Posted by shahpesar7787 on January 17, 2003 at 23:21:11:
In Reply to: Re: RED LIONFISH TROUBLE HELP PlEASE posted by Barbara on January 11, 2003 at 12:25:23:
:::Hi,I just stated a saltwater aquarium. I have a 30 gallon tank and i have couple of damsels in their with a red lionfish. For the first couple of days he was not eating, so i did a ammonia and a nitrite test. My results were not good. I have really high ammonia, and my nitrite was in the stress level. So i bought two types of chemicals from the store, CYCLE and AMQUEL. I put them both in at the same time. The lionfish is doing better and oday is the third day ive had him and i got him to eat 2 small goldfish. But when I checked the ammonia and nitrite it was still high. I was wondering what is the best way to bring down the ammonia and nitrite. And if you have any other types on caring for the red lionfish pleeeease let me know. I apreciate you taking time and reading my message. thank you for your responce.
::The High Ammonia and Nitrite levels are due to your tank being a new setup and haven't had the time or Bacteria to cycle properly. You have a Hardy fish with your Lionfish and it should be able to survive the high levels ok. Try staying away from feeding it Goldfish, its not only no good for them but hard to get them off of them once they are accustomed to eating Goldfish. Just continue to watch both Ammonia and Nitrite levels the next few weeks. Once the Nitrite level peaks, and then come down, your Tank should be cycled, and you should be able to add more fish safely.
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:What you can do to help your fish is to do a water change. It might slow down the cycling process, but only by a couple of days. Well worth it to save your fish! High levels of ammonia, nitrite can not only outright kill your fish but can leave lasting damage to their gills even if they survive.
:Another thing is to slow down on the feedings. I would not feed more than once....maybe 2 times a week until the cycling is done.
:Having said that, you should also train your lionfish to take other foods...not live goldfish. Look through some of the old posts here to see how to do that.
:One more thing, a 30g is not a huge tank and you said you have a red lion? Do you know what species that actually is? If it's anything but one of the smaller dwarf species then you are already overstocked.
:Good luck with your fish!
: Thanks a lot for the responses. My only consern is the the lionfish is not eating like it is supposed to. When i put goldfish in the tank he wont even go after it unless i starve him for about a week. He eats about every four days. Is that normal? Is there anything i can do to lower the stress? Any extra advice would be nice too. Thanks a lot for you time. p.s. Im not sure what type of lion it is but its pretty small, its body is about the length from my middle finger the middle of my palm(not a huge hand). Also he isnt even trying to eat the four small damsels i have in the tank, and ive herd that they eat anything they can fit in there mouth!?!?
