Poll: How much (volume/frequency) do you feed your fish?

[Chew_Magna]

Oops, I forgot part of mine. Once a week or so I'll put a 1x1" piece of seaweed salad rubber banded to a piece of rubble into tank. Hermits and emerald love it.

[BulkRate]

Every evening, a small pinch of NLS 1mm pellets ground into powder/small bits broadcast fed and a smaller pinch just dropped in to sink as it will. Filter pump stays off for 15-20 minutes, just about everything is gone by that time. Good inhabitant growth (invertebrates/fish and corals) and decent water quality so far (11 months and counting).

 

I also have an oversized-for-the-tank's-size CuC. What can I say? I find dwarf hermit crabs are interesting to watch and somewhat less murder-intensive when well-fed.

[Mr. Microscope]

Normally feed every other day or every 3rd.. monthly water changes on a 70g frag system. Not much of a cleanup crew left, skimmer and filter sock changed when it overflows. One type of food per feeding. Switch between mysis, pellets, spirolina flake, cyclopeeze. Tangs get nori a few times a week on a clip.

 

Did have to do a massive cleanup of caulerpa verticillata as my sailfin decided to stop eating it after having a nicer selection of prepared foods.

Thanks for your input. Do you put in a specific amount of pellets/mysis etc. for each fish in your tank?

 

My firefish don't like pellets. I feed them just a couple of flakes every other day. I only ever put enough flakes in the tank at a time for them to find. I turn my pumps off to ensure that no flakes make it to the bottom. I usually give them treat when I'm feeding my corals mysis.

I've got the same problem with my bangaii. He only eats frozen. No flakes or pellets. So, he only eats every other day.

 

Neither of my torches ate anything I tried to feed them either. All three of my Fungia love pellets.

 

I should have added, I have a 30 breeder (sumpless & skimmerless) and I do a five gallon water change on Wednesdays.

Interesting. Thanks for adding your tank volume and water change regiment.

 

I can send you some next time I go out collecting. it's mostly a mix of gracilaria and and a few others that I have not identified yet. Aren't the best to look at, but you can shake the pods loose in your tank and dump the macro.

LOL! Cool, but I meant that I was jealous that you can just go out and collect stuff like that in what I'm sure is a beautiful place. I love lake Michigan, but it's no ocean (even though I looks like one from the shore).

 

Oops, I forgot part of mine. Once a week or so I'll put a 1x1" piece of seaweed salad rubber banded to a piece of rubble into tank. Hermits and emerald love it.

Yummy! Love that stuff. Keep an eye on that emerald. They can turn on a dime and start eating your corals.

 

Every evening, a small pinch of NLS 1mm pellets ground into powder/small bits broadcast fed and a smaller pinch just dropped in to sink as it will. Filter pump stays off for 15-20 minutes, just about everything is gone by that time. Good inhabitant growth (invertebrates/fish and corals) and decent water quality so far (11 months and counting).

 

I also have an oversized-for-the-tank's-size CuC. What can I say? I find dwarf hermit crabs are interesting to watch and somewhat less murder-intensive when well-fed.

I've found corals like ground up pellets too. It's probably easier for them to digest as well.

 

I've come to enjoy hermits as well (though I only have four of them). They are much easier to capture if they go after a coral than emeralds.

[uglybuckling]

I have nothing to contribute, as I will start feeding the first corals in my tank this coming weekend (after theoretically receiving them Friday).

 

That being said, this is one of my favorite threads on N-R right now. Thanks! Keep the information coming.

[JayPagi]

Currently feed sinking pellets once per day via auto timer (10+ pellets), coral frenzy or cyclopeeze (1/8 teaspoon) every 2nd day and frozen brine or mysis (half block) every 3rd day (mostly spot feed LPS and mini nems).

 

16 Gal Shallow w/ Eheim 2213... 3 or 4 Gal water change weekly... Canister clean every 3-4 weeks

[Mstefa1]

It sounds like everyone feeds a lot more then I do. Go figure! If I forget to feed my fish I don't make up for it the next day. I guess I'm just cruel. I don't purposely feed my CUC. I prefer them hungry so that they perform their job. If I see a crab being naughty I punish him. If he acts up again he gets gets evicted from my display into the miracle mud pits of my fuge. The exception being my snails. When algae is in check I put in a small piece of dried sea weed once a week. I don't want any of my star performers starving.

[MikeTR]

Thanks for your input. Do you put in a specific amount of pellets/mysis etc. for each fish in your tank?

Usually 1 cube is enough to stuff them, sometimes 2 if I feel like feeding any LPS. Pellets until they stop eating.

[kgoldy]

Wow! You guys are breaking all the rules, writing new ones, and seem to be kicking butt with them.

 

Obi wan, looks like you're compensating with a huge CUC and GFO/Carbon.

 

kgoldy, looks like you're compensating with a huge CUC and a very effective fuge

 

Where did you two learn this technique? Any threads or links?

 

I made it up as I went along. Half of it was accidental, the rest was pure laziness. My first tank was a BioCube 29 HQI, which had massive shifts in salinity/pH/etc if I went away for more than a day... and I figured I wanted my next system to be vacation-proof. I go away two weeks at a time a few times a year and needed to have a system that could handle being babysat by people who want nothing to do with tank maintenance.

