Fuzzy dwarf lionfish question

tony53176 · 05/15/2012, 10:17 PM

hey guys I have a quick question that I hope you can help me out with,

so I have had this fuzzy for about 4 weeks now and I've been feeding him mostly ghost shrimp and I've been feeding the ghost shrimp spectrum A+ pellets like an hour before I give them to the fuzzy.

I've read that feeding them ghost shrimp is not the best option and to try and ween them on to prepared foods. but I have to tell you I love to watch this guy eat the live foods and the way he hunts them down. I was wondering if there is a better option for live foods that I could feed to my fuzzy lifetime? I know it will get expensive over the lifetime of the fish but the entertainment value is worth it imo lol

I did found these guys on liveaquaria http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...64&pcatid=3064 and was wondering if these might be a viable option or if there is something better that I should think about?

or if I would be better off in the long run to get him to eat prepared foods?

thanks guys for your help

namxas · 05/15/2012, 11:57 PM

Why not wean your fish and feed occasional live ghosties? To be honest, feeding your fish from a stick is pretty fun...more fun than just watching them slurp down a few shrimp. Lionfish are very interactive fish, and will come to know you.

That being said, ghost shrimp are fine for SW preds, privided they're gutloaded. In fact, the same species can be found in FW, brackish, and SW. What you need to stay away from are goldfish and rosy reds, or any other member of the carp family.

You should only feed your lion 3x a week or so, BTW.

You should give these two articles a read:

Lionfish Care Guide

Feeding Techniques

tony53176 · 05/16/2012, 06:06 AM

thanks, I will certainly give those links a read.

I'm still on the fence on whether or not I am going to switch him over or not, most likely I will I just know its going to be a challenge.

you mention anything in the carp family, are guppies in the carp family cause my lfs sells feeder guppies, I haven't given those a try (not even sure if the lion will eat them) but I may if they are ok for him.

thanks again for you input

DoubleM 10 · 05/16/2012, 11:54 AM

fuzzy dwarfs are not difficult to wean IME. i have 2 right now and one of them took to jumbo frozen mysis right away. i have another that shows interest but does not bite yet.

for me .none have took longer than a month to wean.

i have weaned much more difficult fish than fuzzies. (black ribbon eel, fu man chu lion, marine betta to name a few)

in the long run the prepared food would be more nutritious. IMO

HTH

Mental1 · 05/16/2012, 02:48 PM

My latest fuzzy took to frozen within a week. They are such pigs they can't resist!

tony53176 · 05/16/2012, 05:24 PM

I'm not too concerned about weaning him off the live, I was just wondering if feeding him only gut loaded live would be bad, if yes then I will certainly start weaning him if not then I might want to just keep him on live cause I love to watch him go after his prey

DoubleM 10 · 05/16/2012, 06:10 PM

gut loading live shrimp would be OK.

i would look at both sides

on prepared foods it cheaper in most cases. it would be readily availible. and over all more nutrious than the live

on live foods it would be much easier for your fuzzy to injure itself while attaching food cause the food can avoid the lion. it will end up being more expencive especially if their is a tank dedicated to the live food that is seperate from the DT. also the live stuff is not as nutritios as frozen because it would be difficult to vary the types of food the fish would be getting.

so IMO the best thing would be to wean the fish for the health and logevity of the fish

and you can always feed live every once and a while to see the natural hunting behavior

tony53176 · 05/17/2012, 02:27 PM

That sounds like very good, sound advice. I have decided that I will attempt to wean him onto prepared foods.

Is there any particular food that I would have the most success with?

Mental1 · 05/17/2012, 02:52 PM

For a long time I fed my lions both live and frozen food. I switched back and forth. I was breeding black sailfin mollies in salt as feeder fish. I had no problems at all with doing both. Then the mollies weren't breeding as well and I got a bit lazy so just fed them frozen. I think they do like to hunt stuff ...

DoubleM 10 · 05/17/2012, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tony53176

That sounds like very good, sound advice. I have decided that I will attempt to wean him onto prepared foods.

Is there any particular food that I would have the most success with?

i have head really good luck with jumbo mysis and/or silversides.

namxas · 05/19/2012, 12:45 PM

One of the biggest mistakes I see where folks have had trouble weaning their fish is that the fish are offered chunks that are too large, and it can actually intimidate the fish. Stick with food about the size of the fish's eye.

Secondly, make yourself a "stealth stick" as described in the weaning article. It honestly makes the job a LOT easier, and the fish can't grab the stick itself, which can put them off feeding fron a stick.

05/15/2012, 10:17 PM	#1
tony53176 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Auburn, MA. Posts: 256	Fuzzy dwarf lionfish question hey guys I have a quick question that I hope you can help me out with, so I have had this fuzzy for about 4 weeks now and I've been feeding him mostly ghost shrimp and I've been feeding the ghost shrimp spectrum A+ pellets like an hour before I give them to the fuzzy. I've read that feeding them ghost shrimp is not the best option and to try and ween them on to prepared foods. but I have to tell you I love to watch this guy eat the live foods and the way he hunts them down. I was wondering if there is a better option for live foods that I could feed to my fuzzy lifetime? I know it will get expensive over the lifetime of the fish but the entertainment value is worth it imo lol I did found these guys on liveaquaria http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...64&pcatid=3064 and was wondering if these might be a viable option or if there is something better that I should think about? or if I would be better off in the long run to get him to eat prepared foods? thanks guys for your help __________________ Go Patriots!! Current Tank Info: 75gal AGA, reaction 4 canister filter with UV sterilizer, 80lbs live sand, 55lbs dry live pukani rock, 2 1300gph circulation pumps, aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, 216 watt T5 lights

05/15/2012, 11:57 PM	#2
namxas Things With Stings R Us! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Carson, CA Posts: 4,598	Why not wean your fish and feed occasional live ghosties? To be honest, feeding your fish from a stick is pretty fun...more fun than just watching them slurp down a few shrimp. Lionfish are very interactive fish, and will come to know you. That being said, ghost shrimp are fine for SW preds, privided they're gutloaded. In fact, the same species can be found in FW, brackish, and SW. What you need to stay away from are goldfish and rosy reds, or any other member of the carp family. You should only feed your lion 3x a week or so, BTW. You should give these two articles a read: Lionfish Care Guide Feeding Techniques __________________ Greg Current Tank Info: too many to describe, but i think the count is up to "lucky 13"!

