Lionfish Nutrition

[Eddbomb1]

Hey Ya'll! I'm semi-new to the saltwater hobby (I've only had my Volitan Lion as my only SW fish), and I've scoured the internet for as much info as I can find regarding proper care for my "little" buddy, Hyde. One of the best references I've always gone back to was Lionfish Lair.

So the long and short of it is, I've had Hyde for over 8 months now and s/he seems to be doing very well. I've converted them to prepared frozen foods and make sure they have a varied diet. My one concern is just making sure s/he is getting all the nutrition needed. Currently I'm rotating salmon, shrimp, scallops, "petstore" frozen krill, and muscles. I don't have squid or the like accessible in my area so I'm just concerned with what, if any, extra nutrients I should be adding to the foods I give him.

 

[Crabs McJones]

@lion king is our resident lionfish expert, might have some info for you
Welcome to R2R!

 

[Eddbomb1]

Thanks!
Any assistance is greatly appreciated

 

[Dragon52]

Back when I had Lionfish it was feeders & Silversides. Seems like you have plenty of stuff your feeding it that is good.

 

[Eddbomb1]

Thanks! I put over 2 months of research into Volitan Lionfish before I even thought about getting a tank and cycling the water. Most of what I've read online was to switch them over to dead foods, but judging what Lion King has posted (I have gone through and read a good chunk of his posts), I may want to keep in touch with my lfs and occasionally feed gutloaded live feeders.

 

[Dragon52]

Ya, the Radiata was always my favorite. I had Red & Black Volitans as well as Dwarfs. When ever I feed them the Radiata's fins on the sides would turn a electric white on the ends & I thought that was pretty cool.

 

[Eddbomb1]

I've always wanted a Volitan since I was like 7-8 years old. We went to a lfs to pick out some Ciclids for my father's tank when I saw a black lion and I've been completely enamored with them since. I like the dwarf varieties, they just don't hit me the same way if that makes any sense.

 

[Dragon52]

it does.

 

[lion king]

The volitans do seem to do well long term on a dead diet, a variety isbtge key and adding efa's like selcon or Brightwell Aminomega. Including silversides may also be an important part, the bones and guts are likely important additions. I've kept volitans over 10 years feeding silversides, shrimp, and squid adding efa's a couple to few times a month. Feeding 2-3 times anweek until they are full, smaller bitr size pieces will help negate overfeeding.

 

[Eddbomb1]

Thanks for that! I make sure everything I feed Hyde is about the size of his eye or slightly larger, and I feed until I see his stomach puff out a bit. And I feed him roughly 3-4 times a week.

I'll definitely look into getting silversides and look into the efas. Is it recommended I get both of those, or just my general prefercence/availibility?

 

[lion king]

Your preference or what you have available, they are both good products and basically very similar, the aminomega may have some additional nutrients.

 

[Eddbomb1]

Thank you again. I'm making a run to my lfs Sunday so I'll see if they have silversides and both/either of the efas you've mentioned. Is there any specific thing I should avoid with Silversides?

 

[lion king]

Thank you again. I'm making a run to my lfs Sunday so I'll see if they have silversides and both/either of the efas you've mentioned. Is there any specific thing I should avoid with Silversides?

My volitan is huge, like over 12", I cut my silversides in half for him. I just don't like feeding huge pieces although they can get down.

 

[Eddbomb1]

I figured I'd have to cut them down. I'm not squeamish so that won't be a problem. So far he eagerly takes anything I drop in the tank, but we'll see how that goes.

Mine is just under 8" if I remember correctly. I got mine at about 4 or 5" from my lfs. They're the only place that has them in stock for sell. Everywhere else they had to order them, which had me skeptical as to why they didn't carry them. I may just have been overthinking it though.

 

[Eddbomb1]

 

[lion king]

Thanks! I put over 2 months of research into Volitan Lionfish before I even thought about getting a tank and cycling the water. Most of what I've read online was to switch them over to dead foods, but judging what Lion King has posted (I have gone through and read a good chunk of his posts), I may want to keep in touch with my lfs and occasionally feed gutloaded live feeders.

Most of my emphasis on feeding live has to do with dwarf and medium bodied lions rather than volitans. I think the main reason is the volitans more readily accept a variety of dead foods, while the smaller ones can be very picky which leads to many times feeding krill only. The one fuzzy I kept on dead food for several years was more challenging and more of a chore than feeding live. My volitan will even eat chunks floating in the water column while I'm feeding the other fish, even chunks of Ocean Nutrition formula foods. Here's my big boy.

 

[Eddbomb1]

He's beautiful. Yeah, Hyde doesn't even hesitate. I just drop the thawed food in and he doesn't even hesitate. The first couple pieces are swallowed just as they hit the water.