 

Hell, I don't want anything to do with tank maintenance. When I first set up my new system I knew I wanted to be heavily reliant on a fuge... I built the 40B display fuge with (what I thought was) room for a large skimmer, and plumbing for a dual reactor. The reactors required constant adjustment, and the skimmer required breaking a sweat to clean... so I disconnected them. A few months into the build I came up with the hang-on-back inspired fuge, and that's what opened my tank to greater possibilities.

 

 

Most of the research I focused on were articles from Ron Shimek (which I'm sure you've come across before). The tenants I got from him were:

 

-Heavy and diverse feeding (recent Coral magazine article talks about this, I think it's what Jedi is referencing).

-Warmer reef temperatures, averaging about 80F

-Oolitic Deep Sandbed

-Sand "stirrers", not sand "sifters"

-Diverse refugium/detrivore packs from places like ISPF.com and Inland Aquatics

-"No Crabs" rule for the tank

 

Through experimentation I figured out that my system was more stable with 24 hour lighting on the fuges, an upgrade to high power LEDs over the macro, and kalkwasser in my ATO to balance the pH. All the extra food/waste in the system adds a whole lot of acidity to the water, so the macro and kalk help to fight that.

 

I believe that with the heavy feeding, I manage to add all (or at least most) of the trace minerals that my coral need to grow.

 

With all that being said, a lot of my SPS grows incredibly slow- and my RBTA never looks incredibly happy. Everything else is doing fantastic. It wasn't until at least 8 months before my system could keep certain acros alive... but now I've got a variety of torts and other notoriously sensitive corals that are doing quite well and looking great.

 

 

I documented every single step of my build in the links in my sig. Left side of the GIF is my 90 thread, which pretty much sums it all up. You're welcome to join the party over in that thread.

[Mr. Microscope]

I have nothing to contribute, as I will start feeding the first corals in my tank this coming weekend (after theoretically receiving them Friday).

 

That being said, this is one of my favorite threads on N-R right now. Thanks! Keep the information coming.

Haha! Thanks UB!

 

Currently feed sinking pellets once per day via auto timer (10+ pellets), coral frenzy or cyclopeeze (1/8 teaspoon) every 2nd day and frozen brine or mysis (half block) every 3rd day (mostly spot feed LPS and mini nems).

 

16 Gal Shallow w/ Eheim 2213... 3 or 4 Gal water change weekly... Canister clean every 3-4 weeks

What's your CUC like?

 

It sounds like everyone feeds a lot more then I do. Go figure!

Lolz! Me too. I just gave everything a wholelottafood tonight.

 

Usually 1 cube is enough to stuff them, sometimes 2 if I feel like feeding any LPS. Pellets until they stop eating.

Thanks for filling in! The more info the better here.

 

I documented every single step of my build in the links in my sig. Left side of the GIF is my 90 thread, which pretty much sums it all up. You're welcome to join the party over in that thread.

sigh..there goes the rest of my evening.

[uglybuckling]

sigh..there goes the rest of my evening.

 

I had been out of the hobby for five years. Reading the entirety of kgoldy's thread was the first thing I did upon coming back to N-R. It's worth it. Even though it nearly killed me.

[lasongo]

I've got a 40B with two clowns, pygmy angel, random goby (came on live rock) and a mandarin goby. Got about a 20 gallon sump and then when you take into account the rock, etc...its about a 45 gallon total system.

 

I feed one cube of mysis or brine shrimp every other day.

 

Weekly water changes of 10 gallons...probably overkill but I don't run a skimmer and the corals (SPS and LPS) are all doing fine.

[Mr. Microscope]

I had been out of the hobby for five years. Reading the entirety of kgoldy's thread was the first thing I did upon coming back to N-R. It's worth it. Even though it nearly killed me.

Yeah, his DIY HOB Fuge is incredible!

 

I've got a 40B with ..., random goby (came on live rock)...

That's got to be the coolest hitchhiker I've ever heard of anyone finding! I gotta check out your tank thread.

[jedimasterben]

That's got to be the coolest hitchhiker I've ever heard of anyone finding! I gotta check out your tank thread.

The macro I collect is chock full of gobies and pipefish.

[Lalani]

10gal tank.. 2 clowns, royal gramma, and a masked goby. I feed a pinch of flake food once a day. 1gal water change maybe twice a month if I'm feeling ambitious. CUC: trochus snail, two turbos, two hermits.

 

*don't try this at home, kids!

[MikeTR]

10gal tank.. 2 clowns, royal gramma, and a masked goby. I feed a pinch of flake food once a day. 1gal water change maybe twice a month if I'm feeling ambitious. CUC: trochus snail, two turbos, two hermits.

 

*don't try this at home, kids!

I actually saw better coralline growth with less water changes.

[Mr. Microscope]

The macro I collect is chock full of gobies and pipefish.

!!!!! You dirty stinking liar! :lol: For realz!? Man, you gotta open up an online shop or something. That's awesome! Have you considered setting up a biotope of locally collected stuff? Are they really gobies? I'd love to see a pic or two.

