Frozen or Live

[lion_crazz]

Kent Zoe is a liquid feeding supplement that you apply to your food overnight in order to it to able to soak into it. For frozen, you can just apply it 10 to 15 minutes before you put it into the tank. Zoe is a heavy spirulina (algae) formula food supplement that provides fish and inverts with "bio available vitamins, amino acids, and minerals" that are not available in frozen or live food.
For longterm healthiness of your fish, feeding live feeder fish is not an option. If you invest the money into your tank, and put the right specimen into the right enviroment, there is no reason they should not live for years.

 

[rsaylor78]

Thanks Lion. From the sounds of it I have many more days ahead of me of research. Thank God I don't have to make a desicion untill the end of January (if my water is ready).
From what it sounds like for the overall long term healthyness of my fish then I need to go frozen with Kent Zoe applied. Is that correct?

 

[lion_crazz]

Yes, that is the route that I prefer. However, using the Kent Zoe, black worms and brine shrimp are also a good variation in your tank's diet because they will have the added nutrition from the Zoe.

 

[rsaylor78]

Just to beat a dead horse, what about a feeder guppy now and then. I used to love to see the grouper take 3 at a time while chasing the fourth. Don't worry I won't do that. I'll just have to find something else for them to chase.

 

[lion_crazz]

Not as bad, every once in a while. Their fatty content is a lot lower. Again though, if you are going to give him a treat of 5 guppies one day, put them in a small 2.5 gallon holding tank overnight, feed the 2.5 gallon with 3 or 4 drops of the Zoe, and then the next day you have a much more nutritional food source becasue you are feeding the feeder with nutrition.

 

[boneschapl]

First off I never liked the idea of the Naso Tang. I would suggest going with a smaller tang like a chevron, sailfin or kole eye tang. That having been said. Niger Triggers and Lionfish get along fine. Go into any of the LFS and you will find that most of the tanks that house lionfish may also have a trigger with them. Third the bio load you are talking about is HUGE. I know I did it for 4 years. The trick to sustaining this was massive filtering. I had enough filtration to cover most peoples 180 gallon tank. This tank was diliberately overcrowded. At it's conception. (after cycling and time elapsed between adding tank mates) It housed 1 Niger Trigger, 1 Panther Grouper, 1 Black Voliton Lion, 2 snowflake eels, and a yellow tang. When the tank was finally shut down and turned into a reef tank(4 years later) It was home to The same Niger Trigger, The same Panther grouper, THe same Lionfish, The same 2 Snowflake eels, and different grouper. I actually got more back in instore credit then I spent on buying the fish in the first place. When I saw them added to the display tanks at the LFS I realized my fish were a far superior quality in size and color and health then anything they had for sale at the time. Fourth I varried the diet of these fish. I had a 29 gallon aquarium that was bare of decor or gravel. I filled it with mollies, platties, guppies, goldfish, ghost shrimp, and anything else the LFS would sell in bulk. This tank was essentially death row. Fifth, Kent marine is HORRIBLE! The marine biologist who runs the LFS next to your house will agree with this statement and can give you a GIANT list of reasons why? What sense does it make to add a suppliment to a live fish 24 hours before it's death. Anyone who has fought off an aquarium illness can tell you that 24 hrs will change a fishes diety habits and therefore the nutritional value of that fish by Nothing. That's just simple science and biology. Adding this to feeder guppies or anything else alive is a pleseboe. Finally if you decide these fish have outgrow your tank or simply that you want to switch to a reef tank. ALL of your LFS will take your fish. I know I've talked to them. The joy of living in Dallas.

