Tips for Feeding Lionfish?

Cylenchar · 10-30-2006, 01:12 PM

I was curious if anyone has any tips for getting Fuzzy Dwarf Lionfish to eat? Mine will eat ghost shrimp and brine shrimp, and though I load these with vitamins, I don't think this is a nutritionally adequate diet. I have tried taking small pieces of shrimp and other sea food and floating them in front of him, he usually ignores them, and even when he does go for it, he spits it back out.

Any tricks you've found that work, or is it just keep trying?

jenajet · 10-30-2006, 01:23 PM

In the beginning I fed live feeders and dropped krill and small silversides at the same time. Gradually I quit putting feeders in all together. I can say this if its not whole he wont eat it so try small enough silversides so you dont have to cut them up.

NYPathfinder · 10-30-2006, 02:44 PM

Hi Cylenchar,
I have the SAME PROBLEM with my stubborn lionfish. I've bought him every kind of food and done all kinds of crazy things to try to entice him to eat, but he'd rather starve than eat frozen!!!
Please let me know if you find anything that yours will eat. My LFS recommended soaking the food in garlic and giving it to him so I'm going to try that this w/e.

reefermike1 · 10-30-2006, 03:34 PM

i used fishing line with my radiata. just impale a piece of defrosted krill or whatnot on it, then wiggle it around in there. if he thinks its alive hell eat it. then i got a feeding spike which is a little easier than the fishline, its just a thin piece of acrylic with a dull point on one end to stick food on it. same thing just wiggle it. but as soon as it comes off the the thing and stops wiggling the lion is no longer interested. i feed guppys to him too, but mainly krill. i would love it if i could just drop some frozen food in there and have him eat it, but so far no luck. i feed him every other day

jenajet · 10-30-2006, 04:01 PM

If you take the time with him now it will be easier later. Now I can just drop the krill or silversides and he eats it. As I said it has to be hole so it looks alive. I have to feed my volitan first because he doesn't give the dwarf time to eat. Once he is fed the dwarf will come to the top for his turn. He grabs it as soon as it hits the water. Try doing this at the same time you put a few feeder goldfish in(not too many) Odds are they will grab the some of the frozen too. Gradually put less and less live ones. Whole Krill and silversides is the best thing I have found. Just watch the silversides some are so big the dwarf wont be able to eat it.