Feeding my lion

[reeferJ]

I have a Mombasa lionfish, currently feed him krill, and occasionally ghost shrimp. I've been kicking around the idea of buying a school of 10 or so chromis and let him feed at will. Would the lion eat all of the chromis at one time, or pick them off as necessary. I thought I read that lions don't just eat when they are hungry, they'll eat if there's food available, in which case I guess this wouldn't be a good idea. Live chromis would probably be the best food source for them though. Any thoughts?

Thanks

 

[Anonymous]

Consider the possibilty that the chromis could be carrying a wide array of diseases. This is by far the most important reason why I wouldn't do it. The second is cost.

 

[PeeJ]

I agree with Matt. However, there was someone on this forum that said they do similar, but with Damsels. Put about 10 in there. I think they said it would take about a month for them to all get eaten.

 

[K9coral]

I use goldfish there cheap and all you have to do is rinse them in tap water to wash off any filth. Just feed as many as he will eat 2 or 3 times per week.

 

[reeferJ]

I read that freshwater fish in general and goldfish in particular are not a good diet for saltwater fish. Something about fat content. I'd like to provide the most natural diet within reason.

 

[K9coral]

It may not be the "Best" diet, but it is cheap and Ive seen lions do very well eating goldfish and chopped shrimp. If you can get fresh shrimp (gulf shrimp especially) you can chop them into 2 or 3 chunks of meat and the lions seem to love this stuff!

 

[psiico]

Goldfish will kill your lion in the long run. From this link:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/lions&rels2.htm

"Quick! What's the number one cause of death of captive Lionfishes? Here's a little clue; what section are you reading? Foods and feeding. If food is love than most lions are loved to death. Post-mortem exams we've done invariably show fatty liver degeneration (yellow, floating blobs), frequently with accessory gut impaction from, guess what? Excessive Feeder Goldfish Gobbling Syndrome.
Here's how it works: "Check it out, Uncle Al, this here Turkeyfish can swallow a dozen of these golden beauties at a throw, Oooowhee." Don't do it! To yourself, your Lion(s), or 'feeders'! Goldfish are not a good steady diet for several reasons. They're nutritionally deficient, inconvenient, expensive.... and may make your Lion(s) aggressive. And furthermore, they're unnecessary. Lionfishes can and should be trained to accept better foods. Frozen, fresh, prepared types of all kinds; silversides, krill, shrimp, crabs, crickets... avoid oily, greasy foods, including feeders. "

 

[reeferJ]

but wouldn't live marine fish be the best option? A school of chromis would provide the best of diet along with hours of entertainment! Why would this not be a good idea?

 

[BOMPH]

but wouldn't live marine fish be the best option? A school of chromis would provide the best of diet along with hours of entertainment! Why would this not be a good idea?

Im the one who did the damsels, and it worked good.. He was a huge fish at the time he died, and lived for around 4 years with me. HE was literally like a pet dog to me. We had a 'rapport'

I dont see why chromis would be a bad choice, esentially, you want salt water foods for your salt water fish. Maybe buy the fish, but keep them in another container. Gut load them with their own food before you give them to the lion.

He might gorge himself if you put them all in there at once, depends on the fish. Usually, they dont need to feed more than 2-3x week at most if you feed them right.

I would vary the diet too, chromis one week, different types of damsels, maybe a goby. He might not get them at first, but if he;s hungry, he'll have them in due time.

 

[K9coral]

The lions that I had and got rid of after 3yrs do to moving did very well. I had 2 in a 90 gallon show tank. They lived on a diet of goldfish and shrimp. IMO that was just fine! The lfs had no problem buying them back from me even though they were pretty darn big. I wish I had enough money to send my dead fish off to the morge for autopsy ---

 

[Anonymous]

"Why would this not be a good idea?"

I think I already told you why. The chances of a chromis carrying any number of infectious diseases and spreading it to the lion are very high, especially when you're essentially adding 10 new fish of unknown origin/exposure every few weeks. If you go down this route it will not be a question of *if* your lion gets sick, but *when*, I promise. Unless you're willing to quarantine every school of 10 chromis for 6-8 weeks before feeding, of course, this should really be considered as a last resort. Besides that, you won't get to see your lion eat as much. He won't necessarily happen to snag one when you're watching.

As for the FW feeders, they can be a useful temporary tool to get a reluctant lion to eat, but shouldn't be a staple food source. Eventually they should be switched to thawed or fresh shrimp, squid, SW fish flesh, and the like. If you really enjoy the ooh-ahh factor of watching the lion stalk its prey, stick a dead shrimp on the end of a feeding stick, and it will hunt it down like it's alive.