Feeding Once to Twice

[Reeferz412]

I have always fed once daily in my reef tanks with no ill affects and all my fish have been happy campers. But I am looking to diversify their foods and also see if I can have some better/faster coral growth. My reef tank is mixed with lps and softies.

I currently feed brine, mysis, and flake food (purple jar I forgot what it is named right now.. I hear it is one of the best). So what do you guys think about upping the feeding to two times and what else can I throw in the mix?

Thanks for the replies,

-Alex

[Reefin' Dude]

if you are able to export as much material as you feed, then you can feed as much as you like. i feed 3-5 times a day. the problem comes when detritus is allowed to build up either in the substrate or in those hard to reach places. if this is allowed to occur, then keeping the nutrient levels consistent becomes much more difficult and the only way to really moderate this is unfortunately feeding less.

G~

[Reeferz412]

I do water changes weekly and I have positioned my powerheads to make sure there are little to no deadspots. I believe I can do it, I am just hoping this will help my corals grow faster.

[ReefUrchin]

Nothing wrong with that. I say feed away, BUT, get yourself a new nitrate and Phos test kit. While your feeding, keep checking your levels every other day. If your holding steady now and it starts to go up from where it is holding steady, then you need to back off and or go back to your normal routine.

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I've been feeding my fish once a day for as long as I can remember with no issues. And I started this hobby back in the '70's.

There are so many foods out there now days that it boggle's the mind. I will buy about 6 different pellets of various sizes and mix them all together in a large bucket and fed out of that. When I feed frozen food, I do the same and get about 6 different packages of frozen cubes and mix them all together in a bucket I keep in the freezer.

You don't eat the same stuff everyday so why make your fish do it.

I'm not really shure that feeding your fish will have any impact on your coral growth though.

[zachfishman]

Some of the fattest, healthiest, most colorful fish I've ever seen in a personal system were fed pellets twice a day (auto feeders), and then fed a multitude of frozen foods every evening that varied each day. This is in addition to daily nori the tangs received.

Yes, the tank had tremendous bulk flow to prevent accumulation of detritus, and a powerful skimmer to export all those nutrients.

[mthomp]

Idealy we should be feeding very little over the course of the entire day. I started a project that is near finished using a dosing pump,timer, and a dorm fridge just for this.

The idea is to keep my frozen food in a 1 gal container of water in the dorm fridge. allowing my dosing pump to kick on via a timer for a minute every 2 hours feeding my tank. Very little really goes in the tank at one time but the fish get food on a semi constant basis with very little waste.

[Andrew D]

Originally Posted by mthomp

Idealy we should be feeding very little over the course of the entire day. I started a project that is near finished using a dosing pump,timer, and a dorm fridge just for this.

The idea is to keep my frozen food in a 1 gal container of water in the dorm fridge. allowing my dosing pump to kick on via a timer for a minute every 2 hours feeding my tank. Very little really goes in the tank at one time but the fish get food on a semi constant basis with very little waste.

I did this exact same thing only recently, but decided to use a maxi-jet that was throttled down using a ball valve rather than a dosing pump. Rationale was that with the maxi-jet, the line is purged when the power goes off whereas the dosing pump leaves the liquid in the tube and out of the fridge where it could spoil. Works pretty well, although I find that my 5G container doesn't last more than 3 days. Good to feed during the day, but not so good when you are trying to feed anthias during a week-long vacation. Have tried to replenish the water in the container using a dosing pump or another maxi-het, but have't been able to get the flows evenly matched.

[Andrew D]

Sorry, should have answered the original question. I agree that feeding smaller amounts more often is best, and try to mix it up as well. Instead of feeding different things, though, I've prepared a meaty mash that contains lots of different things, including pellets, spirulina flakes, garlic, soaked nori and phyto. Fish love it.

[Reeferz412]

hmmm maybe I should start mixing and mashing foods together, thing is, I am currently working full and attending school full time. So I feed in the mornings and I manage to be home for some time and then leave for school so I will be feeding again, so I cannot be feeding 3-5 times a day and I would rather not have someone else in the household feed my fish (I am the sole caretaker as it should be).

[Adam G]

If the fish are consuming everything, or nearly everything, you should be good. When I come downstairs for work at 6am the Anthias are up. I usually feed flakes or pellets in the morning because it is quick and easy. I get home about 4:30 and the first thing I do is feed a frozen cube. I then feed about 4 more feedings. I feed once an hour for the next 5 hours. I hand feed PE Mysis, Blood Worms, Emerald Entree, Pellets, and Flakes. Just a little at a time and make sure all is consumed.

All is good in my tank and I attribute it to weekly water changes and making sure each feeding is small and all is consumed,

[Crusty Old Shellback]

Originally Posted by zachfishman

Some of the fattest, healthiest, most colorful fish I've ever seen in a personal system were fed pellets twice a day (auto feeders), and then fed a multitude of frozen foods every evening that varied each day. This is in addition to daily nori the tangs received.

Here's my fat happy fish that are fed pellets once a day and a sheet of nori.

3 year old majestic


8 year old Naso


4 year old Moorish Idol

[MattinIdaho]

I like the look of a thick looking fish. Seem healthy and happy to me. I hate to go to someones house and see skinny fish.
I feed 3-4 times a day, variety of foods. My fish all have excellent color. Just feed small amounts.

[Mavrk]

I like feeding 2x a day only because I like the interaction. They forage around all day anyway, so I don't know if feeding more often really matters. I do feed a variety of food and give them a good amount to have nice thick fish. I am sure I could do the same feeding once a day even if it might be "better" to feed small amounts multiple times a day. I really don't think it makes a major difference. I might start feeding 3x a day and just feed less or feed veggies as a 3rd feeding.

[Reeferz412]

Ok, so I will try twice a day, see if anything is off parameters wise, and go from there. I will reduce the amount I feed in sittings but increase the amount of times I feed and see what happens. So diversify foods, increase my feedings, and test my water for any changes. Hopefully when I am done with classes I can start feed 3-4 times a day.

[Eric45]

If you're not using gfo, I predict you'll need it once you go to 2x per day.

[Andrew D]

Originally Posted by Reeferz412

hmmm maybe I should start mixing and mashing foods together, thing is, I am currently working full and attending school full time. So I feed in the mornings and I manage to be home for some time and then leave for school so I will be feeding again, so I cannot be feeding 3-5 times a day and I would rather not have someone else in the household feed my fish (I am the sole caretaker as it should be).

Don't know how to link to another thread but there is another current one where I describe the automatic food dispenser I have set up for my frozen food. It's not perfect, but it helps. There are lots of automatic dispenser out there depending on the type of food you feed. Also, although i feed about 4 times a day and quite heavily, my tank is algae free thanks to 2 remote DSB's and just a little bit of GFO. Am preparing for the day I need to start dosing vodka or vinegar.

[Reefin' Dude]

Originally Posted by Eric45

If you're not using gfo, I predict you'll need it once you go to 2x per day.

if exports equal imports, then GFO or any after the fact phosphate binders would not be needed. if these after the fact phosphate binders are needed, then tank setup/maintenance should be looked at to see why exports do not equal imports.

G~

[AquaReeferMan]

Wow, my fish get fed like 4 times a week. Been doing it that way for 10 years.