Over feeding

[leopard_babe]

i have a p. puffer that i got about a week ago. yesterday ws the first day that he desided to eat. He is a PIG. Whatever I put inn the tank he eats. Can you over feed a fish. I fiured th was possible. I gave him 2 pices of krill this morning and 2 tonight. He also ate this clam looking thing. I figured that was way to much. So how much should I normally feed him? How any times??
thanks
Leopard

 

[marine fanatic]

They claim that fish do not have the "full" feeling and will always eat so you can definitely feed too much. Maybe try the "as much as they will eat in 5 minutes" approach? I feed my fish 3 times a day and mix up the diet but always feed enough for 5 minutes and that is it. Plus if you overfeed and think they are eating it all...small particles will always fall to the bottom and if not eaten, can spike your tank I think.
hth

 

[iluvfish]

I know that if you feed a puffer too much - he will overeat, puff up and die! The LFS had one and this lady came in and started giving it feeder fish - ended up dying because they can't stop eating.
I used to have one before I went to reef, I would feed him about 1 krill twice a day or 2 - 3 rosies. He did fine with that.
Good luck!

 

[leopard_babe]

Thanks for the info. Perhaps I will just give him 2 krill in the morning. I wouldn't want him topuff and die.

 

[iluvfish]

The other thing mine liked was cocktail shrimp from the grocery store. Maybe if you do 2 krill in the AM and then something else in the PM. Just not too much at once. Because they are hungry fellows

 

[dreeves]

When fish eat..they generate internal heat...they have no means to store the food...yes you can overfeed fish..and many do.

 

[irenicus]

I feed my Puffers, Eel, and Lion once a day sometimes as much as they can eat? Is anyone 100% positive that a fish can die from over eating. Because my fish will become full and swim away from the full. I have a hard time believing a fish would eat and eat and eat until is bursts or dies. Could someone cite where they got this information from? If it's true, I need to revamp my feeding procedures.

 

[leopard_babe]

I feed mine 2 krill in the morning, and I have been giving him some sort of shell fish. he eats that at night. It seems to be working out ok. I don't have any nitrates, so he must be eating it all.
thanks

 

[lifefreak0007]

Fish kinda get in a habit that you make for them if you feed them all the time then they will eat all the time if you set a time or times then they will start to pick up on it and start to wait for the food....

 

[leopard_babe]

My puffer does that now. When I come home at 2, he spits at me to feed him. Then I feed him at night. He circles the top of the Qt waiting. When can I add the p. puffer to the main tank? What else could I put with a puffer? Just a few friends for him to swim around with. I don't want anything big, just some fish for him to swim around with.
Leopard

 

[beaslbob]

Yes you can overfeed fish. In fact I have heard it stated the most fish in home aquariums are lost due to over feeding. But that may be more for freshwater fish.
By contrast when I leave on vacation for a week, I just leave. No fish have ever died from not being feed for a week.
I have no experience with puffers, but you might want to watch your tank parameters If you are feeding heavily. Especially nitrItes. If they bump up then cut down on the feeding. Again perhaps experience puffer people can verify but I though puffers had large mouths. Large mouths and small fish are not a good idea IMO.

 

[leopard_babe]

that is true about the large mouth. I mean what kind of fish can go in with the puffer that will not be consumed, but will become very large. I want the puffer to be the "eye catcher of the tank."
I only give the puffer 3 krill a day. He eats all of it. After eating he sleeps. I don' think that I am over feeding. I have no nitrates.

 

[iluvfish]

What else could I put with a puffer? Just a few friends for him to swim around with .

I had a grouper, a fairly big clown fish and a snowflake eel with mine. Also had a damsel or two, I think. And some anemones.

 

[torrancejones]

Irenicus,
I bought a book called "The New Marine Aquarium". It seems like its a pretty knowledgable resource (aside from the authors rule about overstocking a tank, he suggests the 1-inch of fish for every 2 gallon rule).
The book says that overfeeding can:
1). Cause declination of water quality
2). Cause excess wear on the water filtration system
3). Growth of nuisance algae
4). The author doesnt say exactly what overfeeding can do to a fish, just says that its unhealthy. His reasoning is that Marine fish in their natural habitat roam the reef throughout the day eating what they can scavenge/hunt. Binge feeding goes against their natural feeding process and instincts.
PS. Plus my mom always tells me that skipping breakfast is a bad idea... Though I havent asked her if this holds true for fish. I suggest that you ask your mom for the definitive answer.
-- Tor

 

[bededog]

I have two tiger muskie in a fresh water tank and there is no doubt that fish will eat in a tank until they explode. Mine haven't exploded, but I had a guy feed my fish for me one time and he said he kept putting feeders in until they stopped eating. Now that was a sorry thing to see. Two muskie that had more of a puffer shape.

 

[dreeves]

Tiger Muskies are cool...aren't they a cross between a Northen Pike and a Muskie?

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by Irenicus
I feed my Puffers, Eel, and Lion once a day sometimes as much as they can eat? Is anyone 100% positive that a fish can die from over eating. Because my fish will become full and swim away from the full. I have a hard time believing a fish would eat and eat and eat until is bursts or dies. Could someone cite where they got this information from? If it's true, I need to revamp my feeding procedures.
It is not so much that fish will eat until they physically burst, as that the increased bioload from eaten and especially uneaten food will over run the tanks capacity to process that waste. by contrast less feeding will cause the fish to scavange the tank looking for uneated food.
When I go on vacation for up to two weeks I do nothing with the tanks. I do that 1-2 twice a years and have never lost a fish in an established tank. And have only lost ~3-5 % in tanks still cycling with brand new fish.

 

[irenicus]

Sorry... Been awhile since i last visited this post. I remove all uneaten food from the tank when the fish are done. I think i'm going to put the little guys on a diet, just to be on the safe side. I just want them to grow fast and be healthy.

 

[torrancejones]

Irenicus
You say you have a puffer, dwarf and an eel (really cool combo by the way). I have a question for you: how do you keep your tank free of algae and waste products? From what I have been reading, cleanup crews would also double nicely as a snack for your particular fish combination?
-- Tor

 

[squidd]

I read a couple people say they feed Two and Three Krill a day??
How big are these fish??
My PV Lion will eat Twenty Krill in 5 min along with Three or Four "salad" sized Shrimp and a couple Squid chunks for desert!!
And all that does is "bulge" his stomach a little...He swims away hungry...actually he "hangs around" looking for more, then he swims away...
I think the only "danger" from overfeeding is what Torrance Jones and Beasle Bob were referring to...that is the "increased bio load" on the tank...
That with continued excessive feeding...(excess waste and food not eaten/cleaned up)....can overload the "biological" capacity of the tank (same as having too many fish) causing a decline in water quality and resultant death of fish.
In the wild food is a luxury...it doesn't "show up" at regularly scheduled times...and Binge feeding IS the norm...they never know when the next meal will swim by.