how much to feed?

[chimera]

There is nothing wrong with dumping a boat load of food in, so long as you have the ability to get the majority of the uneaten stuff out before it becomes a problem. The dangerous thing is letting food sit and rot. That's when the nutrients become an issue.

i think that statement could be rephrased better. it seems that most have a tendency to put too many fish in too small a system, a greater bioload on what it can handle (versus the physical and biological filtration they have setup). fewer fish means less feeding required. if those (specifically with reef tanks) had a better balance then nutrients would, or should, never become an issue.

I think that a lot of people don't fed enough

based on this thread, i could not disagree further. the amount and types of food people are feeding IMO is quite substantial. i thought i was overfeeding til i read this thread. i have little algae in the tank yet the fish graze on what they find all day and are still fat and exceptionally healthy. when i mention types of food, i see many above seem to feed frozen food quite regularly which I believe is quite high in nutrients. of course, so long as the filtration is adequate to cope with this its not a problem, but i know many on this forum have inadequate filtration yet feed heaps.

Can We Provide Enough Food In An Aquarium?

Yes and No. To a degree, some of the limitations of a closed system are insurmountable. In a wonderful analogy using some feeding rate data of reef communities from scientific literature, Dr. Ron Shimek (Shimek, WMC 1998) noted how it would take 250-350 ml of wet food per 100 gallon of water per day to approximate food availability on a coral reef. Using a similar analogy, based on nutrient and water dwell times, I would add that the coral reef gets a 100% water change 2-3 times per day! This degree of nutrient availability and water exchange is coupled with the fact that we have relatively little data on the exact feeding requirements of various animals. However, we do know some specifics, and many generalities.

I have read this before, seems there is plenty of food available on the reef. But based on 100% water changes 2-3 times a day its no wonder everything is balanced! Apart from that it is an irrelevant point to how much we need to feed in our tanks, the exceptional amount of food available on the reef does not mean it is all consumed by the fish. The question is how much food is required to sustain an average fish per day. I think we have a tendency to overfeed, its quite natural to provide more than not enough. Would be nothing worse than to see a fish die from starvation. From what I've read fish will eat and eat until they die (I know some people like that ) So we feed and feed thinking they are still hungry.

I feed a small amount of pellets (?) and flake once a day. A cellphone size sheet of nori perhaps once a week. And frozen food once every 2 weeks. They also continuously graze on the rocks.

[TM]

The amount you feed will greatly depend on what type of fish you keep.

My marine betta, only really needs food a couple of times a week, as where my anthias need heaps more two three times a day, m trigger needs heaps of chunky/meaty food, other wise he just goes skinny.

I think small amount more often is the best way, well works better for me.

Say small pinch of dry food, couple of hours later cube of frozen etc, up to 4 times a day, this is what i do.

[chimera]

TM, agree its definately based on the type of fish you keep, but do you have any nitrates/phosphates? How big are the portions you feed? Did I read somewhere that nitrates, in small portions, is beneficial for corals?

[hazymranch]

I'm with TM. I feed a small pinch of flake (varying the type of flake) 2-3 times a day and then each night I shut all of the pumps and drop in a bit of frozen. 20 minutes later I turn the pumps on again and the food that settled gets stirred, triggering feeding frenzy #2, in which the shy fish get their share too. I do this right around lights off so the night feeders (fish and corals) get their share. I vary the frozen between mysis, bought marine tucker, and home-made cubes (various mollusks and shellfish, flake, spirulina, nori, and carrots. Very little gets stuck in the tank this way, which seems to keep nitrates in check.

[TM]

TM, agree its definately based on the type of fish you keep, but do you have any nitrates/phosphates? How big are the portions you feed? Did I read somewhere that nitrates, in small portions, is beneficial for corals?

The fish i keep are

10 chromis

2 anthias (squarpinnis sp?)

1 15cm marine betta

1 six line wrasse

2 threadfin cardinals

1 green mandarin

1 15cm rabbit fish (this dude poos)

1 sailfin tang

and 1 sargassum trogger

this in a 850ltr tank.

No nitrate problem and po4 is at about 0.01 last time i checked (deltec).

when i feed dry, it is one standard pinch, frozen is about 1 cube (standard size) and same for the frozen i make myself.

Some tanks, with really nice color do have nitrates that are about 5 - 10. But in saying that i think the amount that they may or may not require is quite small. i have seen tanks that are amazing, with and without nitrates.

[TM]

I think that a lot of people don't fed enough. I also think it's a bit strange when people stop feeding to try and control nutrient problems. The problem isn't that your feeding too much, it's that your system is not removing enough crap fast enough.

I agree also, i use to change the amout of food i thru in to try and solve the problems i was having, like no3 and po4 etc.

I found the tank settled down when i fed the same amount on a regular basis.

[Fay]

You know I don't think the issue is whether fish are getting overfed, it's more how much food your tank can handled without nutrients becoming a problem.

There is nothing wrong with dumping a boat load of food in, so long as you have the ability to get the majority of the uneaten stuff out before it becomes a problem. The dangerous thing is letting food sit and rot. That's when the nutrients become an issue.

I think that a lot of people don't fed enough. I also think it's a bit strange when people stop feeding to try and control nutrient problems. The problem isn't that your feeding too much, it's that your system is not removing enough crap fast enough.

O.K. that’s fine I have blown that crap out of my rocks vacuumed the sand and it took me all day on Wednesday.

I run an AP850 Deltec two big streams to 1000ltrs and I have been feeding twice a day dry in the morning and meaty at night far too much I think.

Have cut back to once a day alternating dry with meaty but still the same amount at each feed just the times per day has changed what do you think?

P.S Apart from the fish waiting for the food at usual time they don't seem to be that hungry still feed the tang half a sheet nori in the morning.

[lduncan]

I have a AP902 on around 800 to 1000 litres total water volume.

I feed half a sheet of nori, a couple of cocktail shrimp, and a couple of cubes of frozen brineshrimp every day. It's a little more than the system can handle, so I have to do more siphoning than i would like, but that is what the fish need to look good and stay healthy. Even then I don't know if they are getting enough food though.

Today as I was feeding the nori, the crosshatch jumped clear out of the water and hit the hot metal halide before my hand had even touched the water! He was trying to get the nori sheet! Probably a sign he could do with more food. He also took a bite out of my finger the other day when I was picking up a coral, just a small bit... he could take a pretty sizeable chunk (1 cubic cm easily) out if he wanted too.

[Fay]

B,<>>h Did it burn him?

[lduncan]

I can't see any marks on him, but he charged straight for his cave afterwards an hid for a bit. But seems to be fine now, out and swimming like normal.