QT feeding/cleaning Q's

[garnet13aj]

So I just got two clownfish and they are doing just fine, but I still have some questions

. Since there is no cleanup crew do I need to do some cleaning and if so how? Also, my fish are very interested in eating but only so long as the food is floating, they aren't interested when it touches the ground, is this normal? Do I need clean up the food that they don't eat? If so, how long should I leave it to see if they eat it?
Thanks for the help,
BTW I'm feeding them some frozen formula suggested by my lfs as well as flakes and pellets. Today I tried mixing some garlic in, but it didn't make them any more interested if it fell to the ground and they are interested w/out the garlic when it's floating?
Also, how long should they be in QT before I transfer them to the DT?

 

[sly]

I have my best luck feeding frozen food to my clown fish. It doesn't really settle to the ground and so they eat all of it. They sort of like flakes but nowhere near as much as frozen food...
Since you have no clean up crew you will need to brush your rocks, etc. with a small brush periodically to remove any algae. Do regular water changes to keep the floating algae spores to a minimum. I have used garlic and haven't noticed much of a difference with or without it. How often do you feed? I only feed my clowns once per day and sometimes skip a day. They seem do do fine without a bunch of food.

 

[1journeyman]

I've found liquid "garlic extreme" by Kent works great with picky eaters... no reason to use it everyday though.
If you are having a lot of food settling onto the bottom try two things: 1. Feed slower... dump a bit of food into the tank over the course of the evening. 2. Get more circulation in your tank to keep the food moving in the water column.
A clean up crew will definitely help.
Bang Guy, an expert around here with Clownfish, has posted that his testing of flake food shows they can release a lot of phosphate into the water. You might want to cut flake from the diet of your fish.
Many great frozen mixes are out there. Just avoid feeding Brine shrimp too often as it isn't a nutritional food.

 

[garnet13aj]

The LFS said feed every other day, but I've been feeding frozen every other day and either pellets or flakes on the off day, but not as much just enough to give a little variety. But my frozen food doesn't float, it sinks so I'm not sure what that means.

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by garnet13aj
The LFS said feed every other day, but I've been feeding frozen every other day and either pellets or flakes on the off day, but not as much just enough to give a little variety. But my frozen food doesn't float, it sinks so I'm not sure what that means.
What size tank and how much water movement? Sounds like not enough. your water should be moving around enough to keep a piece of food in motion for a while.

 

[garnet13aj]

It's a 10 gallon and the only movement is from the water that pours back out of the filter, the book I was using didn't say anything about a powerhead for the QT, but it sounds like I need to add it to my shopping list.

 

[garnet13aj]

I was also wondering how long to leave new fish in QT before moving them to the DT.

 

[daninct]

I have never seen my clowns eat from the bottom and I had them a year. They eat pretty much everything I put in as long as it floats. Do you disolve or thaw your frozen food? I Mix it with warm tank water in a glass then dump it in. Try that.
If you have no cleaning crew test your water and do a water change if need be to keep your counts low.
I QT for about 4 weeks as I heard 3 to 4 weeks is a good number.

 

[garnet13aj]

I tried mixing the frozen food w/tank water today and it worked pretty well. So that's good

What do other people think about QT time? I only want to leave them in there as long as possible to ensure they don't have disease because it is small and boring compared to the DT.

 

[3m]

i would say 4 full weeks, better safe than sorry i always say.