Best Food to Feed a Lion Fish

[fishrule]

What is the best food to feed a lion fish?

[the_blue_tuna]

Many feed silversides,,,,,,,,,,some also say they have finally found a good use for damsels

[icemark]

Silversides, guppies, mysis

And ghost shrimp are nice treats every now and then.

[Biomanjcs72]

They can be trained to accept krill, formula one, etc, on a stick (bamboo skewer). It takes a while, but you'll save money in the long run, tank'll be cleaner, and you won't risk introducing disease into your tank. And, if you feed them only fresh water fish (guppies) they'll get a protein deficiency and croak on you. Occasional live feedings are entertaining, but your fish can actually choke on a live prey too big for it.

[chromis]

yeah like Bio said, the skulls of the guppy or goldfish will get stuck in the throat and kill the lion. Feeder blockage sydrome.

[SuperGook10]

i feed mine krill mostly and some silversides. it used to eat only live fish and i fed it goldfish, but found out this was the worst nutrition for the lion ,so i found out a way to feed it dead food. you can start by getting a ridged airline tube and stick a peice of krill or a silverside on it and stick it in the water and jiggle it around, then when the lion comes to inspect it, you pull it away from him slowly so it has to kinda hunt for the prey. then it will get interested in the food and really want it, then after a few times of pulling away, let it grab it, and then it will get used to dead food.

[Aqua_Man]

Feeding Lion Fish takes patience. Many of the LFS feed this species gold fish and will advise you on doing so. A vendor who is a true hobbiest will discourage you. The fatty contained in Goldfish is actually very harmful to the liver of Lion Fish and will cut down on the fish's life span. When first getting a Lion they will reject krill, silversides and squid. All they want is live feeder fish, generally the goldfish. Well, at this point you have to be the alpha and not give in to feeding the feeders. Stick feeding the Silversides or Krill. Keep a close eye on the food and make sure the Lion eats it, if not scoop up the food with a net as you dont uneaten food driving up your amonia and nitrate. Anyway after about a week and a half or so, hunger will drive the Lion to be receptive to the Silversides, Krill and even Squid. Best of luck to you. Remember don't over feed.

[karun]

How often do you feed your lions? I have a new lion and he has been hiding for 2 days. Should I be concerned? I was planning to buy some guppies today?

Karun

[fishrule]

Karun, I feed mine every 2-3 days. Frozen krill, formula foods, mysis shrimp and brine shrimp.

[slapshot]

I feed silversides as well. Right know he is fed every other day. But when he is fed, he is HUNGRY!!!! Then again, he always seems to be hungry. He is like our german shepherds, always willing to eat.

[chromis]

I have a german shepherd and she will eat anything anytime. Whenever we have chicken we cut off a little piece and give it to her. You should see the way she smacks her lips.

[FMarini]

Hi:
If i may.....
yes it is important to train your lion to eat dead prepared marine foods, but first start your lion off w/ live foods (to acclimate them to your tank) and once your comfortable w/ the lion in your tank switch them over.
Once their switched over, I can recommend you feed 2-3time a week. I feed my lions chunks of store bought shrimp, scallops, whitefish, crab meat.I also feed silversides, PE mysis shrimp and ghost shrimp. I rotate foods often (which prevents food burnout) and feed the lions til each one if full. I would recommend you skip freeze dried krill or straight krill as man people have reported problem long term w/ just krill diets. For me the gorcery store bought foods last a long time and its an easy thaw-out once you chop up a whole bunch.
No I would not worry about a lion NOT eating for 2 day especially if the lion is new to your tank
if you email me directly i can send you as lionfish info sheet which contains many husbandry tips
frank
to see my tank of lions http://www.marshreef.org/members/fmarini/index.htm

[fishguy_8]

frank i'm licking my chops....i went to your site and might i say you have the most amazing looking lions i've ever set eyes on. have you ever had any of your lions breed? if so what was your success rate, tank specs.....please share your experiences w/ us. you know your lions. anyone with lions i urge you....listen to frank he is THE source for lion info. i have that lion info sheet to this day its any lion fish owners bible. i dont even have a lion but i will some day. and from that sheet i've learned more about lions than i thought immagineable*sp?*
Jon

[FMarini]

Jon:
thanks for the kind words. I have been fortunate to be successful w/ these fish, many of which are multiple yrs old. My fu is going on 4 and the dwarf fuzzy (the yellow one) is 3 plus. My vlamingi tang is almost 8.
Bottomline is diligence, good water quality, and top quality foods.
No I have never had the lions breed. I've read that dwarf fuzzy will bred in captivty but i have never ever found another yellow one. My current yellow dwarf fuzzy was a real find....(about $350), and i would gladly pay for it again.
I'm glad you found my lions cool...So do i
enjoy
frank

[fishrule]

Frank, you say feed until they are full, does that mean they will stop taking in food, or when their stomach is big? I feed mine about 4 silversides, is that enough? My lion fish is 8" long.

[FMarini]

Fishrule:
My lions stop looking/acting hungry after about 2 shrimp/ or 3 silversides. Even my large volitans will only eat 2-3 chopped pieces of shrimp (maybe 2 silversides) before appearing disinterested.
Remember that these predators gorge then rest, then gorge, so after feeding them let them tell you when their hungry. i feed maybe 3 times week maximum.
frank

[fishguy_8]

Frank would it be ideal to dose the lions food in anything? do you? i soak my food in "Zoe" but thats for a cin. clown. what say you on "Marine Cuisine" have you ever tried it out? its probibly not ideal for bigger lions but for smaller/younger lions do you think it'd work? i used to feed that to my brackish puffer he gobbled the stuff up like it was nothing!
Jon

[fishrule]

Frank, my lion always seems hungry even after eating 4-5 silversides, but I will just start feeding him the regular amount and then quit.

[fishguy_8]

how do you keep your Crushed Coral so clean! i had CC in my 20g and in about 4 months the stuff was this disgusting purple/brown color what is your secret? please do tell
Jon

[FMarini]

Hi:
Thanks guys for all the comments
Lets see if i can adreess the Q?

Food supplments:
Yes i do add selcon and occasional vitachem to the chunks of food after i thaw them.However because of the diversity of food and the freshness of it. I don't supplment consistantly.

Feeding: I find that lions eat until their full, then act disinterested. So If you feeding small silversides it might take 3 or 4. Try getting some brown shrimp(frozen), thaw it , and cut it into big chunks, and use this as food. Even my biggest lion will only eat 2 shrimps worth of chunks.

Cleaning:. The main reason why my tank looks like it does is I have been very lucky and very smart.Becuz of the fish and their eating habits, I do have high nitrates (they run around 40ppm). So I do NOT use any tank lighting (its all room lighting). Adding light will do nothing but fuel nuiscience algae growth.
So I turn on the tank lights when I'm home in the evening (usually a couple of hours). Second I clean and vacuum like crazy. This week I do my 60 gal water change, I vaccuum about 1/3 of the CC when i change water. So the CC is constantly turned over. Third I skim like a banshiee and use ozone. I have a modified bullet2 type skimmer w/ a MAk4 pump (O3 directly injected into the becketthead) and it removes 4-6oz of funk daily.
So just be smart. Feed seldom, clean often
hope this helps
frank