the truth about feeding?

[chadman]

Originally Posted by Birdy
I only feed my tanks with lots of LR in them about 2-3times a week. Of course you have to take in mind what type of fish are in the tank, what their feeding requirements are and how much grazing they can do off the LR, if there is algae growth in the tank, I don't feed algae sheets, but if there is no algae growth in the tank then I feed the sheets,
Generally though most fish do not need to be fed everyday and eventually all that waste (as in the more you eat the more you poop) will build up in the aquarium, feed less=less waste.

if you feed your fish only a few times a week does that mean u feed them a lot at those times?

 

[chadman]

but yeah yesturday i took the hammer and chizzle to that 17lb rock!

 

[jerth6932]

Cuting back is cool.... some people can get away with less and more feedings.... all reccomendations..... But if you feed less often then you want to feed a little more... to make up... but still with in the eat it all in 5 min theory!
I am glad that you showed the rock who's boss... did you get some nice frags off of it? I hope so... I hope you didn't just waste it!!!
But I am off to the LFS to have them tell me some lies......

....... going to get Joes juice! Have a good one all.........
and "I'll be back"

(I only wish i was that buff)

 

[chadman]

haha goin to get some juice eh....pumpin some iron...haha...it'll be a swf.com secret....later man!

 

[birdy]

I feed as much as the fish will eat in about 2 minutes. Most people seriously overfeed their fish. There are tons of things on the LR for the fish to feed off of, it is not like they are not eating if you do not feed them, in fact they are using natural skills if you do not feed them everyday, you are keeping your LR cleaner and you are reducing waste in your aquarium.

 

[nofish4u!!]

Yah, I do two SMALL feedings a day. I am really careful about not having any excess food in the tank; have to be or it could result in a mess! LOL about the "hater". You should get her more involved in your tank addiction!

 

[jerth6932]

I am working on her.... I got her some pink Zoo's from the lfs today .... She loves them, I will be takning pix of my tank tomorrow, Yeah BABY!!! I am excited!!!

(Did I mention I am a nerd too.....

)
Ohh yeah roids are definatly a swf secreat!!!

Joes Juice....... is stuff to get rid of astepia.... spelled wrong but you get the point!!! I have a bunch of them, and they are all around my toadstool leather coral..... and he is lookin a bit rough.....

 

[cowfishrule]

wow
i only feed my fish 1x a week.
occasionally, i will feed them a 2nd time.

 

[olga]

Originally Posted by Birdy
I feed as much as the fish will eat in about 2 minutes. Most people seriously overfeed their fish. There are tons of things on the LR for the fish to feed off of, it is not like they are not eating if you do not feed them, in fact they are using natural skills if you do not feed them everyday, you are keeping your LR cleaner and you are reducing waste in your aquarium.
Thats true, Birdy! But that is providing the tank is mature, and LR and various macroargonisms growth is there. But if its not: surely every newbie start to get paranoind that the fish and inverts does not have enough nutrition and begin to starve eventually.
I was feeding my fish once a week, when I had a problem with my cloudy water, and I felt so guilty about it. Ok, they all survived, and very healthy now (so far), but it was not easy!

 

[birdy]

that is why I said this in my first statement:
Of course you have to take in mind what type of fish are in the tank, what their feeding requirements are and how much grazing they can do off the LR,

 

[ruaround]

do all fish eat everyday in the wild??? at their captors/breeders?? or at the wholesalers???or even at the LFS??? I think Birdy is spot on!!! under feeding is easier to correct than over feeding...

 

[olga]

Ok, Birdy and Ruaround?
For how long do you think you can leave your tank if you go away for a few weeks, providing I will leave my neighbour few buckets RO water to top up the tank every other day or so after evoparation, but not actually asking him to feed fish. How long time is "reasonable" not to feed fish?

 

[chadman]

i dunno what to do...my fish eat every piece of food i put in there in less than a minute...i cannot imagine only eating once a week....

 

[ruaround]

Originally Posted by Olga
Ok, Birdy and Ruaround?
For how long do you think you can leave your tank if you go away for a few weeks, providing I will leave my neighbour few buckets RO water to top up the tank every other day or so after evoparation, but not actually asking him to feed fish. How long time is "reasonable" not to feed fish?
well that depends on the fish and their diet... fish are scanegers, grazers or hunters plain and simple!!! it is hard to compare a fish that is in the wild and a fish that is captive, but insticts/tendencies do dominate... therefore it would be "reasonable" to not feed a hunter for weeks, and feed a scavenger daily... provided the scavenger doenst have algae to snack on...and there isnt fish in the tank for the hunter to hunt...

 

[chadman]

i have:
2 damsels
2 clowns
2black and white striped guys
10 hermits
4 turbos
1 cleaner shrimp
any recomendations on feeding these guys?

 

[jerth6932]

Originally Posted by chadman
i have:
2 damsels
2 clowns
2black and white striped guys
10 hermits
4 turbos
1 cleaner shrimp
any recomendations on feeding these guys?
Like I said above.... everyone will have thier own things that they follow.... and every one will stick to their guns! I feed every other day.... and IT WORKS FOR ME, you feed 3 times a day it works for you..... then people above feed once a week ... it works for them.... DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU, IF YOU SEE A PROBLEM WITH IT THEN CHANGE! There is no set "this is the way to feed your fish" guideline..... SO DO WHAT WORKS FOR YOU!!!!!

 

[birdy]

Very True Jer-
I just find a lot of people end up with high nitrates and you can usually follow that back to feeding, if your tank looks fantastic and you are not having any problems then you can feed as much as you want, it all depends on the individual tank and fish.
Generally community fish that are omnivores will have plenty to graze off of the LR (as long as you have some algae growth and plenty of pods and shrimp living in the tank) for a couple weeks without starving to death.
When going out of town I usually have my housesitter feed once or twice a week, and I give a specific amount of food to feed.

 

[saltwater8]

Originally Posted by ruaround
do all fish eat everyday in the wild??? at their captors/breeders?? or at the wholesalers???or even at the LFS??? I think Birdy is spot on!!! under feeding is easier to correct than over feeding...
LMAO, easy for you to say, you aren't the fish!
:hilarious

 

[ruaround]

Originally Posted by Saltwater8
LMAO, easy for you to say, you aren't the fish!
:hilarious
it is pretty easy to say... perhaps you should do some research... I am not in any way saying that fish need to b starved... they dont need to be fed as often as alot of beggining aquarists think... and under feeding is easier to remedy than over feeding... dont really see the humor there...