When Is The Best Time To Feeed?

[pigman723]

I was wondering when should i start feeding>?and should i feed 3 times a day?

 

[bang guy]

What are you feeding? Dusk is usually the most appropriate feeding time.

 

[cymbal67]

i feed mine once a day when i get home from work, 3 times a day seems a bit much...overfeeding can cause high trite and trate levels, i wouldnt feed them that much. i have 8 fish and i crush up 12 to 14 flakes and put that in once a day. and every so often a cube of rotifers.

 

[bang guy]

I agree that overfeeding is a terrible thing to do to a salt tank but more frequent feeding doesn't mean he's feeding more food.
Flake food is also a terrible thing to do to a salt tank IMO

 

[1journeyman]

I tend to feed throughout the day, but Bang's right; Don't overfeed.

 

[hatessushi]

IMO flake is fine as long as it is soaked first since there shouldn't be any air in it, bad for the fish.
I feed in the middle to the end of the day when the day dwellers are most active.

 

[bang guy]

The flake food is fine from the fish's perspective but from a water quality perspective it's a disaster. Try an experiment with a gallon of water and add a pinch of flaked food. After 5 seconds take a water sample and test it for Phosphate.
I'm sure quality amongst flaked food manufacturers differs a lot from brand to brand but when I tried this experiment the Phosphate was off the scale of my test kit.

 

[xdave]

You should only give what they can finish in less than 3 minutes. This is more important than how many times a day. The biological filtration is much more effective at breaking down fish waste than it is with rotting food. As any fisherman will tell you, dusk and dawn is when they feed in nature. There are different considerations with a closed system. You want the fish waste to enter the filtration when the lights are on, so IMO, don't feed them past 3 hours before lights out.

 

[skullmage]

I feed my tank in the morning and at night. I feed flakes but imo I like pelets better.

 

[1journeyman]

Xdave, I'm with ya on fishing, but...
I also dive, and I can tell you first hand that smaller reef fish eat every chance they get.

 

[skullmage]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Xdave, I'm with ya on fishing, but...
I also dive, and I can tell you first hand that smaller reef fish eat every chance they get.
Yea they do but I still like to feed them in the morning and night because I am never home through out the day.