How do you feed your fish? :-)

qfrisco · 12/14/2007, 07:39 AM

Sorry for what sounds like a really simple question, but I started feeding some flakes to the two damsels I have in my newly filled 90 gallon reef, and noticed that the flakes floated on the surface (expected), and got quickly sucked into the overflow, not giving much of a chance for the damsels to swim up to the surface and grab them.

I've started turning the return pump off when feeding the flakes. I'm curious does anyone else do this? Or should I get sinking food?

landlord · 12/14/2007, 08:02 AM

Grind the flakes in your fingers under the surface of the water. It should cause them to sink.

I was turning off my pump for years...

I found that by aiming my return line towards the water surface I accomplished several things. One of which was causing enough turbulence to make floating food sink.

FWIW --landlord

purplereef · 12/14/2007, 08:04 AM

Don't turn your return pump off. I just put it down into the water not the surface of the water. Some of the food escaping into the overflow is inevitable.

jcpatella · 12/14/2007, 08:18 AM

I feed my tank a thawed mix of frozen raw seafood. Most nights I turn just my return pump off and let the powerheads throw the food around the tank until it's all eaten. Some nights I turn all the pumps off and target-feed certain corals (and the fish eat the remains). Other nights I'll just feed pellets by putting them under the surface and letting them sink.

bj32482 · 12/14/2007, 08:22 AM

I keep a small cup with my food, at feeding time, I scoop up some tank water, put the food in the cup and swirl around. Then just dump the contents into the tank, none of it floats...

King-Kong · 12/14/2007, 08:42 AM

I feed mostly rinsed frozen Hikari mysis (PE Mysis is too oily and also doesnt contain as much protein, or isnt enriched like Hikari).

I rinse about 3 cubes in a fine mesh brine net, then shut off my return pumps, and dump it in. Then when it's all eaten i turn everything back on.

I do this 2x a day.

tedmc2 · 12/14/2007, 10:28 AM

Similar to bj32482, I thaw a cube of mysis in a cup of spring water from the bubbler, throw in a good pinch of flake, swirl it around, then add it in the tank a little at a time.

dwd5813 · 12/14/2007, 10:32 AM

i used to feed my cichlids flake food by pinching a bit of it between my thumb and forefinger and holding it under the surface for a couple seconds until it was soaked through, then releasing it so that it spread through the tank underneath the surface.

calkrog · 12/14/2007, 11:33 AM

i aswell swirl the food around in a cup prior to putting in tank to make it sink, but i have been thinking about an autofeeder to make it easier for someone to take care of my tank while im away. anyone have any suggestions for this as the food would get swept into the overflow almost immediately when using the autofeeder.

pammy · 12/14/2007, 11:51 AM

When I use my auto-feeder, I use the "Ocean Nutrition Feeding Frenzy Feeding Station". They have it at marinedepot.com for less than $3.

cristhiam · 12/14/2007, 12:13 PM

I been feeding flake throug my return pump

it's fun to watch the fish get ready near the outputs waiting for the food to come out

zhenjw · 12/14/2007, 12:17 PM

I let the cube dissolve in my fuge, and the return sucks the rest of it into the display tank. That way I'm able to feed both the fuge and the display tank at once.

sw1tched · 12/14/2007, 01:09 PM

when I feed flakes, I put them below the surface in front of a jet. they shoot around my tank & the fish start a frenzy. I do the same for frozen mysis. let it thaw & dump it in front of a jet.

-Joe

newb · 12/14/2007, 01:42 PM

be it flake or frozen or home made i always have it in a cup and target feed in the same place with a turkey baster. fish learn fast, food does not float away and i use much less of it. so when feeding flake this way you are automatically lowering your phosphate input and i end up useing less than half the food.

12/14/2007, 07:39 AM	#1
qfrisco Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Dallas, TX Area Posts: 1,389	How do you feed your fish? :-) Sorry for what sounds like a really simple question, but I started feeding some flakes to the two damsels I have in my newly filled 90 gallon reef, and noticed that the flakes floated on the surface (expected), and got quickly sucked into the overflow, not giving much of a chance for the damsels to swim up to the surface and grab them. I've started turning the return pump off when feeding the flakes. I'm curious does anyone else do this? Or should I get sinking food?

12/14/2007, 08:02 AM	#2
landlord Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Alexandria, KY Posts: 1,937	Grind the flakes in your fingers under the surface of the water. It should cause them to sink. I was turning off my pump for years... I found that by aiming my return line towards the water surface I accomplished several things. One of which was causing enough turbulence to make floating food sink. FWIW --landlord __________________ Forget the Turtle Man, you got the Coral Man Live Action Fragging! Current Tank Info: 90 Gallon SPS Reef (Sump, Fuge, Skimmer, CX reactor, Chemical filtration, Overflow) by Lifereef, 2x400W 20K Radiums on IceCaps, 2x39W T5 "For fun", RK2, 4x Tunze 6055, Aqua Logic 1/3 HP Chiller, DIY RO/DI ATO 2-Part via Litermeter. Lotsa Clownfish

12/14/2007, 08:04 AM	#3
purplereef Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Chardon, Ohio Posts: 1,442	Don't turn your return pump off. I just put it down into the water not the surface of the water. Some of the food escaping into the overflow is inevitable. __________________ Proudly Contrailing the World since 1999. Current Tank Info: 120xl Elos.

