Feeding A Lion

[amnesia]

I thought I would share pics of the steps I have taken, that have led to my Zebra successfully accepting frozen foods.

First though; I would like that thank all the members of this community, who's shared knowledge got my fish to where he/she is now.

First picture shows the items I have been using. Thawed frozen krill. A knife. Marine pellets. And my "somewhat invisible" feeding stick.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13801

Second picture explains itself. Krill.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13802

Third picture is the "somewhat invisible" feeding stick, up close. A short length of rigid airline, with a shorter length of soft airline stuck onto the end. A length of fishing line ($4 for 180 yards of 30 LB test, buy the cheap stuff) is fed through the airlines.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13803

Using my knife, I gently open the body of the krill (after cutting it into managable size pieces). I then stuff some marine pellets into the cavity. Lastly I feed the end of the fishing line into the piece of krill.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13804

Next, find a hungry lion.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13805

Now it's time to do "the jiggle". Bounce that krill around to simulate something alive and hope for the best. Patience is a virtue here. Is your arm numb yet? If not, you haven't been at it long enough.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/picture.php?albumid=1989&pictureid=13806

Good luck with your lions everyone!

[Juggler]

You forgot to mention what the 99% of people who have other hungry fish should do.

Its hard enough to get a shrimp to my eel with the tusks and tangs swarming. Let alone dangle around a piece of krill.

[Kemmer]

Amnesia,

I applaud the use of pictures in your post. It's nice to have a detailed guide for people who are completely new to these fish.

Great looking lion btw!!

~Kem

[amnesia]

Amnesia,

I applaud the use of pictures in your post. It's nice to have a detailed guide for people who are completely new to these fish.

Great looking lion btw!!

~Kem

Thanks! I don't know how to use all the functions on my girlfriend's camera yet. I really would like to get a stop motion-like series of my lion actually striking.

[amnesia]

You forgot to mention what the 99% of people who have other hungry fish should do.

Its hard enough to get a shrimp to my eel with the tusks and tangs swarming. Let alone dangle around a piece of krill.

I don't have any experience with that situation, so I think it would be best for me to leave that to those with experience. My lion is in a tank by his/herself to ensure that he/she recognizes me as a food source and is eagerly accepting prepared foods, before going into my display tank.

[namxas]

nice job, amnesia!

You forgot to mention what the 99% of people who have other hungry fish should do.

Its hard enough to get a shrimp to my eel with the tusks and tangs swarming. Let alone dangle around a piece of krill.

we actually use the ol' "keep the other fish occupied with food while we target feed the other fish" trick.

sometimes this is as simple as using two feeding sticks, but in your case, you may want to feed the tangs and tusks if you normally feed them from the water column.

with the two stick method, either you or a helper draws the other fish away while you slide the food to the intended diner. this is how we feed a few of our tanx.

[seahorsedreams]

Is your arm numb yet? If not, you haven't been at it long enough.

LOL... that's what I always say. I don't have to jiggle because after awhile my arm gets tired and it shakes on it own.

I love your thread and pictures. :thumbsup:

It really is a learned skill feeding a tank full of hungry guys. I line up who I want to have it, and dive bomb the food to right in front of their face before anyone can see it. I have to video tape these things. I definately have a "Batting Stick" at times to shoo some away.

[Mental1]

Do you feed the lion something other than krill?

[amnesia]

Do you feed the lion something other than krill?

I'm not sure if that was directed to me or not, but I'll answer anyway.

At the moment, no. All I am currently feeding is krill. In the near future I do plan on adding fresh seafood flesh to his/her diet. Fish, mussels, clams etc.



To Greg and Renee. Thanks!

Is there anyway to determine the sex of my zebra?

[namxas]

unfortunately, D. zebra isn't sexually dimorphic, so only the fish know the difference. everything i've heard and read suggests that it's virtually impossible to tell the sexes apart.

i suspect if you had a bunch of mature adults together, the males may have the typical larger/broader heads, but that's just a guess, and you'd have to have a lot of them to do comparisons and then confirm the results surgically to get any kind of data to go on.

i know when i used to keep parrots, they could be "scoped", but i dunno if one could "scope" a fish.

then again, if males fight (i assume they do), you could put some fish together and see which ones square off.

BTW, this is simply me thinking out loud...

[FMarini]

they vent fish and some fish have ventral papillae, So if your lucky males have a different papillae arrangement than females, but i doubt it.

the only know dimorphic difference between male and female D zebra's, is via a report by Thersher. He suggests that there is temporary sexual dichromatism during courtship and spawning, where male darken and females lighten in D. zebra. In D. zebra, it is suggested that silver tips occur on the first three dorsal spines as well as papilla on the lower jaw.

[stubby 58]

You should really try to find other foods than krill as it is not healthy for your fish .

stubby