finally got hold of 3, he ate 2, the other got out of sight and died and he had no interest. They're so tiny! How many signs he eat in one feeding?

It's best to do a couple of feedings a week or every other day at most. Feed enough to see a nice little bulge in his belly. Fuzzies can be insatiable and can actually eat themselves to death, so be careful, he'll likely act like you are starving him to death. Unless he's a itty bitty guy, a couple of ghosties likely won't do it. Guppies are good also, and mollies if you can find some small enough. If you have a lfs that does alot of fresh water, you can find mollies of all sizes many times, and at low prices, they do breed like rabbits. I would steer clear of rosies and gold fish. Using fresh dead ghosties is another good way to get them eating dead food, keeping whatever ever you are feeding suspended is the clue. I've even flicked dead food that hit the bottom up with a feeding stick and have them grab it.

CaptainsReef · Mar 7, 2019

lion king said:
It's best to do a couple of feedings a week or every other day at most. Feed enough to see a nice little bulge in his belly. Fuzzies can be insatiable and can actually eat themselves to death, so be careful, he'll likely act like you are starving him to death. Unless he's a itty bitty guy, a couple of ghosties likely won't do it. Guppies are good also, and mollies if you can find some small enough. If you have a lfs that does alot of fresh water, you can find mollies of all sizes many times, and at low prices, they do breed like rabbits. I would steer clear of rosies and gold fish. Using fresh dead ghosties is another good way to get them eating dead food, keeping whatever ever you are feeding suspended is the clue. I've even flicked dead food that hit the bottom up with a feeding stick and have them grab it.

He's probably about 2 inches long, that sounds pretty small to me. I'll keep looking for ghost shrimp. My local Petco has tons of guppies and they're pretty small and cheap. Maybe one of those would taste good.

I guess I don't really care if he's eating live or dead food, as long as it's good for him. Does it really matter if he's starts on a live diet?

lion king · Mar 7, 2019

CaptainsReef said:
He's probably about 2 inches long, that sounds pretty small to me. I'll keep looking for ghost shrimp. My local Petco has tons of guppies and they're pretty small and cheap. Maybe one of those would taste good.

I guess I don't really care if he's eating live or dead food, as long as it's good for him. Does it really matter if he's starts on a live et?

The challenge for most keeping dwarf lions, is that they many times need to be fed live foods and there is no guarantee they will ever fully convert to a dead diet. The fuzzy is the most agreeable of the dwarf lions, and some have kept them long term on a dead only diet. I currently keep 6 lions in 3 different tanks. I've had some for several years and they get fed a live food dominant diet, some only eat live. I have kept fuzzies for as long as 10 years, always being fed a live dominant diet consisting of ghosties, mollies, and guppies. I advocate at least a live feeding once a week even if they convert to dead food. Live food may not only add to their nutritional requirements, but also may provide enrichment in their captive environment, which could also be why when being fed live foods, they tend to live longer.

CaptainsReef · Mar 13, 2019

lion king said:
The challenge for most keeping dwarf lions, is that they many times need to be fed live foods and there is no guarantee they will ever fully convert to a dead diet. The fuzzy is the most agreeable of the dwarf lions, and some have kept them long term on a dead only diet. I currently keep 6 lions in 3 different tanks. I've had some for several years and they get fed a live food dominant diet, some only eat live. I have kept fuzzies for as long as 10 years, always being fed a live dominant diet consisting of ghosties, mollies, and guppies. I advocate at least a live feeding once a week even if they convert to dead food. Live food may not only add to their nutritional requirements, but also may provide enrichment in their captive environment, which could also be why when being fed live foods, they tend to live longer.

Thank you for the tips. He's being eating ghost shrimp just fine, seems to enjoy hunting them too. Now I'm thinking maybe I should try to breed ghost shrimp... Any experience with that whole deal?