Feeding assistance definitely needed, please!

[heithingi]

Hello everyone,
How on earth do you all feed your aggressive fish and get them all fed?? I am literally perplexed today. I fed four cubes of mysid shrimp, PLUS some squid, PLUS some flakes, and I think the only fish that got to really eat were the damsels and the niger!! The wrasse got a few bites, the betta about two bites, and the eel, although he was going nuts, swimming all over the place, seriously doubt he got even one bite. I fed on both sides of the tank, but the betta and eel are apparently to timid to come to the top of the tank, whereas the niger and damsels go crazy up there. The wrasse and the niger had a tiff, and the betta ended up with a bite out of his tail, we think from the eel. How is this done right? Also, how much SHOULD I be feeding these guys? They are eating everything I am putting in the tank.
One last question...anyone ever try cowries in an aggressive? They are very big, hard shells...just curious. Have about four in my other tanks. Thanks to all!
Lynda

 

[dgs174]

you could get a feeding stick for your eel, but didn't you just put him in? It will take a while for him to eat, they can go up to 2 weeks without eating, however I feed mine daily.
just a suggestion

 

[heithingi]

Hi dgs174,
I have one on order, as well as some aquarium tongs. My tank is 30 inches deep, and could not find anything that long around here. Of course, it dawned on me that I could probably MAKE one. Duh. The niger and wrasse, though, get really aggressive over the food...they go right down to the eel's "house" and eat all of his food. Wouldn't they just steal food off the stick, too?
Lynda

 

[dgs174]

not if you sort of swing it at them! if you are aggressive to them they may not want the food because they will feel threatened by the black plastic stick. It may be "mean" but you won't be hurting them, just intimidating them. Besides the eel has to eat somehow, right?
Think of the stick as an extension of your hand, hopefully when your hand is in the tank the other fish don't try to bit you because you are waving it at them of pushing water in their direction. Good luck!

 

[saltwater marauder]

Heres what I did. find a place like taps plastics that deal in custom acrylics and such for all types of applications. Tell them you need a 24 inch piece of acrylic that is the same shape and width as a kabob skewer but get it so it's not pointed on the ends. Then, when you get home sort of file down one end to a soft point so you can stab food or skewer food with it and viola! instant feeder stick for about .35. Its not as bulky as what you are getting and its clear so the fish dont even see it in the water, just the food attached to the end and its flimbsy so the food will still wave in the current so as to entice the fish.

 

[heithingi]

Hi all,
Thanks to everyone for the responses! We got the eel to eat today, about a 1/4 cube of mysid shrimp PLUS two silverbacks. WOW!
I still do not really understand how much to feed the entire tank, plus how to get all the fish fed properly. The damsels, wrasse, and trigger need no help, but the betta is still too timid to get what he needs. Maybe try a feeding stick with him, too?
Thanks again!
Lynda

 

[pufferlover]

What I did for my 45 tank eel was take a rigid piece on plastic tube used for undergravel filters and then take a regular 2 dollar feeding stick took the rubber end off and rest fit right into the center of the tube and now I have about a 30" feeding stick. Had saved some of the tubing from when I had UG filters (not anymore) for my freshwater tanks.

 

[heithingi]

Pufferlover,
Now, that is an idea! I got in my feeding stick yesterday, and hubby and I said...now what are we to do with THAT tiny thing?? Lot of good it does to still have to stand on a chair and have your arm halfway in the tank using a feeding stick with the niger hovering next to your hand and avidly eyeballing it. LOL Today, we used some heavy duty fencing wire (ya know us horse farmers) and shaped it into a very long feeding stick. Worked great!
Lynda

 

[saltwater marauder]

Gotta watch what you put in your tank, it is my understanding that the only safe metal for a tank is Titanium, so I would use discretion with that heavy duty fencing wire.

 

[heithingi]

Hi Saltwater Marauder,
Really? I thought it was to not use nickel or copper. Anyway, this wire is stainless steel and it is temporary until we can rig something like what Pufferlover described.
Thanks!
Lynda

 

[skirk]

It's simple. You have a tank set-up that will always be a task in feeding all the fish a fair amount. Whenever you have a trigger (and some damsels) in a tank with slower eaters then the trick is to get the others there food. This is one of the reasons why some of us change our tanks around as we learn. Perhaps in time your eel will learn to come to the top and you can just hold the feeder stick right on top of the water or just above it and he will come out and eat. This is what my eel acclimated to doing. He'd stick his head out of the water about a half inch above the water where the food would be waiting, and then he would take it. I'd just stick it in the water so he could smell it and then take it out and wait for him to come. Good luck.

 

[coconuttelegraph]

Heithingi,
I'm going to have to agree with SaltwaterMarauder on this one. Stainless Steel is usually composed with most of these elements in varying quantities
Carbon
Manganese
Silicon
Chromium
Nickel
Vanadium
Molybdemum
Cobalt
Sulfur
Some of these are harmless, but as you can see, There are several here that you don't want in your tank. As you know, saltwater is highly corrosive, and it wont take long to break the steel down, and have unwanted elements in your aquarium. However in a FO system, the effects of these isn't as great as they would be in a reef.

 

[heithingi]

Hi,
Not a problem at all. We only did this once, to get our eel to begin eating. We have already been working out another feeding stick long enough for the tank, out of plexiglass.
Lynda