Feeding Schedule?

[jpc763]

All,
I use the PocketExpert Guide called Marine Fishes. You can buy it on this site. It is considered a great guide for marine aquarists
So reading it, for each fish, it gives a recommended feeding schedule. I believe that every fish has a schedule from 1x per day to several times per day. Some say 2+ times per day, etc.
Now, I have been reading around about Algae problems (as I have a lot of algae) and one of the recommendations that shows up time and again is to NOT OVERFEED. When asked for clarification I have come to the conclusion that they should be feed once every 1-3 days depending on how much food.
So what is it? Multiple times per day or once every multiple days?

 

[yogoshio]

I would say no more than once a day. If you have algae problems, and your fish are healthy and happy, feeding them once a day is a good start. It is actually good for a fish to go without food for a day or two-it makes them healthier as they are not alwaysy likely to find food every day in the ocean. I have five fish, two are large, and I feed 5 out of seven days a week, and they all do just fine.

 

[earlybird]

yep I feed every other day with no problems. Reef keeping is not an exact science. I could write a book but that doesn't mean I'm a professional. Some over feed but do more frequent water changes so it doesn't become a problem.

 

[m0nk]

I personally was feeding my clowns twice a day in the 12 gallon that they started out in but once I setup a 55 gallon, added a couple fish, and put the clowns in there I started getting tons of bad algea growth. Since then I've scaled back twice; first to once a day, now I'm down to every other day. All the fish seem to graze on algea and look for copepods to feed on now, which keeps them happy on the "off" days.
Hope that helps.

 

[jpc763]

All this stuff helps a ton! Keep it coming? Let me know how you feed and how much you feed!
J

 

[dina12]

Well - I am the odd ball....my tanks get fed 3 times a day and my Porc. Puffer eats up to 5 times a day.
Although - everytime I look at them - they act like they haven't eaten in 3 months...

 

[stanlalee]

what you can and want to get away with depends on what type of fish and size of tank. I have four anthias so feeding twice a day is pretty much standard protocol. I have a clown in a nano that only gets fed once every other day. thats all the fish requires and probably all the tank can manage.

 

[jpc763]

So I have a 55g tank. Below are the fish and what the book says...
Firefish - 1x per day
Sixline - 1x per day
Perc Clown - 2x per day
Clown Goby - 2x per day
So I was feeding 1/4 of block of frozen in the morning and 1/4 block of frozen in the evening. My nitrates are zero, but my algae is growing like crazy.
I have gone to 1/4 block of frozen every other day (as of 2 days ago) and they look at me like I am starving them every time I walk by the tank!

More input

 

[reefkprz]

Honestly I feed 4 to 6 times daily, not the reccomended route, I do still have slight signs of cyanno, BUT I am ok with that as everything is fat happy and once the darn cleaner clams stop dying off (my own fault SG spiked to 1.034) and finish rotting I am hoping it will go away.....

 

[v-lioness]

So I was feeding 1/4 of block of frozen in the morning and 1/4 block of frozen in the evening.
Maybe take a look at this part, Do you thaw the food and put it in your tank along with the water you used to thaw the food? or Do you thaw, strain than rinse the food before feeding?
I thaw, strain than rinse, I don't add the water that I thawed the food in, I use a small plastic strainer to drain and rinse before feeding.
Kaye

 

[jpc763]

I take a quarter block and put it in a small cup of tank water. When it is thawed, I pour it in. I do not rinse. Why do you rinse it?

 

[earlybird]

Originally Posted by jpc763
I take a quarter block and put it in a small cup of tank water. When it is thawed, I pour it in. I do not rinse. Why do you rinse it?
Rinsing is supposed to reduce phosphates though I don't understand how?

 

[m0nk]

If you keep coral and inverts you probably shouldn't strain your frozen food. There are plankton varieties in most that are beneficial to reef tanks and straining them will be removing the food for those inhabitants. I would suggest doing 1/4 block of frozen emerald entree and perhaps a little frozen cyclop-eeze mixed in every other day until your algea is under control. The fish you have will graze on the live rock algea and copepods if they get really hungry. Then you could try and scale up the feeding slightly, perhaps adding a few small flakes in the off days. Imo, the biggest causes of unwanted algea growth is overfeeding. Not only do excess nutrients end up in the water because of the food, but there's the detritus to think about; the more fish eat the more they expel.

 

[jpc763]

Thanks. The frozen food that I have is Emerald Entree; Marine Cuisine & Mysis Shrimp. I rotate the 3 with a quarter block per feeding. 1 feeding every other day.
Should I combine 2 of them each feeding?

 

[earlybird]

Nah I think that you are rotating them perfectly. If anything you can make some food or get a few more different foods to rotate in as well.

 

[m0nk]

I agree, that's a great variation.

 

[jpc763]

Thanks all. I am going to pull my 3 top live rock pieces out this weekend and do some gardening on them (in a rubbermaid container with saltwater of course). I will vaccuum my substrait and hopefully this new feeding plan will keep my algae in check.