Feeding Flake food

[SMS76]

I used to feed flake, changed to mostly frozen but lately feeding mostly flake food again due to lack of time. Fish seems to enjoy it but is there any downside of feeding them mostly flake food?
I try to feed them frozen every now and then that contains home made mush with all the great ingredients including garlic and vitamins.

 

[SMS76]

^^^^^

 

[~Flighty~]

How do you do it without the food all getting sucked down the overflow. I tried a few ways and it always just made a mushy mess. Too much flow and too much surface skimming and no fish willing to eat from the surface.

 

[nitrofish]

ive always used the sinking pellets

 

[AbbeyRoad]

I used to only feed frozen but now after winning a ton of flake and other dry foods at MACNA, thats their main diet. Everyone loves it except the Copperband. He is too good for flake, he only eats Mysis. I haven't noticed anything except a few split fins that heal every now and then. That could be cause of slight disagreements that happen.

I pinch the flakes just under the water's surface until the current takes them. Then they aren't floating on the surface but under it. Or I put it infront of a powerhead and it gets blown around for everyone. I also use pellets that sink at different speeds.

 

[RichConley]

I just throw the flakes in the sump near the pump..it shoots em back up to the tank, but under the surface...fish seem to eat them all like that.

 

[SMS76]

How do you do it without the food all getting sucked down the overflow. I tried a few ways and it always just made a mushy mess. Too much flow and too much surface skimming and no fish willing to eat from the surface.

I actually turn off pump that feeds water from sump when i feed food. This way all food stay in the main tank and fish they do come to surface and eat it. Also some flake goes down in the main tank when it goes through power heads and when fish try to eat it from the surface. I think key is to keep the sump pump off so that all food stay in the main tank and then it will get eaten.

 

[starrfish]

I feed mine flake 1x/day and frozen 2x/day. I have the flake in an automatic feeder. I drop it into a piece of pvc attached to the top of the tank. This way the food has a chance to get wet and sink before getting sucked into the overflow. I have flake, freeze dried krill and pellets in there. I think the only concern with flake is that it might cause your phosphates and nitrates to go up. But if you have a good sump/refugium/skimmer, I don't think this would be a concern.

 

[~Flighty~]

I think you guys have inspired me to try again with flake/ pellet foods. we'll see if any of my picky fish eat it.