[bmshehan]

Originally Posted by mandarin11

Thank you nemo and wareagle. Bmshehan when I say feed flakes twice a day I mean in moderation. You said that there were flakes left over even after your fish were done eating. Obviously that is too much flake food for that one time. With the more tropical fish it is better to do smaller more frequent feedings (keeping in mind that we are talking about flake and not frozen). Predator fish are best with less frequent feedings.

I'm just telling you what it looks like from the situation I've seen presented to me. As to 'people who have been doing this a long time", I don't know where you draw the line at that.Nothing at all against people with lots of experience, as I always value experienced opinions. How many years do you have to be doing this to be qualified as the elite in reef keeping? Is there a certificate that states that 'you've been doing this a long time'. All I know is that I myself have been doing this for a while and when fed properly then twice a day flake feedings won't crash your tank. (One should also be providing proper water maintenance i.e.water changes in any case) I would not advise anything that I would not do with my own tank and in all the years I have been doing this I have not had a tank crash on me from that, nor has anyone that I have advised had their tank crash from that. Although I will once again reiterate for peace of mind that I am talking about flakes, not frozen, and only the proper feeding of said food.

I don't mean to be offensive as I know that since this is typed and not from the mouth it can be taken that way. I simply have seen this scenario too many times to ignore it. Two clowns, infrequent flake feedings, big one survives, little one dwindles away. Even if there is flake food left over the little guy can feel to unprotected to go near it for fear of the female retaliating. She doesn't actually have to nip him to scare him. I hope that you can see where I am coming from here. You may decide whatever you wish, but remember that you posted on this site to see what others think and this is something that I felt 100% confident in when I replied to it ( and still do stick by my decision). No matter what you feel is happening I wish you the best of luck with your clowns and hope that the little guy makes it.

Just a good ol fashion debate, no harm no foul. Just to clarify, when I said "food all over", it was a bad choice of words. There are some little peices left over that you can see when I turn the main PH back on, I worded it wrong, made it sound like a cup of food! I have no problem with your response, I did post on this site for a reason, and I like to hear everyone's opinion and choose which one makes the most sense to me. I was just debating. And as for the advice I received, yes, those people have certificates on the wall stating that I have listened to them and seen their tanks flourish, so therefore I declare them experienced reefkeepers that I will take advice from.

Kris- you were there when I bought the probe! I might try a pinch of your garlic to see if it helps, I will be feeding tomorrow.

Everyone else- The clown is doing a little better. I can't believe he is still alive, I would have put good money down when I posted this that he would be at Columbus Wastewater Management by now! The only things I notice from him are that he has lost some color and he has had a big (for lack of better word) "turd string" hanging from him for a week or 2 now. He scared me once and he pulled through, maybe he will do the same this time. He was very ill when I got him as Kris stated.