What to feed a lionfish...

[Toneloc66]

I've tried mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, and even a small piece of thawed real shrimp. Any thing they prefer in particular? I dont want to feed live fish since I dont want him to try and eat other fish. Thanks.

[Travis L. Stevens]

It will try and eat other fish regardless of whether or not you feed him something. It's a carnivore/predator. You can't take that out of him. In fact, you'll probably starve him to death unless you can get something in his stomach, and most likely you'll have to use something live first.

[White Tiger]

Use feeder fish. Make sure the feeder fish is gold in color. Once it has eaten the feeder fish, the next time you feed your lion, try putting a frozen silverside and wiggle it around in the water---that should tempt him/her to eat.

[Toneloc66]

So im guessing I should feed him live fish then, about 1 every 3 days? I'll feed him live fish and try and get him to eat other stuff lil by lil.

[White Tiger]

Exactly.....but don't feed too many feederfish to him/her.

[plancton]

yeah man, if you dont keep him happy then he will eat your other fish.

What people usually do is feed them feeder fish 3 times per week or so, for one month, you have to notice that he is eating really well now. Then not feed him feeder fish for a week, until it starts starving, and then you offer a piece of shrimp, clam, or whatever, and because he is now used to the tank and eating well is less likely he will reject it. And thats how you train a lionfish to eat frozen food.

And use a stick as this guys are quite dumb at feeding time.

[chefthomasr]

If possible get saltwater feeders. Goldfish are currently believed to be bad for their health - suspected of causing fatter liver disease.

Lots of people get cute little damsels and then don't understand why all their fish are dying. You can normally lift those people's damsels off them for free b/c they are just so greatful to have it out of their tank.

HTH

[deionized]

lions have terrible sight and seem to miss food that drops too quickly
ocean nutrition makes a clear feeding prong that i like for just such an occation
a gold fish or 2 wont hurt your fish, making a habbit of it probably will
when you drop the gold fish into the tank it panics and sends out distressed fish vibes and swims like a hurt fish -your lion should pounce almost immediatly
a few days later he will be hungry again and now try the frozen, i prefer krill, it has a strong scent and is usually bright pink and easy for the almost blind lion to find (use the prong if you need to)
over time the lion will learn the tendencies of the frozen food -the way it sinks and moves with the current and it will compete for food just like the rest of the fish in your tank

[plancton]

dont buy goldfish, they are just fat, really bad. plus they do not last much in saltwater.

Buy mollies. they can live in fresh and salt water.

[squiddly]

Don't goldfish carry several pretty nasty diseases that could spread to your salt population? From what I remember, it's not just the fatty non nutrious value of goldfish, but real disease issues.

[deionized]

mollies will last just as long as a goldfish unless the mollys were allready acclimated to salt water
a lion eating an occational gold fish cant be any worse then a person eating a big mac and some mc nuggets

[deionized]

as far as i know there are no fresh water parisites that can also survive in salt water
its kind of like a fresh water dip -but in reverse (for the goldfish)

[White Tiger]

It's o.k. to feed a lionfish goldfish...only if you don't feed goldfish for a long duration of time. It's also true it can cause liver problems. But that is only if you feed the lionfish goldfish all the time. Feeding goldfish for about 1-2 weeks should not harm your lion. But feeding longer than that might harm your lion's liver health.

[jjk82901]

Goldfish are a bad idea because they have hard bones and lots of them, thus increasing the chance for puncturing the intestine or stomach. Go with mollies or a cheaper idea would be guppies, they are mostly muscle and have softer bones.

[plancton]

did you watch that movie super size me?, well mcdonalds can do a whole lot of damage.

The thing is, don't worry to much, your ultimate goal is to train the lionfish to eat frozen foods, and from what I've heard is not difficult, I am dealing with a white ribbon eel, and believe me, that is difficult.

[deionized]

jjk82901 im not sure weather or not goldfish have any more or less bones then a silver side or any other fish for that matter
i have been feeding them off to my tanks for years mostly fresh water but when i needed to in the salt
if i had to estimate how many feeder goldfish i have sent into the intestines of my fish i would say it is around 250,000 -no punctured intistines
perhaps you could share with us how a wild lion fish chooses his prey, what characteristics it looks for to determine who has the softest and safest bones to eat
i do agree guppies are mostly muscle, i have a few pairs of some 3 spot cobras that are ripped to shreds, i think one in particular has a real shot to go pro as a body builder

[howser]

I tried to get my lion to eat the krill and other frozen food and spent some time at the LFS trying to figure out how to get him off of the live stuff. I know it can be done, but I must have one stubborn lion. He eats a variety now and I try to keep the goldfish/feeder fish out of the rotation, prefering mollies.