My Lionfish Seems Poorly

[haulme]

Hi Guys

I bought my antennata lionfish last sunday and it seems as if its colour has faded. Its also looks like it has black marks on its face.

Furthermore it seems to stay at one end of the tank constantly looking at its reflection. It isn't swimming around the tank at all.

I've been establishing on live feeder shrimp which it doesnt eat in front of me but when I return at night there are alot less shrimp than I put in.

My water is :

1.023 Salinaty.
0 Ammonia (According to the Seachem Ammonia Alert, I've been told it picks up Ammonia better than most test kits)
0.1 or very slight reading nitrite. It gives a tiny pink tinge to the water.
Nitrates are very high. around 80ppm

I've been told nitrates aren't a major factor and in some LFS nitrates are of the scale.

Any suggestions?

 

[andywg]

I'd say the nitrates are favorite for the cause.

Nitrates are more dangerous to SW fish than FW, and though some lfs do have high nitrates, it is something to be avoided where possible.

What size tank, and roughly how much LR do you have in there? Also, I would recommend overskimming as lions are messy fish.

I would say that water changes will be your best friend for now.

 

[haulme]

I have about 20kgs of live rock in a 45 uk gallon tank.

I just can't seem to get my nitrates down though!!

I've done 50% RO water changes and they still remain high. Added Seachem Prime, Seachem Cycle, Live Sand the works!!

 

[andywg]

Are you sure that the RO membranes don't need changing (a TDS moniter will tell you if they do).

Has the tank fully cycled? It may still be cycling.

Other than that, I can only think of putting a larger skimmer on the tank to get any thing out the water before it can start fouling the water up.

I'm sure others will have more (and better) ideas though.

 

[Mr Miagi]

Fish can live through 80ppm Nitrate. Although not the best possible conditions, he shouldnt be loosing colour. As andy said, a skimmer may be able to pull organics from the water, reducing the load for your LR/bacteria. Check your membrane, again as andy pointed out.

Lions do not swim readily. They are ambush predators who wait for their prey. Only destressed, or incorrectly housed lions, IMO, readily swim or lose colour. Your tank seems fine though.

What other fish do yo have with it? And also, what are your stats like SG and Temp?

Your food is fine, shrimp are a good food and make a large majority of their diet in the wild, but you should really see them eat. Lions arnt shy eaters IME and should be interested in the food you place in the tank straight away. Try and watch him eat. If he doesnt, try live fish (like mollies). Feed the shrimp and the mollies marine flake before you feed them too the lion, that way the have a higher nutritional value for him.

It may be a cause beyond your control though, cyanide. Fish often go pale, starve, and die after being caught using cyanide.

 

[haulme]

cheers guys.

one thing i failed to add is that it is still a baby only 2-3 inches.

the other thing is that last night i did see it swim around and it looks like it was hunting the few remaining shrimp which was good.

My temperature is 77F

My Salinaty is 1.023 which I am told correspnds to a SG of around 35

could bright light be making its colour change?

bright lights are on for about 6 hours a day, natural light which is low/medium for around 4 hours.

My Lion is solitary at the moment. I was thinking of getting a rabbit fish tomorrow a signus lo.

I intend to keep feeding it river shrimp for now, is there anyway I can get nutrients and vitamins in them quick? In the form of a spray or additives prior to feeding.

As for my membrane I am using my LFS RO water who are pretty established and I have noted alot more growth in my tank with the RO water.

 

[Mr Miagi]

A way to add food is like mentioned before, feed them marine flake before adding them into the tank. Light shouldnt really be affecting his colours. Maybe its his mood, whether he is hunting or angry, calm etc. If he is eating, you might not have much to worry about. My lion (a dwarf) tends to change colours a fair bit.

 

[haulme]

Yup he just did a poo right in front of me too. Looked like the same colour as he does an light orangy brown.

I added some aloe vera treatment fish stuff and he seems to have perked up after that.

I'll try that marine flake/shrimp combo thing tommorrow when i get my rabbit fish from the LFS.

Cheers all