05/16/2012, 06:06 AM	#3
tony53176 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Auburn, MA. Posts: 256	thanks, I will certainly give those links a read. I'm still on the fence on whether or not I am going to switch him over or not, most likely I will I just know its going to be a challenge. you mention anything in the carp family, are guppies in the carp family cause my lfs sells feeder guppies, I haven't given those a try (not even sure if the lion will eat them) but I may if they are ok for him. thanks again for you input __________________ Go Patriots!! Current Tank Info: 75gal AGA, reaction 4 canister filter with UV sterilizer, 80lbs live sand, 55lbs dry live pukani rock, 2 1300gph circulation pumps, aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, 216 watt T5 lights

05/16/2012, 11:54 AM	#4
DoubleM 10 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Steamwood, IL Posts: 1,298	fuzzy dwarfs are not difficult to wean IME. i have 2 right now and one of them took to jumbo frozen mysis right away. i have another that shows interest but does not bite yet. for me .none have took longer than a month to wean. i have weaned much more difficult fish than fuzzies. (black ribbon eel, fu man chu lion, marine betta to name a few) in the long run the prepared food would be more nutritious. IMO HTH __________________ Matt Lions, Groupers and Eels o my! Current Tank Info: 55gal w/15gal sump FOWLR, Reff Dynamics INS-80 skimmer, Mag 9 return, Aquatic life 4 bulp 48" HO fixtire///46 bow setup, 20gal high sump, Marineland 5500 return, Aquatilife T-5 Ho 36" light, Reef Dynamics INS-80 Skimmer

05/16/2012, 02:48 PM	#5
Mental1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 1,541	My latest fuzzy took to frozen within a week. They are such pigs they can't resist! __________________ Sherri Current Tank Info: 400g - 65g DT and 180g peninsula DT both drop into basement. 5 tanks plus a QT in the basement.

05/16/2012, 05:24 PM	#6
tony53176 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Auburn, MA. Posts: 256	I'm not too concerned about weaning him off the live, I was just wondering if feeding him only gut loaded live would be bad, if yes then I will certainly start weaning him if not then I might want to just keep him on live cause I love to watch him go after his prey __________________ Go Patriots!! Current Tank Info: 75gal AGA, reaction 4 canister filter with UV sterilizer, 80lbs live sand, 55lbs dry live pukani rock, 2 1300gph circulation pumps, aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, 216 watt T5 lights

05/16/2012, 06:10 PM	#7
DoubleM 10 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Steamwood, IL Posts: 1,298	gut loading live shrimp would be OK. i would look at both sides on prepared foods it cheaper in most cases. it would be readily availible. and over all more nutrious than the live on live foods it would be much easier for your fuzzy to injure itself while attaching food cause the food can avoid the lion. it will end up being more expencive especially if their is a tank dedicated to the live food that is seperate from the DT. also the live stuff is not as nutritios as frozen because it would be difficult to vary the types of food the fish would be getting. so IMO the best thing would be to wean the fish for the health and logevity of the fish and you can always feed live every once and a while to see the natural hunting behavior __________________ Matt Lions, Groupers and Eels o my! Current Tank Info: 55gal w/15gal sump FOWLR, Reff Dynamics INS-80 skimmer, Mag 9 return, Aquatic life 4 bulp 48" HO fixtire///46 bow setup, 20gal high sump, Marineland 5500 return, Aquatilife T-5 Ho 36" light, Reef Dynamics INS-80 Skimmer Last edited by DoubleM 10; 05/16/2012 at 06:11 PM. Reason: forgot a thought

05/17/2012, 02:27 PM	#8
tony53176 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Auburn, MA. Posts: 256	That sounds like very good, sound advice. I have decided that I will attempt to wean him onto prepared foods. Is there any particular food that I would have the most success with? __________________ Go Patriots!! Current Tank Info: 75gal AGA, reaction 4 canister filter with UV sterilizer, 80lbs live sand, 55lbs dry live pukani rock, 2 1300gph circulation pumps, aquamaxx HOB-1 skimmer, 216 watt T5 lights

05/17/2012, 02:52 PM	#9
Mental1 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 1,541	For a long time I fed my lions both live and frozen food. I switched back and forth. I was breeding black sailfin mollies in salt as feeder fish. I had no problems at all with doing both. Then the mollies weren't breeding as well and I got a bit lazy so just fed them frozen. I think they do like to hunt stuff ... __________________ Sherri Current Tank Info: 400g - 65g DT and 180g peninsula DT both drop into basement. 5 tanks plus a QT in the basement.

05/19/2012, 12:45 PM	#11
namxas Things With Stings R Us! Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Carson, CA Posts: 4,598	One of the biggest mistakes I see where folks have had trouble weaning their fish is that the fish are offered chunks that are too large, and it can actually intimidate the fish. Stick with food about the size of the fish's eye. Secondly, make yourself a "stealth stick" as described in the weaning article. It honestly makes the job a LOT easier, and the fish can't grab the stick itself, which can put them off feeding fron a stick. __________________ Greg Current Tank Info: too many to describe, but i think the count is up to "lucky 13"!