New Tiny Baby Lion

piranhaman00 · Mar 15, 2021

Hello,

I purchased a new lionfish that is much smaller than I thought, it is max 1" body. The store said that it is eating prepared foods with patience. I tried feeding it with tongs and pipette yesterday but didnt take anything. I am building one of those "stealth Sticks" by using acrylic rod and fish line to try tonight. Any other tips to get him eating?

Also, how should I go about de worming/parasite a fish this small? He is housed with a larger eel, I am hoping the eel doesnt try anything. Also housed with Damsel that eel doesnt try to eat so I think the eel is accustomed to food on tongs now after two years.

Any tips welcome!

lion king · Mar 15, 2021

Being a volitan he may take to dead foods without encouragement of feeding live first. PE mysis is a good starter food, you can use a turkey baster to squirt the food towards him, the food must stay suspended in the water column. Another tip, attract his attention and drop a small piece of shrimp or silversides, cut into bite size, in front of him, allow it to move in the current.

Ideally he would have been kept in an observation tank before introduction into the dt. They do have a high incidence of internal parasites, and getting them to eat well 1st would have been a good move. Some will need live ghosties or guppies to get them settled in. The volitan is one that will eventually take a variety of dead foods. Do your research and refrain from foods high in thiaminese and try and include fresh when you can, including some type of fatty fish.

All you can do now is observe for internal parasites; which can present as stringy poo, cloudy eyes, faded color, and not eating.

piranhaman00 · Mar 15, 2021

lion king said:
Being a volitan he may take to dead foods without encouragement of feeding live first. PE mysis is a good starter food, you can use a turkey baster to squirt the food towards him, the food must stay suspended in the water column. Another tip, attract his attention and drop a small piece of shrimp or silversides, cut into bite size, in front of him, allow it to move in the current.

Ideally he would have been kept in an observation tank before introduction into the dt. They do have a high incidence of internal parasites, and getting them to eat well 1st would have been a good move. Some will need live ghosties or guppies to get them settled in. The volitan is one that will eventually take a variety of dead foods. Do your research and refrain from foods high in thiaminese and try and include fresh when you can, including some type of fatty fish.

All you can do now is observe for internal parasites; which can present as stringy poo, cloudy eyes, faded color, and not eating.

Sounds good! I am attempting to feed with mysis and will continue to do so. He was eating well at store and I always QT but I read a lot (from you actually) about not using meds on these guys if its not necessary. I decdied to get him right into DT. He is exploring well (hunting I would think) and is quite fat. I will keep an eye out for signs of parasites.

I will eventually get him on the eels diet including lot of fresh salmon

dedragon · Mar 15, 2021

the lionfish will prob go after the damselfish at some point but i think its just a waiting game now. PE mysis and LRS chunky are go tos for FOWLR

lion king · Mar 15, 2021

piranhaman00 said:
Sounds good! I am attempting to feed with mysis and will continue to do so. He was eating well at store and I always QT but I read a lot (from you actually) about not using meds on these guys if its not necessary. I decdied to get him right into DT. He is exploring well (hunting I would think) and is quite fat. I will keep an eye out for signs of parasites.

I will eventually get him on the eels diet including lot of fresh salmon

When these guys move, most times there's a reset; with a volitan he may or may not need a jumpstart with live foods. If he does, usually no more than a couple of times with a few guppies or ghosties should do the trick.

The baster technique has worked well for me with little volitans. I usually turn the power heads to feed mode, you don't want so much flow as to blow the food all over, just enough to keep it suspended. Gently squirt just a few morsels at a time toward him, once he learns what's going on, he'll come running right up to the baster. He will never catch enough food by broadcasting to the tank, you need to target feed him.

PE mysis can serve as a staple for a small volitan, it's a very nutritious food, high in protein; frankly regular mysis won't cut it. PE mysis is also chunkier and more full shrimp like, so it's more visually appealing. If you are using the baster technique, you can start to mince up the same foods you are feeding the eel, as to use in the baster.

piranhaman00 · Mar 15, 2021

lion king said:
When these guys move, most times there's a reset; with a volitan he may or may not need a jumpstart with live foods. If he does, usually no more than a couple of times with a few guppies or ghosties should do the trick.

The baster technique has worked well for me with little volitans. I usually turn the power heads to feed mode, you don't want so much flow as to blow the food all over, just enough to keep it suspended. Gently squirt just a few morsels at a time toward him, once he learns what's going on, he'll come running right up to the baster. He will never catch enough food by broadcasting to the tank, you need to target feed him.

PE mysis can serve as a staple for a small volitan, it's a very nutritious food, high in protein; frankly regular mysis won't cut it. PE mysis is also chunkier and more full shrimp like, so it's more visually appealing. If you are using the baster technique, you can start to mince up the same foods you are feeding the eel, as to use in the baster.

Thanks for all the info. I put a small piece of clam on a string and he went for it but when investigating he backed away, I think it was too big, this little guy is tiny!!

Im pipetteing MySis at him as well, I haven’t seen him eat any but he is usually in his cave so I can’t see him completely.

Heowever, he is fat!! I watched him swim around tonight and he is picking baby snails and maybe large pods off the rocks, so he is eating, hopefully goes after the mysis soon!