12/14/2007, 08:18 AM	#4
jcpatella Premium Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: New Orleans, LA Posts: 814	I feed my tank a thawed mix of frozen raw seafood. Most nights I turn just my return pump off and let the powerheads throw the food around the tank until it's all eaten. Some nights I turn all the pumps off and target-feed certain corals (and the fish eat the remains). Other nights I'll just feed pellets by putting them under the surface and letting them sink. __________________ Dogs - Man's best friend; entropy's greatest catalyst. Current Tank Info: Biocube 8 on the way!

12/14/2007, 10:28 AM	#7
tedmc2 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Massachusetts Posts: 384	Similar to bj32482, I thaw a cube of mysis in a cup of spring water from the bubbler, throw in a good pinch of flake, swirl it around, then add it in the tank a little at a time. __________________ In a world gone mad, only a lunatic’s truly insane - Homer Simpson Current Tank Info: 18" cube, 12" cube, ADA MINI-S

12/14/2007, 08:22 AM	#5
bj32482 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: benton, ky Posts: 974	I keep a small cup with my food, at feeding time, I scoop up some tank water, put the food in the cup and swirl around. Then just dump the contents into the tank, none of it floats...

12/14/2007, 08:42 AM	#6
King-Kong Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Gainesville, FL Posts: 2,346	I feed mostly rinsed frozen Hikari mysis (PE Mysis is too oily and also doesnt contain as much protein, or isnt enriched like Hikari). I rinse about 3 cubes in a fine mesh brine net, then shut off my return pumps, and dump it in. Then when it's all eaten i turn everything back on. I do this 2x a day.

12/14/2007, 10:32 AM	#8
dwd5813 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: 813 Posts: 2,827	i used to feed my cichlids flake food by pinching a bit of it between my thumb and forefinger and holding it under the surface for a couple seconds until it was soaked through, then releasing it so that it spread through the tank underneath the surface. __________________ order some golf shoes, otherwise we'll never get out of this place alive. what can i say? in dog beers, i have only had one. - dublo8 Current Tank Info: 40B aiptasia farm

12/14/2007, 11:33 AM	#9
calkrog Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 18	i aswell swirl the food around in a cup prior to putting in tank to make it sink, but i have been thinking about an autofeeder to make it easier for someone to take care of my tank while im away. anyone have any suggestions for this as the food would get swept into the overflow almost immediately when using the autofeeder.

12/14/2007, 11:51 AM	#10
pammy Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: New Hampshire Posts: 768	When I use my auto-feeder, I use the "Ocean Nutrition Feeding Frenzy Feeding Station". They have it at marinedepot.com for less than $3. __________________ Pair of Ocellaris Clowns Flame Hawkfish Pygmy Angel Splendid Goby + Tiger Pistol Shrimp Current Tank Info: 53 Gallon Elos System 80 (31.5" x 19.5" x 19.5"), Elos NS500 Skimmer, Elos Planet 150w MH / 4 24w T5 Combo Light, CLICK on Pammy on the Left and then "VISIT Pammy's Homepage" to see my tank. Last edited by pammy; 12/14/2007 at 12:05 PM.

12/14/2007, 12:13 PM	#11
cristhiam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Groveland, FL Posts: 3,099	I been feeding flake throug my return pump it's fun to watch the fish get ready near the outputs waiting for the food to come out __________________ 2 yellows tail damsels, yellow watchman goby, tail spot blennie, purple pseudocromis, starry blennie, 2 clowns, 1 black clown, mandarine & Yellow tang Current Tank Info: 125 AGA, 3 40W 6500K, 3 110W URI Actinics, running on 2 IceCaps 660, CSS125

12/14/2007, 12:17 PM	#12
zhenjw Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Oakland, CA Posts: 128	I let the cube dissolve in my fuge, and the return sucks the rest of it into the display tank. That way I'm able to feed both the fuge and the display tank at once. __________________ Hautung der seele. Current Tank Info: Bio Cube 8&14, 35G Fuge, 180G~Frogspawn, Fungia, Open Brain, Xenia, Kenya Tree, Zoas, Tube Anemone, Tube Worm, Pink Milli, Metallic Grn Birdsnest, Baby Blue Acro, Green Donut, Orange Digi, Purple Lotoptes, Yellow Porite, Firefish, Carpntr Wrasse,

12/14/2007, 01:09 PM	#13
sw1tched Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Omaha NE Posts: 130	when I feed flakes, I put them below the surface in front of a jet. they shoot around my tank & the fish start a frenzy. I do the same for frozen mysis. let it thaw & dump it in front of a jet. -Joe __________________ 210g mixed reef display, 40g long sump, Euro-reef G4+ skimmer, Neptune Apex controller, 3 AI SOl LED fixtures. 65g FOWLR display, 40g breeder sump, T5 coralife fixture, ASM G3 skimmer. Current Tank Info: 210 gallon mixed reef, 65 gallon FOWLR

12/14/2007, 01:42 PM	#14
newb Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: ca Posts: 123	be it flake or frozen or home made i always have it in a cup and target feed in the same place with a turkey baster. fish learn fast, food does not float away and i use much less of it. so when feeding flake this way you are automatically lowering your phosphate input and i end up useing less than half the food.