feeding

[BLUEMANDJ]

Everything I have read says that the biggest problem with new people to the hobby is overfeeding. SO if you fine people could give me some advice......

I have 3 fish. One is a niger Trigger size of a quarter. A Magenta Dottieback, and a Scooter Blennie. I have 25 crabs and some hardy Gorgonian and mushrooms.

How often should I should I feed if I am using "formula one" Frozen red cubes?

I am currently feeding a 1/4 of a cube everyother day!

Chris

[squid]

Hi Chris, The fish in your tank eat different things. I would first suggest giving a variety of foods. If you could make your own, that would be great. If not, I would suggest you get away from Formula foods and give them more natural ones. There are many out there on the market. Squid cubes, brine, emerals entree (for algae eaters)

Now your question.. depending on how long it takes the fish to "gobble" the food you put in, and how your water test, you might want to give them the same amount you do now, but everyday. The hermit crabs and shrroms need the food too. You don't want to go to the other extreme of starving the tank. Best advice I can give you....watch your tank. Others may have other helpful advice.

well i love to make sure my fish are well fed..... i feed a nice chunk of mush ( mysis, scallops, squid, brine, salmon, cod, crab, and krill) everyday..... i also do 10% wc every week now too, i skim 24/7 and i might run carbon one day a week.... so far no alge prblems my fish coral and inverts are very happy..... i test 2 times a day as well.... its alot of extra work but it is worth it when my kritters are well fed and happy
hth

[MontanaRocknReefer]

When my fish are banging their heads against the front of the tank glass, I figure it's time to give them some food! Just kidding! I feed them about every 2-3 days and they do just fine!

[thefatman]

i feed my fish mush as well (oysters, clams, crab legs, shrimp, scallops, lobster, nori, and garlic)

i have 4 fish, 1 coral beauty, 1 blue damsel, 1 cinnamon clown, 1 blue-green chromis, 20 green/blue leg hermits, a 12" green brittle star, 1 peppermint shrimp, and 1 large cowrie.

i feed a dime sized chunk of frozen mush, every 3 days.

btw: making your own food is great. stinks like crazy, but it only costs about 5 bucks and i get a lrge quart sized ziplock bag, and it lasts about 2 months.

[kram138]

Maybe this should start another thread, but while we are on the subject, could you guys share some of your "mush" recipes with us? I am most interested in Jays. Sounds well balanced.

Thanks guys

[seamonkey]

I have a strange variety of fish and can actualy get away with a little over feeding but I choose not to. I feed my fish daily a formula one frozen nugget. Then every 3 to 4 days I feed frozen kirll that they go nits on. I also once a week feed my eel a cocktail shrimp.(my lion is to little and won't eat them yet) I also weekly feed a small amount of my new mush thats made from krill, shrimp, scallops, and whatever else I can get ahold of at the super market.

By the way my fish consist of:
1 precula clown
1 sebae clown
1 yellow tang
1 lionfish
1 snowflake eel
17 crabs
12 snails
1 sally light foot
and a bunch of small star fish

I also feed my coral the mush and a supplement.

[thefatman]

kram, i got my recipe from johnny and modified slightly based on what was/is available when i go to the market.

i get :

2 raw oysters
2 raw giant sea scallops
3 raw shrimp
3 raw clams
1 crab leg
1 piece of lobster (whatever they have that's not a full blown tail)
1 sheet of nori
3 garlic cloves

i like a mix of different stuff in there. it's never the same twice, based on availability. sometimes i get 2 crawdads if they have them.

i throw the oysters, clams, scallops, and lobster in with no shell. i throw the shrimp in WITH shell. i peel the garlic and mince it, and throw that in. i chop up the nori, but not too fine.

i put everything in a blender and blend away, but not TOO mushy, i like to leave some meaty chunks in there.

i usually add about 1/2 cup of ro/di water, to help it all blend up. but if i'm able to get oysters, they are plenty runny enough, and the water isn't needed.

after its all blended i pour it into a ziplock freezer bag, squeeze out as much air as possible, and flatten it out in the freezer.

when it's feeding time, i pull the bag out and cut off a dime sized chunk. and hold it in the water, squeezing between my fingers to break it up, and the fish go nuts.

some poeple defrost thiers in a cup of ro/di water, or tank water, then pour it into the tank. but i like that my fish feed from my hand. makes them less scared when i'm working in the tank. since they associate my hand with food. i'll probably lose a finger some day, but oh well

i add the garlic, because it's been said that it help them fight off ich, and help prevent them from getting ich. not sure how much truth there is, but i know LOTS of poeple feed thier fish fresh garlic.

some also add selcon or selcore (sp) its basically a vitamin.

my recipie is simalar but i try to get a bunch so it lasts me like 6-8 months
i get:
a dozen oysters
a dozen scallops
1 lb crab legs
frozen krill from lfs
a dozen clams
1 salmon steak (raw)
1 small piece cod (raw)
1 lb cut squid
frozen mysis from lfs
blend that all up in 2 cups of tank water grind up garlic and soak in h2o....then after 1 hrs strain out cloves of garlic..add to mush and blend again...
add to baggies and freeze

[squid]

When my fish are banging their heads against the front of the tank glass, I figure it's time to give them some food!

LOL...this place is GREAT!!!!!!

to those I would suggest going to Brine Shrimp direct and getting some Selco (a fatty acid fish need) and toss in some Tahatian Blend (phytoplankton), mix in some sparulina to thicken it up, put in baggies, toss in freezer. and you have the ingredents to feed EVERYTHING in your tank at once