Wednesday, August 16, 2006

Lionfish


Around 4 months ago - i bought myself a lionfish and named him Alsan. I'd set up my first marine tank. I invested in some live rock - and was away. I had mixed the water solution a week earlier and let the tank get settled with the living rock before adding Aslan. Using reverse osmosis water bought for £8 per keg.

For the first couple of weeks I fed him on frozen bloodworms. Which seemed to go down quite well as long as I put the lump in frozen so he could bite chunks off of it. If i let it melt first - the bits just fell to the bottom - and he didn't seem too keen to eat them. This seemed like a very expensive way to feed him as a pack lasts a couple of weeks and costs a couple of pounds. I know that doesn't sound like much but when you have as many fish as I do - buying food is an issue.

I read on the internet that they like beefheart - which on visiting my local butchers I found out was a whole cows heart - obviously. I'm a litte squeamish - so I got the butcher to chop the organ into chunks about 1 x 1 inch. There was so much meat I couldn't believe it - this heart must have been bigger than my head - and I have a big head.

Four months later and im only on chunk four of about one hundred. Considering that it only cost me £3 for a whole heart and that he is bigger and healthier than ever before I think this was a great purchase. I still supplement his diet with the occassional bloodworm cube - as it can't be easy eating the same thing every day.

1 comment:

Garry Walker said...

I have now splashed out on a reverse osmosis system for my house! I have a tab that can produce RO water. It cos around £450 to purhcase and have it fitted - although that may have included the cost of a new toilet cistern.

The water quality cannot be faulted - however, the pressure drops off pretty dramatically when the storage tank empties - and the machine continues to make a very loud gurgling noise for hours after - I asume this is it reverse osmosing....

Ive got used to it - and Aslan is grateful of the more frequent water changes.