Leaf Lionfish

[palyam]

Here is my leaf fish. I have it for over a month, and for now it still feeds on live shrimp and fish

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp152/palyam/Picture2007.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp152/palyam/Picture2004.jpg

[Mentat]

Congratulations, it has very nice colors, hope he stays like that for you.

[brynkal]

He's beautiful, very nice!

[namxas]

while not a lionfish, Taenianotus tricanthus is indeed a scorpionfish.

as mentioned, the red specimens rarely remain red (they usually fade to a cream color), but every so often one will do so. they're rather difficult to convert to frozen fare, but are easily trained to take food from a small net, and sometimes that will help in their conversion.

you have a beauty there.

[palyam]

How do I train him to take food from a net?...

so far I feed him small guppies. Is it a suitable diet for him?

[FMarini]

ghost or grass shrimp are a much better food item. Guppies are a freshwater fish

[namxas]

basically, rather than netting their food and dropping it into the tank, you leave it in the net, and let the fish see it. they usually have no problem sticking their heads into the net, and in fact will come hopping over whenever they see the net after awhile.

once you get them used to the net, you can try "injuring" the prey item so it's still moving, then if the fish eats like that, the next step is to offer dead prey. from there you can experiment with other foods in the net.

a pic is worth 1000 words:

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll73/hixphotobucket/Our%20Fish/cheeseburgerz.jpg

[palyam]

ok, I get it now. I'll see if it works with my fish

[Mr.evo]

oh nice color i have a yellow 1 and ive been trying the net thing but no luck yet hope it works out better for you

[kidako]

that is a beautiful fish,good luck

[techster]

beautiful fish I wonder if I could have one with my volital lion

[namxas]

beautiful fish I wonder if I could have one with my volital lion

your volitans would eat a leaf scorp in a hot second.

[palyam]

How many times a week should I feed him? So far I gave him 2 guppies per week.

[Mr.evo]

i give mine a damsel every 3-4 days

[namxas]

are you talking SMALL damsels?

these guys don't have very large mouths.

[csquier74]

Beautiful fish. Congratulations and good luck!

[Mr.evo]

are you talking SMALL damsels?

these guys don't have very large mouths.

this is all he eats
http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x298/evolution8r/185930d6.jpg

[palyam]

A new member joined the leaf fish:

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp152/palyam/Picture2063.jpg

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp152/palyam/Picture2065.jpg

[FMarini]

awesome dwarf fuuzy- might be a female.
Anyway now you have a new occupant- you best ensure that your Leaf scorps get their share of food.
Dwarf fuzzies will eat circles around your leaf fish

[namxas]

VERY nice fuzzy!

i agree with Frank...make sure the leaf fish get their fair share of the food. fuzzies think they're P. volitans when it comes to eating.

[palyam]

thx guys

For now they seem to ignore each other, but I keep an eye on them.

As you can see, the leaf fish isn't so red anymore, and his color faded. I believe it's because I only feed him guppies, since he doesn't touch frozen food yet, and I don't have access to ghost shrimp.

http://i407.photobucket.com/albums/pp152/palyam/Picture2108.jpg

[anbosu]

I believe it is also environment related, so for example a red one isn't likely to stay red unless the tank has a ton of red in it. Same for purple, etc.