Questions with new Leaf Fish

[Usatennisfan]

Just got this little guy on Tuesday and, let's face it, who wouldn't be excited!? I just had a few feeding questions since it is my first predator.
In my LFS he was eating feeder guppies and I have a feeling that isn't the most nutritious thing for him to be eating. I'd like to eventually get him eating frozen, but in the mean time what would be a better food to feed him and how much/often?
Sorry for the most likely common knowledge questions but I just want to do the best for him.
And to finish off, who doesn't love crappy cell phone pictures!?

 

[DeniseAndy]

I miss mine. I had one years back. I fed him guppies and shrimp. I was working on frozen, but one day he saw me walk by and I did not see him jump. Found him after dropping off kids. The tank was mostly covered, but he still got out. Man, good luck with that guy. Mine was a bright orangeish color.

I would say try to get him one frozen soon. Feeder ghost shrimp that are gut loaded will work for now too.

 

[rayn]

Definitely get some ghost shrimp. Feed them some type of salt water flake food to gut load them. Them feed them to your leaf. Once fully on the live shrimp, try feeding dead ones. You can freeze them if it helps.


Nice leaf!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Beautiful fish! I love seeing all these preds!!!!!!

 

[Usatennisfan]

Are shrimp easier than guppies for these guys?
I've heard on another forum people no longer trying to feed frozen off of sticks. Something with them not eating well if they poke themselves. If that's true, then what's the easiest way to do so? Anyone have any links to how to videos or anything?
Also, I'm glad you guys like him. I wasn't a huge fan of the brown color at first until I realized how well he blended in!

 

[Lionfish Lair]

You need a "Stealth Stick". There is zero chance of them poking themselves. It shows how to make on in our guide Tools of the Trade: Equipment & Techniques to Convert Your Fish onto Frozen Food.

Shrimp can be easier for these guys in our aquariums, where they don't "swim". If you have easy access to shrimp, I would roll with that.

Leaf fish can be very hard to convert to frozen, so this one is going to take a lot of patience.

 

[Usatennisfan]

I feed my reef LRS Reef Frenzy. With that in mind would it be better for him long term to convert to frozen or could I just gut load the shrimp with that?

 

[Lionfish Lair]

Absolutely convert to frozen. You need a varied diet.

 

[FeliciaLynn]

I use tongs to feed my Lionfish, since there less poking risk than with skewers. When I was weaning, I'd just grab the live ghost shrimp by the tail with the tongs and then offer it to the lions. The stealth stick Renee uses is a great idea too! I tried it at first with my Lionfish, but I just had more luck with tongs. That's just me though

And yes, as others have said, live ghost shrimp are the easiest and if you gut load them, they'll be nutritionally sufficient while you're weaning.