What should I feed my clownfish?

[mannyp1313]

Hi all,

 

What do you feed your clownfish? I cant seem to find info on this so I don't know if I should feed it herbivore, carnivor or omnivore pellets, or frozen food. Suggestions?

[Kellie in CA]

I mix it up with my clownfish...pellets, frozen mysis, zooplankton. They will eat just about anything.

[ubigbobby]

I hear they like this stuff

 

[HankB]

Ours really like the ORA Color Pellets. They also get Formula One flakes, though they weren't that crazy about them at first. But when they hadn't eaten in a day or two, the flakes were good enough.

 

We also feed mysis and they don't seem too crazy about them which surprises me.

 

I have no idea if this is what you should feed them, however.

 

-hank

[davidr2340]

Mine will eat any damn thing I put in the tank... But I prefer to give them ORA Glow... I've heard great thing about Rod's as well!

Just mix it up, and they will be happy IMO!

[ubigbobby]

Clowns will usually eat anything. You best bet is to normally feed a complete balanced feed like ORA Glow, Formula 1 or 2, Omega 1, etc. To keep things interesting you can supplement with mysis, brine, krill every few days to once a week to even less. They will happily survive on a quality pellet or flake alone, but it is suggested that feeding something other than the normal fare every so often can help bring out the best coloration.

 

Personally I use ORA Glow Pellets, Omega 1 with garlic flakes and pellets, and occasional frozen Formula 1. I like to keep it varried but that may be as much for my piece of mind as it is for the fishes well-being.

 

A good practice that is in no way required is to at least occasionally feed a food that has garlic in it, or soak it in garlic beforhand. Garlic is supposedly good at bolstering a fish's immune system making it less prone to disease and helps it fight one off if it contracts something. As I said I feed Omega One which is infused with garlic already. Whether it is true or not, I credit it with helping my Yellow Tail Damsel, a Clown, and a Coral Beauty beat outbreaks of Ich. When I noticed the ich I feed the garlic enriched food exclusively 2 times a day for a week and the ich was beat every time.

 

Just my own personal observation and suggestion.

[biocube8]

My son and I both got a clown yesterday from the same lfs.I have a biocube and he has a nano.

Mine started eating flakes immediately,and his will not eat flakes or pellets.Any thoughts?

[ubigbobby]

My son and I both got a clown yesterday from the same lfs.I have a biocube and he has a nano.

Mine started eating flakes immediately,and his will not eat flakes or pellets.Any thoughts?

 

His may still be stressed from transport and the new tank. Give him a few days. Also, you can always try frozen food. He'll most likely eventually eat most anything, but some fish won't eat right away after being introduced into a new tank.

[I Ate A Cake]

I feed mine frozen mysis shrimp most of the time, and flake food sometimes. They love the mysis, but they dont go too crazy about the flake.

[toddseimer]

how often do you guys recommend feeding 1 clown?

[Marine1]

Hi all,

 

What do you feed your clownfish? I cant seem to find info on this so I don't know if I should feed it herbivore, carnivor or omnivore pellets, or frozen food. Suggestions?

 

I feed my clowns "New Life Spectrum" Marine formula pellets. From what I've read this is one of the best pellets for these guys. They also eat frozen marine cuisine (shrimp, krill, etc.)

 

Most clowns will eat anything (within reason) you give them.

 

how often do you guys recommend feeding 1 clown?

 

It depends what you are feeding them. If its flake or pellets - just a small pinch once a day or even every other day. If you don't have a good CUC don't feed too much (they don't need a lot of food).

 

If you feed live or frozen meaty food - I would recommend spot feeding (with a syringe or turkey baster) a little bit at a time once a day.

[ubigbobby]

how often do you guys recommend feeding 1 clown?

 

 

A small pinch once a day is enough. If you are around during the day you can divide that amount into 2 or 3 smaller feeding, however that is not required.

[DCG1286]

I feed ORA Glo, Mysis, plankton and cyclops soaked in Garlic

All the fish love it

[HankB]

how often do you guys recommend feeding 1 clown?

With pellets (Like ORA) you can drop one at a time in the water. With our clowns, the half life of a pellet is well under a second. When the first pellet hits the bottom, they've had enough.

 

With flakes we do the same thing, breaking one large or a couple small flakes and dropping to the surface. (That's for 2 clowns, one purple firefish and one chromis.) If they finish it pretty fast - a minute or two - we give them a little more. You will soon be able to gauge how much they eat so you can avoid overfeeding them.

 

IMO that's a good way to not overfeed them. We do that daily - sometimes twice a day, alternating foods.

 

I'm sure they would get by with less, but we want more than just to get by. At 4 fish in a 34g tank, we probably have a light bioload too. I'd rather keep a light bioload and feed them well than have a heavier bioload and not feed as well.

 

-hank

[HankB]

His may still be stressed from transport and the new tank. Give him a few days. Also, you can always try frozen food. He'll most likely eventually eat most anything, but some fish won't eat right away after being introduced into a new tank.

Or it could be a sign that the fish has a problem or tank conditions are not good enough.

 

If it doesn't turn around in a day or two, I would start looking for other symptoms like clamped fins or rapid breathing. Heck, I'd be looking for obvious symptoms the moment the fish were released. I'd look harder if the fish didn't start eating within days.

 

Good luck!

 

-hank

[biocube8]

Thanks for the input everyone.

My son's clown is beginning to eat a bit now.SO I told him what you all seem to agree on....Alittle at a time.

[toddseimer]

By CUC do you mean sea cucumber?

 

I feed my clowns "New Life Spectrum" Marine formula pellets. From what I've read this is one of the best pellets for these guys. They also eat frozen marine cuisine (shrimp, krill, etc.)

 

Most clowns will eat anything (within reason) you give them.

 

 

 

It depends what you are feeding them. If its flake or pellets - just a small pinch once a day or even every other day. If you don't have a good CUC don't feed too much (they don't need a lot of food).

 

If you feed live or frozen meaty food - I would recommend spot feeding (with a syringe or turkey baster) a little bit at a time once a day.

[revaltion131]

By CUC do you mean sea cucumber?

 

No, they mean "Clean Up Crew", or your collection of snails, hermits, and other hitch-hikery critters that clean the tank, eating algae, detritus, and left-over food.

[JerseyChick]

Each feeding I switch between live brine shrimp, live blackworms/bloodworms, frozen mysis, and occasionally but not as ofter some pellets (Ocean Nutrition Nano Reef Food for Small Reef Fish)

[Aqua newbie]

I feed ocean nutrition pellets, ocassionally some scallops from my freezer ansd shrimp. I just get these from a seafood store.

[pismo_reefer]

I hear they like this stuff

 

 

omg.... that movie's so funny!

[JKUNZ]

mine eat prime reef flakes, mysis, brine, cyclopzeze, everything really! Oh, and they LOVE live tigger pods. That's a frenzy!

[knoxvegas]

I feed mine frozen mysis and frozen brine and small Formula One pellets. Won't eat the Prime Reef flakes. Neither will the YCG, and it's too small to eat the small pellets. How do I get my fish to eat flake food? Sure would make my life easier sometimes.

[Kellie in CA]

My clowns just love that Ocean Nutrition Nano Reef food. It contains garlic, which is a big plus!