Automated distributed feedings

[mloebl]

I've been mulling over this for awhile now. I've read some articles in the past saying it's much healthier for fish (not as sure about the SPS/LPS/etc) to be feed little bits of food all day long which is what they are used to in the wild. rather than all at once Especially true I would think with fish such as leopard wrasse, dragonets, anthias and other really picky or constantly hunting fish. Is anyone doing this at this point?

A few questions...
1. Is there really any benefit to fish with feeding over the entire day?
2. Would the fish get enough food or would competition be too high?
3. Would you do a single feeding in the morning and then slowly add food the rest of the day?
4. Is there really any benefit to corals such as SPS with feeding over the entire day?
5. Would it be better to feed some corals at night so have essentially a 24hr feeding schedule?
6. How's the best way to add the food to the tank?

One idea I've had (among many) would be to have pre-frozen sizes of fish goo. Probably some sort of container holding water, with a pump for circulation and either a drop connection or connection for a peristaltic pump (for premeasured?) Maybe keep this in a small dorm-type fridge to keep the food from spoiling. I would then drop the frozen food into the container to thaw and then let it drip/pump out all day long into the outlet from my sump that goes right into the tank.

Any comments/suggestions/ideas?

-Mike

[nickoz]

I use an Eheim automatic feeder for flake food. I feed multiple times a day because I find that my fish can only eat so much food in a given time, if I feed too much then some will sink to the bottom or go down the overflow but if I feed a smaller amount multiple times a day less gets wasted.

I built an acrylic platform for the feeder which can attach to the center brace and has a acrylic tube submerged an inch under water. The flake drops into the tube then sinks so it avoids a lot of the flake food going in the overflow.

-nick

[besl]

I also use the Eheim auto feeder. I use to use it only when I was travelling or knew I may not be around to feed - now it is used all the time and it is one less thing I have to think about. Down side is I use to feed frozen most of the time and now the fish are getting mostly flake. I have it on a schedule to feed 2x per day.

I also built (ok, I had it built) an acrylic platform for the feeder.

nickoz - any pics of the feeding tube - sounds like a great idea to avoid dropping the flakes on the surface of the water.

[Greg Hiller]

FWIW, I have a bunch of Anthias in my tank. I know they are a fish that naturally feeds all though the day. Still, even if I feed the tank only once per day, they seem to do quite well (I sometimes feed 2x/day). While I cannot say what their longevity will be yet, even the smallest fish is growing and their color and activity seem to be excellent to me. I've only lost one of the Anthias since I added them about 18 months ago. The one I lost was a weak male that was tormented into hiding by a larger female that changed to male.

[Mrs Fish]

I also use a feeder and feed flake twice a day. Like an earlier post, I used it while on vacation, but have since left it because it's one less thing to do. Fish are much happier and tend to eat more of what's put in the tank ... so less floating around spare.

I also add actipods once a week.

Sue

[JayM]

I find that my fish tend to pick at rocks, film algae, etc, which IMO is more 'natural' feeding when they are fed 'regular food' less often....

my cyano problem got a whole lot better too.....

[mloebl]

Thanks for all the replies, I guess I was reading a bit too much into it. I know in theory with a pretty good pod population it should be pretty moot. Also pretty suprised so many people use flakes; must have some pretty unpicky fish :D

-Mike

[merk1_99]

Flake is the fish food of champions....:)

Ever since I went to my lil piece of Nori, and my once weekly feeding to once every couple of weeks feeding I have notice nuisance algae and cyano went away. I do on the other hand have only 3 fish in a 75 (YT, maroon clown, potters angel). But my pod populations are through the roof. So they are constantly grazing on the natural "live foods." I have feeding this way about 18 months. I have noticed no loss of health, weightloss or sluggishness. I just encourage my fish to keep eating the nuisance natural foods. Granted I know I have a relatively light stocked tank. I keep considering a wrasse but am unsure if that will tip the food balance/cycle on the negative/decline. I would like to add a 4 line, mystery, or flame wrasse...We'll see.

With my busy schedule the less feedings has = less maintenance overall...

[agent6473]

the type of fish is very important in this discussion. I have a trigger that eats pellets on an auto feeder, but if she doesn't get plenty of feedings of meaty foods, she'll get very thin. Fish like her are huge eaters and need a big diet of meaty and vegetable matter. I auto feed pellets twice a day and try to feed mysis as often as possible. Sometimes I feed my tank 4x in one day. Small feedings, different foods at each feeding.