[justinl]

good thing you didn't get a fu manchu... their survival rate sucks. read that reefkeeping info sheet link in its entirety. That single link is just about the best link on the web on all lionfish care. jmo. It also has a very good section in it about weaning lions on to frozens.

Also just wanted to point out for reefshark that freshwater shrimp are far from a natural diet for a saltwater predator. feeder shrimp and fish are fine, but as mentioned, no goldfish. the shrimp, mollies and guppies seem to be the best. Feel free to mix it up a bit. Obviously a saltwater organism qould be infinitely better, but will probably be stupidly expensive by the end. It probably will not eat hermits... if it does then that's a problem since it will probably choke on the shell. hope you dont have any fish in that tank any smaller than the lion.

the key to weaning is to make the fish hungry enough to try something else. that means that you have to realize that lions have very slow metabolisms and often they can go for weeks without food. their natural behaviour is to gorge themselves at a single time, then hide in a hole for a long time. Do not feed feeders often... no more than one molly twice a week... or else you run the risk of ending up with a live food junkie.

edit: oh you will also want to try a variety of foods from krill to mysis to chunks of herring or silversides, etc. in the weaning process this is just to see what it likes best. Long term, it is vital because a single type of food will cause health problems. choose at least two, much more preferably three or more. Lots of people only feed krill for example and this causes liver failure (or was it lockjaw...? nothing good anyways).