Newest addition

Finally found One!

 

Not really sure on that one, everyone I had contacted told me they would get back to me on it. Apparently suppliers are low, which is pretty funny considering how spectacularly populous they are!

 

Sadly... Petco... But the good news is I figure I am saving him from a terrible life of quick death there right? Took him 4 hours to drip up to my salinity...

After the first two hours of being in QT he was out of the pipes and out and about. happy little bugger. Took a guppy down iwth no problem at all for dinner (which shocked my considering he had been here for maybe 8 hours...?

What species did Hung have? I might scoop him up too. Still looking for an antennata

 

This is true only if that's the sole food source. It will deprive it of nutrition over time. A feeder guppy here and there is not going to kill it as a treat and at 10cents is cheaper lure for a first feeding to see if he is interested then shelling a shrimp, or attempting a spiked silver side.

But a good point none the less.

Does Iowa ever get any Dendrochirus biocellatus (Fu Manchu) ?

 

He will get some treats as he acclimates to the system in the QT. Some nice marine flake fed ghost shrimp and a guppy here and there. but over the next month will be weaned off of fresh foods.

This is my Lionfish Nutrition guide.

The biggest challenge faced by a lionfish owner is providing a proper nutritious diet. Of all the problems I see with lionfish, improper nutrition and its results are the predominant health issue for captive lionfish. In the wild, lionfish eat smaller fish and invertebrates. Unfortunately, in the home aquarium lionfish will readily accept live wiggling feeder fish like feeder goldfish or rosy red minnows. The reason this is a problem is that only freshwater feeder fish are available to hobbyists and they do not provide the proper nutrition. In fact, a lionfish fed exclusively with goldfish will frequently die prematurely due to a number of feeder fish-associated problems. A study by Toonen et al (Toonen, 2000) demonstrated that freshwater feeder fish of the carp family (like goldfish, rosy reds, etc.) are very high in fats and lack all the marine based highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs) required for proper health of marine fish. Of all the freshwater feeding choices available to the hobbyist, ghost shrimp are the best of what's available. Ghost shrimp can be enriched in marine-based HUFAs by being fed any marine flake food or marine plant material, and I have not found a lionfish yet that will ignore a ghost shrimp. The best way to ensure a lionfish remains in proper health is to feed it a varied diet of fresh and frozen seafoods. With that said, I would recommend to anyone keeping a lionfish to establish the fish in the aquarium by temporarily using freshwater feeders such as ghost shrimp, guppies, mollies, rosy red minnows, and goldfish for 2 weeks up to 1 month maximum. After this establishment period, the lionfish must be weaned off these feeders and onto marine-based prepared foods.

However, this is where another problem begins. Most lionfish require their food to "look" alive for them to eat it, and this wiggling motion by potential prey items triggers their innate feeding response. One of the better methods to wean lionfish onto prepared foods is to starve the fish for 3 or 4 days, then introduce a small intact lancefish or "silverside" (this is a saltwater minnow packaged in 25, 50, or 100 packs and commonly available at most local fish stores). I find it best to impale this silverside onto a clear acrylic rod (the feeding stick) and "wiggle" it away from, but in full view of the lionfish [Figure 17]. The key point is that you have to convince the lionfish that this dead food is actually alive. Some people impale the silverside on a chopstick, or use their fingers (I do not recommend this method) and wiggle it. Once weaned onto prepared foods, I recommend rotating through many marine based foods, such as chopped gulf shrimp (with their shell on), lobster tail, crabmeat, strips/chunks of marine fish (available at the grocery store), and chunks of squid and octopus. I also recommend supplementing these foods by adding a few drops of a vitamin (such as Zoe™ or VitaChem™), and marine HUFA boosters like Selcon™ or Zoecon™.

It may take time to encourage a lionfish to eat non-living foods, but this weaning process is the most critical key to success in lionfish husbandry. In my experience a "hungry lionfish is a brave lionfish," and the use of starvation prior to offering prepared foods is often a key to success. If feeding live foods is desired, grass shrimp (harvested from saltwater), fiddler crabs, small shrimp or saltwater harvested minnows are good choices. Additionally, it is usually easier to get a younger lionfish to switch over to non-living foods than an older animal.

After being weaned onto prepared foods, these fish often learn to beg for food. Try to avoid the temptation to overfeed. Lionfish are gluttonous and, if fed continuously, will grow too quickly (possibly resulting in health issues and a shortened life span) and generate undesirable amounts of waste in the tank water.

It is important not to offer a lionfish large prey items, or large chunks of food, as reports have suggested that lionfish have been killed by food rotting in their gastrointestinal (GI) tract. According to Michaels (1998), lionfish will occasionally kill themselves due to overeating. While I have not experienced this, I have found that lionfish will eat to the point of regurgitation, and even this sign of overeating should be avoided. Problems with overeating can be avoided by offering multiple smaller food items, rather than one large one. In fact, if a lionfish is given the choice between a large fish and many small ones, it will normally choose to eat the smaller fish first. In the wild, a lionfish will consume from 1 to 11 small to medium-sized prey items per feeding, then retire to a hiding spot to digest the food for a day or so, and repeat this process. Therefore, I would recommend feeding lionfish to the point of seeing a small bulge in their abdomen two to three times weekly. I also recommend starving lionfish for a few days to accurately recreate their natural dietary intake and, in fact. a 3-feedings/week schedule is sufficient to ensure proper growth.

 

Thanks sponge! !

And good to know Pygmey. I hadn't seen one since I left California.

 

Day three and happily taking prepared foods... I give it about two weeks now until she's begging...