Lionfish - not feeding

Question
Hi Jennifer, I have a 4ft x 2ft reef tank, that has been running well for the past 14mths. I have a yellow tang, coral rabbitfish, volitans lionfish and 7 blue/green chromis. I have had the lionfish for about 6months and he has doubled in size, we fed him live fish for the first week and then introduced him to frozen krill (defrosted of course)and has been feeding with these no problems until two days ago, once a week we give him a treat of live fish (which he looks forward to ..!)but he wont even eat these ! He has never not been interested in his food before so I'm concerned that he may not be well ?

have you had any experience with this before ?

Answer
Hello Paul. As long as you still have seven chromis left and your water quality is good and stable a few days without eating is no cause for concern. I know a girl who only feeds her volitans twice a week and she has had it for about two years! Lionfish are very disease resistant. You may try to offer it something new like some squid or mussel. If he goes longer than two weeks without eating this may be a cause for concern although sometimes as a lionfish matures and starts reaching its fullgrown length(12-14 inches) it doesn't need to feed as often. Belive it or not some carnivorous fish when fed too much too often can actually suffer from being obese, leading to a sort of fatty liver disease. In an aquarium setting where there is a constant supply of food and the fish doesn't have to work for it this is common. I am not saying that this is what is happening with your fish it is just one of many possibilities. As long as your water quality is good and the fish is acting normally( not flicking,scratching or swimming erratically) I wouldn't worry too much yet. However if goes on too long or if you notice the fish has become lethargic it may be time to set up a hospital tank to treat for possible illness. Sometimes a fish can suffer from things other than common aquarium diseases and heart kidney, liver and intestinal problems are bound to occur from time to time. Keep a close eye on it and any other problems other than not eating need immediate action. Hope this has helped you.