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Unread 09/09/2012, 11:50 AM   #1
Croniss
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Question Feeding frequency

I'm just curious if you guys feed the recommended amount of times per day? I checked all my fish via liveaquaria and found that the majority of them recommend 3x per day feedings, that is not possible for me however because I work roughly 10-12 hours per day M-F so if I feed when I leave home and when I return that's still not enough. Do you guys mix up food and feed your fish 3 times a day? what about corals do you target feed 3x per day? is there an automatic feeder that I haven't heard of that could handle feeding? if so I prefer to feed frozen, I don't see an automatic feeder being capable of that.

Whats your feeding regimen? Do you schedule your day according to when you have to feed?


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Unread 09/09/2012, 12:35 PM   #2
shaginwagon13
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I feed approx once every 2-3 days during the week and then maybe once a day on the weekends because I wanna see the little guys eat.

Making your own fish/coral food ensures you know what is in it and you can control the amount of filler products that may be in it.

I made my own a couple times. It's best to do it as a group as everyone can split the cost, plus you typiccaly end up with a lot more than you know what to do with.

I used a whole fish and put it in a blender guts and most of the bones, I believed I did scale it first.
I blended it with some shrimp with the head and tail removed and clam meat and some nori and garlic cloves.
That made me a nice and disgusting puree, and I mixed in some cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, and smelt roe.
When it was done, I froze the food in some repurposed frozen fish food trays, or any smal icecube tray we could find.


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 09/09/2012, 03:19 PM   #3
Croniss
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shaginwagon13 View Post
I feed approx once every 2-3 days during the week and then maybe once a day on the weekends because I wanna see the little guys eat.

Making your own fish/coral food ensures you know what is in it and you can control the amount of filler products that may be in it.

I made my own a couple times. It's best to do it as a group as everyone can split the cost, plus you typiccaly end up with a lot more than you know what to do with.

I used a whole fish and put it in a blender guts and most of the bones, I believed I did scale it first.
I blended it with some shrimp with the head and tail removed and clam meat and some nori and garlic cloves.
That made me a nice and disgusting puree, and I mixed in some cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, and smelt roe.
When it was done, I froze the food in some repurposed frozen fish food trays, or any smal icecube tray we could find.
so you feed 3-4 days out of the week and just in one feeding session? that sounds very reasonable, im just it prevents overfeeding and gives your CUC plenty of time to keep the aquarium clean as well. I've been feeding my mixed reef a rotation of single session 1 day mysis, 1 day cyclopeeze w/ algea pellets, 1 day no feed, which is 4-5 days out of the week with single feeding times. I was really curious if this could be detrimental to the fish's health because liveaquaria profiles of the fish I have recommends 3x per day.

my stock is:
1 oc. clown
1 coral beauty
1 starry blenny
1 bartlett anthias
1 watchman gobi

most of these fish had a 3x per day feeding recommended


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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:38 PM   #4
shaginwagon13
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To be honest, smaller more frequent feedings are better than one massive dumping of food every couple days. Fish can go up to a week without eating (for example if you go on vacation), and be completely fine. That being said, feeding a variety of fatty and nutritious foods will keep their immune system up, and overall help keep healthier fish.

I know some websites say feed 3 times a day.... but if you start to feed some of the homemade food I posted above you will see it is virtually impossible. For example, when I feed, the skimmer basically goes offline for 5-6 hours until the oils in the food are eliminated. Feeding 3 times a day multiplied by 5-6 hours of skimmer downtime due to the oils means 18 hours out of the day the skimmer is acting up and not skimming at all. Some people choose to rinse foods before feedings, but the oils and fats (in my opinion) are very beneficial to corals, clams and fish and I do not want to get rid of that by rinsing before feedings.

I love to watch my fish feed, which is why on weekends I feed a little more. There is nothing wrong with feeding three small meals a day, but if you plan to do this, make sure you only put enough food in the tank that your fish can completely consume in 3-4 minutes.


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:42 PM   #5
Peter Eichler
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I feed heavily one to two times per day. As long as you have the proper type of nutrient export feeding every day in large quantities, whether several times a day or alll at once, is just fine.


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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:46 PM   #6
FNDsalt
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I feed my fish 2 to 3 small feedings a day (lucky enough to live close enough to work to get that extra one in at noon). To say they only need to be fed 4 times a week is low IMO. Croniss, I would say if you can stick with 2 feedings a day that would be great. Although there are always those fish, anthias for one, that really benefit from as many small feedings throughout the day.

