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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Feeding my new Clowns...


CoffeeNun

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Hi.. just brought my new Clowns home today... my 12g Nano is huge compared to the pair tank they were in at the LFS. So I had my first attempt at feeding this afternoon. I put a half cube of mysis in the tank and it disappeared; not sure where it went but I'm pretty sure they didn't eat it. Then I gave them some Omega One pellets. which of course a bunch passed to the skimmer.. the female got some but I don't think the male did.... is it just a matter of repetition to where they will come to the front and surface when I feed??

 

Also a folllow-up... i left the sponges in the first chamber and now there's fish food on it - should I clean that out or will it be ok re chemical stability? Thanks... yeah, I'm a newb.

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Every fish is different. Some will eat right away and others take a while. My clowns didn't start eating until after a week. Now they see me pick up the fish food and they bolt for the surface knowing that they are about to be fed.

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Are these wild caught or tank bred? My clown was purchased at barely an inch, and was eating NLS pellets within a day. However, older clowns and wild-caught may take longer to acclimate.

 

I would give a week to try feeding. Many fish will refuse food for a while, and since fish don't waste energy heating their bodies they can go a while, so no need to worry just yet.

 

I recommend removing the uneaten food. You can also try additives like garlic and Selcon. Also, make sure the food is of an appropriate size. You may want to try teaching the male to target feed, in the broodstock tanks that I work on, the dominant female can sometimes eat all the food before the male gets some. Good luck!

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Turn off the pumps and feed. Also replace the sponge with filter floss (pillow stuffing) that you can just throw away and replace. Cleaning the sponge is going to get old fast!

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Thanks guys.. yes, I've been turning off the filter now for two days and it does help get them acclimated. I've also ordered a filter basket set-up to swap out the sponges...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I just brought home my first pair of clowns today. I assumed wait at least 24 hours to let them adjust but they seem to go around and any speck in the water, they try to chomp at it. Does this mean they are ready to eat or just instinct?



One more thing, my LFS told me to dissolve the frozen food in one cup of tank water is this how most serve it up?

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If they are acting hungry then it probably wouldn't hurt to try a very small amount of food. I think the advice not to feed comes from if they are a bit disoriented or shy and won't eat it then it will just go off in the tank. If they are ready to eat then it should be fine.

 

Yes I dissolve my frozen food in some tank water, it gets the food up to a reasonable temperature, otherwise you might give your clowns brain freeze! :-)

My clown really likes frozen mysis!

 

and as mentioned above turn off the pumps when you feed, otherwise it will just get sucked into your filters and go off.

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and as mentioned above turn off the pumps when you feed, otherwise it will just get sucked into your filters and go off.

 

That is the filter pump, not the flow pumps? Or all pumps? Thanks.

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Hopefully you only turned off the filter for a short period of time, and not for a duration of 2 days....(?) It could take them awhile to start eating, or even leave a specific area in your tank but they will in time. Id feed them a lot less than a half cube. That is way too much food .. also, if they're juvenile (smaller than 1.5") then you might want to feed them the smallest pellet food you can find, or crush some flake.

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