 

[lion_crazz]

I don't know why you posted all that. Everything you said was already said above.
However, the one reason why I am posting something in conflict with your post is the comment about Kent Marine. I, along with many others, find Kent Marine to be a very good product. Where do have any evidence that the products they produce do not give good results? And what marine biologist do you know that runs a local fish store?
Also, it is not simple science that you cannot make the feeder fish a little more nutirious. That is why they sell those products. It does alter what is going inside the fish's stomach. And where are you coming from sounding like you know everything? You used to feed your fish goldfish you said! That is the easiest way to kill a marine fish because the fat content of a goldfish is 4 to 5 times what a marine fish consumes in the ocean. Thus, the fish develops fatty liver disease and dies. I know many people would agree with me on that feeding black worms and brine shrimp Kent Marine Zoe is a lot more healthy than feeding goldfish to your fish. That is simple fact.
Lastly, not all LFS will just take back fish! If you were to go to a local fish store with a 16" panther grouper and say that you did not want it and wanted store credit, there is a huge chance that they may say they cannot take it off of their hands. Then, at this point in time, you have two options. You can take the fish and buy it a bigger tank. Or, you can take it to ***** and make it miserable. Sounds like you would choose choice number two.

 

[boneschapl]

One person may be able to add a trigger to a reef tank that has for years only been eating frozen shrimp and such added to a fish only tank. The trigger despite his biological impulse to destroy your corals and marine invertabrits my simply wait for you to feed him frozen shrimp everyday. Would I say that triggers are reef safe? NO. It's considered pretty much a fact that triggers are not reef safe. Can it be done? It truly depends on the fish, the aquarium and how you keep them. What may work for some will not always work for others, simply because fish are living creatures and as such their habits will varry from one to another even within their own species. I've successfully kept both fish only tanks, and reef tanks for several years now. Would I consider myself and expert? Never. I would say I'm very much still a beginner. And I would be warry of anyone who claims to know all this information as A FACT. If you'll remember signing on to this site you will have noticed a disclaimer that said to take as much advice as you can and go with the popular opinion. I've warned my friend that what I did may not work for him. I posted to clarify for other readers some disinformation my friend and Crazz-lion posted about the way my tank was kept. At no point was any one food source given to this tank of inhabitants. It was also not mentioned the lengths to which this tank was filtered. Both (I can only assume) were responsible for my success. I would also like to clarify that when I returned this fish to the LFS I didn't demand instore credit. It was offered. I would have simply given these fish to this store because it was one of the best in the Dallas area. I also like, how it is assumed that I would do whatever I felt like with disregard to my fish. I paid close attention to my tank and it's inhabitants. If it appeared that they were unhealthy and malnurished I would have done anything in my power to rectify this situation. And finally, most *****'s are not the ultimate location to find your fish. However the one next to my house has gone to GREAT LENGTHS to find a fish guy who is very knowledgable and experienced. As a result often times some of their fish are of superior quality to that of an unmentioned saltwater specialty store, who on several occassions has raveged my tanks with disease. (My fish did not go to this *****. They were not open yet, and they do not have a means of housing fish this size.) Some of the worst information I've gotten on keeping saltwater fish and inverts has come from, you guessed it, THE FISH STORE. Research that's why your here. Pay attention to your LFS. Notice how their fish look. Become familiar to with some of the deseases of marine fish and how you can spot them. Check out ALL the tanks in a store when you buy your fish. If only one has a problem, wait till they have solved it before making your purchase. You may find at the exact same store that Bill is an idiot and Maria is a saltwater guru. Talk to them. Then only do business with Maria. Get to know the people who work at all your local fish stores. There is a lot of valuable information out there, and I learn everytime I go into the store. NEVER do business with anyone who makes you feel like an idiot or a fool, or says the same about anyone else. Not only in fish but with anything you do. Often times these people do not have your best intereset in mind. Go with people who appear genuine in their desire to want to help you and inform you. Kent marine is successful because they 1. Make SOME products that are DECENT. 2. They pay to get into every LFS. 3. have terrific marketing and name recognition. I've seen countless post on the internet of people who have polluted their tanks with Kent marine products, by simply following the instructions on the bottle. From research and talking to people I've found that most of the elements and such that you will want to add to your tank often are in superior quality offered by other vendors. This has only been what I have found and what has worked for me.