Feeding

NOWICKI · 09-01-2002, 07:10 PM

Greetings,
I have a few feeding questions. I hope many can benefit

1. I'm curious about what you all are feeding your fish, inverts, and SPS?

2. Do many of you make your food mixes at home or buy them?

3. I only have 2 snails and 1 crab, finishing my cycle, should I be feeding hikari granules or something else?

4. What are your opinions on feeding times and schedules?

5. Last but not least, what are some of your personal proven, tested, and successful methods of feeding?

Thanks for all your ideas, opinions, and experience! :thumbsup2:

karlas · 09-02-2002, 03:13 AM

Quote:

I'm curious about what you all are feeding your fish, inverts, and SPS?

i feed a mix of foods it helps with the diet and health of your fish. i usually feed flake, small pellet, frozen brine (soaked vitamins, or garlic). as treats i add clam, dried nori, and alge disc. most of the fish eat the clam where the tang and lawnmower eat the nori and disc. as far as the inverts crab, shrimp, nass snails they eat the leftover food on the bottom.

Quote:

Do many of you make your food mixes at home or buy them?

i never got into mixes but maby i should. if you decide to make your own i have seen many recipes on the internet, also for corals if you have the Aquarium Corals book by eric borneman there are recipies for corals in the book

Quote:

I only have 2 snails and 1 crab, finishing my cycle, should I be feeding hikari granules or something else?

they will eat the hikari the crabs are opertunist and will eat about any food put in the tank so i wouldnt be to worried about what to feed him

Quote:

What are your opinions on feeding times and schedules?

trying to get your fish on a feeding schedule would be a good thing they learn what time it is to eat. a lot of my fish hide but when it comes time to eat they all come out and go to there sides of the tank.

Quote:

Last but not least, what are some of your personal proven, tested, and successful methods of feeding?

for the dried nori i use a plastic alge clip and always put it in the same spot. the lawnmower and tang actually fight over it. when i feed brine shrimp i have to use a turkey baster and feed on opposite sides of the tank. the faster aggressive feeders hang out on the right side so i feed them first. when they are busy at that i feed on the left side where the slower fish are like the bangaii, firefish, and scooter. this is when i put alge disc in for the lawnmower because my tang is a total hog and when hes busy with the food on the right i throw it in and the lm gets his share first. also when they see the baster they go right into there feeding spots sort of like everybody knows where to go

NOWICKI · 09-02-2002, 04:54 AM

Thanks Karlas, I love to hear the fun quirks of your fish

It sounds like the feeding times can be quite entertaining. Very fun :thumbsup:

Also, I forgot one of the questions I wanted to know.

6. What are your average costs involved, say on a monthly basis, for the various food you serve?

Thanks,

Matt Rogers · 09-02-2002, 09:08 AM

Fish - Formula 1 and Formula 2 - alternating. Sometimes brine and lettuce. Some of this would make its way indirectly to the corals and my clown would give some to my anemone. Food was cheap and lasted a long time.

Corals - Just supplements - Iodine, Strontium, Molybelium (misspelled) and kalkwasser. Next round, probably just kalk, not sure. Got spooked by some salt mix threads going around.

Proven methods? I don't feed very often, 2 - 4 times a week, sometimes less. (and this goes for what i have now too) And I never fed more than once a day. I am into the nutrient poor thing. There was so much on my rocks I didn't worry about it, and I tried to buy fish that could live off that stuff and the algae.

hth

karlas · 09-02-2002, 10:57 PM

i never thought about it i dont think its that much with switching foods they last longer like the pellet and flake. the expensive part is the vitamins its 10$ a bottle but it lasts a long time also. as far as the alge disc and nori its 2-3 bucks. the dried nori comes in a bag in several sheets where you just tear off pieces and i usually break up a disc or 2 so they last forverver also. i had to break them up cause the shrimp would grab a whole disc then the lm would take it away from him it kept ending up in a tug o war. for the brine i like the cubes 5$ a sleeve there are 24 in it but the cubes are a little much and leave a lot of leftovers so i break them in half and get 48 out of it.