How to you feed a Lionfish? I picked a medium one up today at my LFS and the guy could not give me a definitive answer about anything. He was ether in training or filling in I hope. I was wondering how often to feed, how many prawn/silversides, how to defrost them (in saltwater, in the frig, in a sealed container??. Thanks
How to feed lionfish
- Thread starter joej
- Start date
joej":3vw9uqe2 said:
I have neve kept one but I hear they should be fed only three to four times a week. I would thaw out the food in a bit of fresh water and then just drop or pour it in the tank. I feed my Eel unti he does not want anymore about 4-5 times a week. Ok.Ok! I give him snacks sometimes.LOL Most people overfeed. It is better to underfeed than to overfeed.
I had one for a year that died because I killed it. it is true that overeating kills. that is why I am on a diet.
here is what I learned from my experience
1. Do not feed him freswater goldfish
2. cut his food up small, thaw in freshwater, dump the water out, and feed him slowly, just because he can eat something that is as big as him doesn't mean it is good for him. If you cut his food up small and dump it in together he will try to swallow it whole.
3. feed 1-3 times a week, try not to let him overfeed on other fishes food
if you have trouble getting him to eat frozen food, try to make it enticing by shaking and wiggling it around. A lot of the ones in lfs's have been fed a steady diet of live feeder fish.
Hope that helps
Bryan
here is what I learned from my experience
1. Do not feed him freswater goldfish
2. cut his food up small, thaw in freshwater, dump the water out, and feed him slowly, just because he can eat something that is as big as him doesn't mean it is good for him. If you cut his food up small and dump it in together he will try to swallow it whole.
3. feed 1-3 times a week, try not to let him overfeed on other fishes food
if you have trouble getting him to eat frozen food, try to make it enticing by shaking and wiggling it around. A lot of the ones in lfs's have been fed a steady diet of live feeder fish.
Hope that helps
Bryan
I agree with Bryan. Overfeeding, especially with feeder goldfish, causes the demise of many lionfish. Goldfish are coldwater species, and thus have a lot of fat.
It may take some doing, but try to "train" your lionfish to other foods. This can sometimes take weeks, depending on the lion. You can try any of the frozen foods, like prawn, silversides, or buy fresh stuff. I initially got mine trained OFF of goldfish by dragging pieces of imitation crabmeat along the bottom of the tank attached to a thread. It might take a few days of doing this..don't lost patience. Lionfish respond to color, so use the orange portions of the crabment, thread a needle, pull it thru the piece of food (don't tie a knot, if the lion grabs it, you need to pull the thread out gently)
Another easy thing to train them to is earthworms. My lionfish love earthworms. I keep a container of live ones in my fridge. When they get hungry, I just grab a worm, cut it up with scissors, and toss them into the tank. Lions LOVE these. They will BEG you for more, don't give in.
You can also train them to eat chunks of Formula One. Use the thread if necessary. Make sure your lionfish is HUNGRY. That means not feeding him for a few days. And once trained, feed him a variety of foods, and not more than three times a week. Twice is fine.
HTH
It may take some doing, but try to "train" your lionfish to other foods. This can sometimes take weeks, depending on the lion. You can try any of the frozen foods, like prawn, silversides, or buy fresh stuff. I initially got mine trained OFF of goldfish by dragging pieces of imitation crabmeat along the bottom of the tank attached to a thread. It might take a few days of doing this..don't lost patience. Lionfish respond to color, so use the orange portions of the crabment, thread a needle, pull it thru the piece of food (don't tie a knot, if the lion grabs it, you need to pull the thread out gently)
Another easy thing to train them to is earthworms. My lionfish love earthworms. I keep a container of live ones in my fridge. When they get hungry, I just grab a worm, cut it up with scissors, and toss them into the tank. Lions LOVE these. They will BEG you for more, don't give in.
You can also train them to eat chunks of Formula One. Use the thread if necessary. Make sure your lionfish is HUNGRY. That means not feeding him for a few days. And once trained, feed him a variety of foods, and not more than three times a week. Twice is fine.
HTH
Another thing to remember is to be careful aboput sticking your hand in the tank (i.e. like feeding, picking out uneaten food or assorted other reasons) because their flowing fins are venomous. Speaking from experience it feels like your hand is on fire. The only thing you can do is put your hand in as hot a water as you can stand until the heat breaks down the proteins in the venom. It takes about 1/2 hr - 1 hr. to feel better.
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