How much food is too much?

[arandacole]

I have heard that you should give the fish enough food that they finish it in 2-5 min. I'm not sure if I could feed them enough to finish it. They are pigs.
I have a huge Maroon Clown, a large yellow tang and 4 small fish. I either feed a combo of Formula 1 and 2 or frozen brine shrimp.
How much is enough?
Our levels are high (Nitrate and Phosphate) so I'm cut way back on my feeding.
Is it a 1/4 teaspoon? A tablespoon? I have no clue.
TIA!
Love,
A

 

[laddy]

Its usually too much when you get elevated nitrates after you have cycled your tank. Rarely do fish die from a lack of food, most of the time it's because of a surplus of food (i.e. breaking down without the adequate support of mechanical and biological filtration). There's not a specific feeding amount anyone could give you b/c each tank is like a snowflake--never the same. I can only tell you how I feed my tanks--a good rule of thumb I use is two good mouthfuls of flake per fish per day. When I feed frozen mysis I normally cut it in thirds per tank. You just have to experiment with the amount of food, but remember you're not going to under feed them if you feed them daily.

 

[bang guy]

let's just say that your fish should be REALLY happy to see you everyday.

 

[nimo1969]

should you feed every day or every other day ?

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by nimo1969
should you feed every day or every other day ?
That question is impossible to answer because it depends on the species of fish. Anthias should be fed 3 or 4 times a day for example while a Rockfish once or twice a week.