There is a great article in Coral vol. 6 #1 on pg. 65 called "No Risk, No Fun" that talks about some of the misconceptions that go along with keeping fish. Two subheadings in the article "short rations" & "self sufficiency" give great insight to how to approach fish feeding.

"Short Rations" states that reef fish are in a constant search for food in a plankton rich environment, and coupled with a high metabolic rate, they should be fed smaller portions more frequently. Hungry fish can also resort to bad habits in reef tanks i.e. nipping at hiding & aggression.

"Self-Sufficiency" talks about the lack of nutrition in the various larvae & amphipods that some hobbyists refer to as food for their fish.

This isn't part of the article, but I also believe that some reef fish that we hobbyists refer to as potential coral polyp eaters, could be result of underfeeding. A well fed fish may be less likely to nip at our precious corals. And my own opinion on the concept of fish being fed from the aquarium (larvae & amphipods), these sources are only as good as the nutrition they take in. I refer to it like the idea of feeding feeder goldfish to lionfish, or brine shrimp (unfortified) to reef fish. It can make a finiky fish eat, but isn't a good source of nutrition.


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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:50 PM   #7
zoafarm
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I feed once a day, and everything seems to be happy. But keep in mind, some fish may require more access to food. Here's my schedule:

Sunday -- Coral gets spot feeding...Frozen mix...Fish eat this as well
Monday -- dry sinking pellets ... primarily for fish but some of the corals eat it as well
Tuesday -- smaller amount of pellets and 2"x2" piece of Red seaweed
Wednesday -- pellets before sunset...30 to 40 mins I add some Reef Snow & Zooplankton
Thursday -- smaller amount of pellets and 2"x2" piece of Green seaweed
Friday -- Pellets
Saturday -- Pellets and 1 small frozen cube of rotifers

When I add the pellets, I really try to control it to only what my fish need. Also, depending on my motivation, I might switch out a day with another target feeding for coral...which means fish eat frozen mix that day.


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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:58 PM   #8
shaginwagon13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FNDsalt View Post
I feed my fish 2 to 3 small feedings a day (lucky enough to live close enough to work to get that extra one in at noon). To say they only need to be fed 4 times a week is low IMO.
I agree, feeding 4 times I week is low. I mentioned feeding 3 times during the week and 1-2 times on the weekend works out to +-7 feedings a week.

People forget that fish in the wild don't always get a set amount of constant feedings each day. Some days there are more, some days there are less.


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD

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Unread 09/09/2012, 04:59 PM   #9
shaginwagon13
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double post


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Current Tank Info: 550 Gallon SPS Reef l 200 Gallon Sump l Skimmer: Vertex Alpha 250 l Return Pump: Reeflo Hammerhead l Tank Circulation: (2) Maxspect Gyre XF280 l Lighting: (3) 400w Halides & (3) AI Hydra 52 HD
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Unread 09/09/2012, 05:06 PM   #10
Ambition
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Bartlett's anthias need to be fed more than once or twice per day, closer to four times per day IMO. When I had my 125 set up, I fed my fish 3+ times per day. I didn't have a skimmer on the tank before tearing down (changed from external to internal and never got around to changing the sump) so I cannot say if I would have had skimmer issues or not.

You can get an automatic feeder to feed pellets or flakes during the day while you are at work. I like them as something to offer variety when possible, otherwise I feed frozen at least 2-3x per day.


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Unread 09/09/2012, 05:19 PM   #11
aandfsoccr04
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nori in the morning, frozen mix of food in the evening.


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Unread 09/09/2012, 09:19 PM   #12
Croniss
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambition View Post
Bartlett's anthias need to be fed more than once or twice per day, closer to four times per day IMO. When I had my 125 set up, I fed my fish 3+ times per day. I didn't have a skimmer on the tank before tearing down (changed from external to internal and never got around to changing the sump) so I cannot say if I would have had skimmer issues or not.

You can get an automatic feeder to feed pellets or flakes during the day while you are at work. I like them as something to offer variety when possible, otherwise I feed frozen at least 2-3x per day.

What type of automatic feeder do you suggest? I bought a cheapy from wal-mart when I was going on vacation, but I decided against it when I saw the amount of food that was being discharged on the smallest setting. is this another piece of equipment where you get what you truly pay for?


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