 

10gal tank.. 2 clowns, royal gramma, and a masked goby. I feed a pinch of flake food once a day. 1gal water change maybe twice a month if I'm feeling ambitious. CUC: trochus snail, two turbos, two hermits.

 

*don't try this at home, kids!

Yikes! Do you have a lot of territory issues?

[Lalani]

I actually saw better coralline growth with less water changes.

Not me.

 

Yikes! Do you have a lot of territory issues?

Nope! The masked goby stays in his corner of the tank, the clowns take the mushrooms and toadstool, and the gramma does her own thing. Everybody gets along but every once in a while the gramma will charge the others and show them who's boss, but no real aggression.

[jedimasterben]

!!!!! You dirty stinking liar! :lol: For realz!? Man, you gotta open up an online shop or something. That's awesome! Have you considered setting up a biotope of locally collected stuff? Are they really gobies? I'd love to see a pic or two.

No lying here.

 

I have no idea what species the gobies are, but I think I've narrowed the pipes down to syngnathus scovelli. They are all ok with fresh, brackish, or full salt water.

 

And don't tempt me into setting up a tank I already want to do! I don't think the bossman (read: missus) would approve of another system!

 

And I am shipping clumps of the macro pretty soon, if you (or anyone else) wants some, just let me know, I'll pack a priority large box full and send it off. Pipes, gobies, macro, 'pods of all sorts, micro-hermits (less than 1/8" long), and some penaeidae shrimp are usually in every handful.

[Cintax]

No lying here.

 

I have no idea what species the gobies are, but I think I've narrowed the pipes down to syngnathus scovelli. They are all ok with fresh, brackish, or full salt water.

 

And don't tempt me into setting up a tank I already want to do! I don't think the bossman (read: missus) would approve of another system!

 

And I am shipping clumps of the macro pretty soon, if you (or anyone else) wants some, just let me know, I'll pack a priority large box full and send it off. Pipes, gobies, macro, 'pods of all sorts, micro-hermits (less than 1/8" long), and some penaeidae shrimp are usually in every handful.

 

Once again, I shed a tear because I am in Canada.

[Mr. Microscope]

No lying here.

 

I have no idea what species the gobies are, but I think I've narrowed the pipes down to syngnathus scovelli. They are all ok with fresh, brackish, or full salt water.

 

And don't tempt me into setting up a tank I already want to do! I don't think the bossman (read: missus) would approve of another system!

 

And I am shipping clumps of the macro pretty soon, if you (or anyone else) wants some, just let me know, I'll pack a priority large box full and send it off. Pipes, gobies, macro, 'pods of all sorts, micro-hermits (less than 1/8" long), and some penaeidae shrimp are usually in every handful.

PM Sent!

[Chew_Magna]

No lying here.

 

I have no idea what species the gobies are, but I think I've narrowed the pipes down to syngnathus scovelli. They are all ok with fresh, brackish, or full salt water.

 

And don't tempt me into setting up a tank I already want to do! I don't think the bossman (read: missus) would approve of another system!

 

And I am shipping clumps of the macro pretty soon, if you (or anyone else) wants some, just let me know, I'll pack a priority large box full and send it off. Pipes, gobies, macro, 'pods of all sorts, micro-hermits (less than 1/8" long), and some penaeidae shrimp are usually in every handful.

Definitely want in on this as well. Will send a pm shortly.

[Spirofucci]

OK Mr. M. You got quite a few responses, what do you think??? Is it what you expected?

 

I'm glad you asked this question! A lot of varied responses that are certainly not "textbook"

 

I expect a full synopsis within two weeks of your findings and of course editorial comments!

[swayd]

No lying here.

 

I have no idea what species the gobies are, but I think I've narrowed the pipes down to syngnathus scovelli. They are all ok with fresh, brackish, or full salt water.

 

And don't tempt me into setting up a tank I already want to do! I don't think the bossman (read: missus) would approve of another system!

 

And I am shipping clumps of the macro pretty soon, if you (or anyone else) wants some, just let me know, I'll pack a priority large box full and send it off. Pipes, gobies, macro, 'pods of all sorts, micro-hermits (less than 1/8" long), and some penaeidae shrimp are usually in every handful.

PM sent

 

I feed my tank every other day with the filter feeder formula. I use two pinches and about 6oz of tank water.

 

My fish I feed every other day as well and I feed a pinch of flakes or frozen mysis.

All of this for a 46bow front.

[Mr. Microscope]

OK Mr. M. You got quite a few responses, what do you think??? Is it what you expected?

 

I'm glad you asked this question! A lot of varied responses that are certainly not "textbook"

 

I expect a full synopsis within two weeks of your findings and of course editorial comments!

I'm hoping to gather some more numbers, but yes. I'll come up with something. Thanks Spiro!

[dormreefer]

I feed 2-3 times a week and haven't ran into issues. My fish still love me, at least i think so . I often go out of town for weekends 2-3 days and never run into issues but I usually do a large feeding just before I leave not because they need it but because I feel bad leaving them without feeding. I have to clean the glass when I get back but its all good.