Feeding questions

L

Landry

[Ok, since I have re-set up my new tank, I have a few questions concerning feeding.

First off a couple of parameters.
100 gal tank
55 gal tank turned into sump/refuge
1 bi-color blenny
1 gold bar clown
1 colt coral
1 candy cane
1 xl pearl bubble
1 cup coral
1 head frogspawn
some assorted polyps
various snails/hermits
2 brittle stars
3 pepermint shrimp
3 emerald crabs
1 sea cuke
1 sand star

How much and how often would y'all feed? What would y'all feed and by what methods?

My 55 used to be the main tank and I had major hair algea problems. A LFS which is not a sponsor had me feeding way too much. I am now down to 1 pinch of flake 2 times per week for the fish and 2 tbs of DT's 1-2 times per week. I have a feeling that this isn't enough, but am not sure.

Any help y'all could provide would be appreciated.]
 
[Man, I forgot to mention my new Rose BTA. This creature is what triggered this message. It seems to be doing very well, but I want to keep it that way. My clown hosted with 10 min of introducing the BTA, and when I fed it froze brine on Monday it fed the BTA first then ate for itself.

Help is needed in order to derive a regular schedule.]
 
[Fish like humans want to eat as often as possible. that is a hard question to answer. Because a seahorse who has no stomach must be feed constantly. While a Zebra eel needs to eat alot once a month or so.

I personally turn off my main pump sprinkle some flakes at the surface and if they are gone add more. I do so twice a day at least. When I can 3 or 4 times I week I feed live/frozen in addition.

Fauna in the sand bed should regulate the over feeding provided you try to feed the same amount every time.

It is important to feed a often as possible as it helps regulate the immune system of fish. It is also important not to over feed the fish which will cause an ammonia spike...but, again a well set up system should off set that.]
 
[IMO the amount of flake you are feeding is fine but that depends on how big of a pinch we are talking about. I really don't see a need for you to be feeding DT's at all. The green film that develops on your tank's glass should be plenty of phytoplankton for your tank. You don't list a tremendous amount of filter feeders in you list of tank inhabitants. For you rose anemone you can buy a couple of fresh shrimp for the supermarket and clean them. Then just slice them into lifesaver size wafers and freeze in a ziplock baggy. Thaw one wafer once a week and feed your anemone.]
 
[I overfeed my tanks. David hates it when I visit his starving reef, and drop in food each time he walks away. Let's see, I dropped in some food to make a starfish come out and Dave says:

"That's good." The fish go nuts. They look everywhere for food. Must have food. Food now. Where's food!?

I drop in a few flakes, and the fish make a frenzied feeding ball. Dave says:

"Marc, stop! Now I've got to clean out the skimmer so it'll get everything out." But others distract him, and I dose the tank again. David looks at me through the narrow slits and lowered eyebrows:

"STOP! Now I have to do a water change!" Listen, those fish were thrilled to finally eat, and the food didn't last 30 seconds each time.

Now my tanks, a 29g reef, a 55g reef, and my son's 29g are all feed once a day. Every evening at 8:30 - 9:00 pm I feed them a portion of my own food. link to recipe

I break off a small piece, put it in tiny plastic dish and nuke it for 10 seconds just to help it soften up slightly. That piece feeds three tanks.

I dose one cup of Phyto to my 29g and 1.5 cups to my 55g every other day.

During the day time, I do occasionally drop in some flake or pellet or cyclop eeze to give my reefs something to nibble on. I have fish that need food more than once a day, such as Tangs. In the wild, the graze all day. Mandarins forage for food all day long too.

I do skim the heck out of my tanks though. But they both look very healthy, so I've never regretted my feeding regime.

Btw, to get rid of GHA, please read this article:
http://www.melevsreef.com/gha.html]
 
[Thanks for the link, but thank god GHA is a thing of the past.
Not discounting these guys replys, any others out there. I'm just trying to develop a routine and thought that the more ideas I could get the better.]
 
[I feed my main reef tank a variety of frozen/flake foods once a day. In addition to that I feed about 2 cups of phyto (homegrown, if using DTs it would be about 2 Tbs) about 2-3 times a week and target feed my anemonies (shrimp, chopped fish, silversides, whatever) 1-2 times a week. I usually place a small square of nori in the tank for the tang to graze on during the day as well.

As for the baby clownfish, well they are little pigs and they get at least four meals a day. They also get a variey of foods but that really depends upon their size/age.]
 
[I make a pre-mixed fish food that some people seem to like (Advertise here!), well they buy it so I hope they like it.

Anyways feeding is good, your tank will GRADUALLY adjust to how much you feed it. As to what to feed, as much variety as possible is the best. In my food mix I have Golden Pearls, Cyclopeez, Sea Weed, Clams, Oysters, Fish, Crap, Shrimp, Squid, Garlic, Shark Oil and flake food. Corals and fish seem to love it...

Nick]
 
[I knew there was a reason I didn't like your food, Nick. I finally noticed the 'bad' ingredient. :laugh long:


Actually, I've been using it to beef up my BTAs since the split. It seems to be working well, as the portions are easy to consume.]
 
[:no: Don't feed to much. Your fish will thank you for it. Just ask my first set of clowns that are turning 12 this year. I bought them from Old Stoney (Scott) a long time ago. Or you could ask any of my other fish, especially my estimated 15 year old royal gramma :smart: . Estimated because he was in a LFS reef for a long time before I got him. I know a couple children that will eat everything that you put infront of them in less than a few minutes, but that doesn't mean they need it. Their parents think it is okay, but the poor kids are obese.

Marc, you forced me to sell my tank after that. I hope your happy. Just kidding :beerchug:]
 
[I agree about the overfeeding. I used to give my large clown a double meat whataburger once a week. Now he is making it on a kiddie sized burger and fries on Saturdays. Marc was soooo right. Sad thing is the clown insists I eat the flake food to try and keep my weight down.


:D]
 
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