My new lionfish won't eat

[Zec 1 Bx]

Hey ...I got a new lionfish (large)for a week now but he would eat the silversides .but also have another lionfish and two tomato clown fish....what should do..

 

[andylee]

Can you clarify the question?

 

[Zec 1 Bx]

How can I get the lionfish to eat....?

 

[albano]

How can I get the lionfish to eat....?

have you tried live food? Was this lion ever eating in captivity?

 

[Zec 1 Bx]

No...what Live food should I give him and no he was never in captivity...

 

[Cibo]

+1 live
you can try ghost shrimps /there are some fresh water fish that can be acclimated to salt water or you can put small cheep salt water fish in the tank, they also sell a clear stick that you can spear the food you are trying to feed and wave it around like it is alive....

good luck

 

[Zec 1 Bx]

I'm going to try the clear stick and get some ghost shrimp

 

[Imbarrie]

What kind of lionfish?
How old is it?
What else do you have in the tank?
What size tank?
What do you mean never in captivity, did you just pull it out of the ocean?

I started my antenata lionfish on live ghostshrimp. NEVER feed it any kind of fresh water fish, they are not healthy and can transfer parasites or worse.
It is important to start feeding it live shrimp as soon as you can or it will slowly starve to death.

 

[MIKE NY]

When you say large is it a Volitan or a dwarf species?..with either the shrimp on a stick or line will work, but live as mentioned is better. If it is the larger Volitan I'm surprised the clownfish aren't eaten already. I would think about getting them out.

 

[Dre]

Tie a piece of thread on a silver side and pull it infront the lionfish at night.

 

[albano]

Tie a piece of thread on a silver side and pull it infront the lionfish at night.

And what happens with the thread?

 

[Dre]

And what happens with the thread?

Make the knot at the tip of the tail or head so the thread can be easily yanked off. A short piece of thread will not hard the fish either. I didn't have the patience to go into detail, i hope eveyone get it now. This methode work for me many times. Check nitrate as well, they don't like nitrate too high. Good luck and be carfull...

 

[Aqua Pro Builder]

And what happens with the thread?

LOL:lol_large

 

[Dre]

And what happens with the thread?

How do you like this thread?

 

[Imbarrie]

I used feeding tongs to hold the tail of the shrimp. Once the lionfish was used to eating free swimming ghost shrimp I would slightly stun the shrimp so the they would move less. Eventually the lionfish was eating shrimp from the feeding tongues that had no life left at all.
At that point I was freezing the shrimp and thawing them but still using tongues but eventually mixing mysis and krill. After a while I would release the food a moment before the lionfish ate it. Training it to track food in the water column. Now I have removed the tongues all together and it eats frozen food from the water column.
Took a couple months but every milestone is a small victory.
This is for an antenata lionfish and these are harder to train than volitans.

 

[winsbxnyc]

you have to feed him live food they like to chase there food buy a doller or 2 dollers worth of the feeder guppies they sell at petland i garente you he will eat a few so will some of your other fish alot of ppl will probally disagree with me but you have to get him too eat but live food he will eat trust me

 

[Imbarrie]

Don't feed it fresh water fish.
Bad idea.

 

[albano]

Don't feed it fresh water fish.
Bad idea.

specially goldfish...I'm told that they have a 'bone' in them that can get caught in the lion

 

[Imbarrie]

And what happens with the thread?

Doubles as floss

 

[sillysidewinder]

any updates? just curious how it worked out