*Emergency* Dwarf Zebra Lionfish dying.......: (

[kookerson]

He's only about 2" and I just bought him 6 days ago, and never saw him eat. Ive been trying to get him to eat everyday with no success. Now, I just got home and saw him stuck to my Maxijet 1200.......he is still alive, but barely. What should I do

[kookerson]

Well, he's dead and Im super bummed. I cant figure out? What I did was, I thawed a few pieces of krill in some garlic, dumped it in the tank for him to eat and then I left for the store. I came back 15 minutes later, and he was stuck to the MJ1200........5 minutes after that he was dead? The only thing I can think of is starvation, so I took some pics and wanted to hear what the community thinks?........

He does look rather thin...........

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f10/gwhype132/Lionfish1.jpg

And I dont see anything lodged in his mouth? So I know he didnt choke???......

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f10/gwhype132/Lionfish2.jpg

http://i44.photobucket.com/albums/f10/gwhype132/Lionfish3.jpg

[MrTuskfish]

I wish I had something positive to say, but a small fish stuck to a PH is in real trouble--the suction can really damage the internal organs; and he must have been pretty weak not to avoid the PH in the first place. Dwarf Zebras are really one of the hardest lions to get eating, IMO..Good luck, he may pull through. Keep the tank as dark, stable, and quiet as possible--you never know.

[MrTuskfish]

I was doing my 1st reply while you were posting pics. Please read up on acclimating lionfish. Often, you need to start with ghost shrimp, then move to a feeding stick to make food look alive. I doubt even an easy lion (Volitan) would eat food dumped into the tank without some training. In the wild, they eat only live stuff and we must duplicate this as closely as possible.

[kookerson]

Thanks for the advice........kinda sucks as I really liked this fish and its my first loss since I started in June.......teaches me not to go solely on LFS advice......

[DrBegalke]

They sometimes will only eat live food... If you never saw him eat in 6 days, who knows how long it had been since his last meal.

They are usually fairly disease resistant/hardy, so I would imagine he starved to death.

[pagojoe]

He looks pretty skinny, and like Dr. Begalke says, he might not have been eating at the LFS, either. It takes several months for a healthy one to starve.

I also had one starve nearly to death, then made the mistake of putting about two dozen minnows in the tank with him. The saltwater slows them down, and makes them easy to catch. Unfortunately, too easy, as the lionfish ate all 24 of them, then died with one sticking out of his mouth.

I'm sure there are people on here who might tell you not to feed freshwater fish to your dwarf lionfish, but for the purpose of getting them started eating, semi-stunned minnows seem to be irresistible. It worked on the second one I kept, and I suspect minnows or goldfish would be a good way to transition one to being fed dead food.

Sorry about your loss. Cheers,


Don

[hybridgenius]

That sucks alot man. I hope all things go well in the future... maybe another shot at a lion again?

[kookerson]

I definately will be trying again.....but not until I get my Fuge running, so that I can keep feeder shrimp! Thanks you guys, for all your help and advice......it really is appreciated! : )