am I under feeding my fish?

[ReeferMedic]

ok thanks for the suggestions, ill pick up a feeding clip and start giving them some nori to pick at all day.

Try to find the clips that float. They'll save you alot of aggrevation if the fish pull them off. I definately over feed, but I have ALOT of fish. I usually feed them over the course of a couple of hours while I'm watching a game at night or what ever. As long as they don't look skinny and not getting sick, then you're probably not under feeding. I would definately add a piece of nori daily to my feeding regime for the tangs though. I also soak their food(mostly PE mysis and capelin roe) in either garlic, vita chem, or selcon alternating different nights.

 

[Gina McReeferson]

Not necessarily, if we extrapolate from mammals to fish. Lab animals given much lower-calorie diets generally live up to twice as long as animals on typical diets, and apparently studies of humans have shown a similar trend (although not as dramatic). Certainly you don't want to underfeed your fish to the point of them losing weight, but they may not be healthier with more food.

I should have made a point of mentioning we don't neccesarily feed 3 times as much as someone who only feeds once per day. We feed pretty lightly throughout the day, probably ending up at something close to or just slightly more than would be the norm for a tank our size on a once daily regimen.

Using the human comparison, a person on a 2000 calorie diet would do better to consume those 2000 calories in several small meals than to sit down to a 2000 calorie glutton fest once per day, your body simply cannot metabolize everything all at once, you won't die, you're just not getting the most from the fuel you put in your body, there will be times when your body just does not function at peak efficiency due to the fluctuation in available nutrients throughout the day. Fish are an even more extreme case, in the wild they eat all day long, 1 calorie here, 5 calories there, 2 over there, and so on. While it would be absurd to try to feed 50 times per day, I like to feed small amounts throughout the day if it fits our schedule, and most days it does. This is my attempt to mimic their natural eating habits, as our tank definately would not supply enough naturally occuring food to support our particular stocking levels and choice of fish.

All of this is moot of course if there is ample food to be found naturally occurring within your system to maintain your livestock loading, and you are merely supplementing an existing and sufficient diet.

Just some more of my thoughts,
-Dave

 

[Scott G]

....

 

[SMS76]

I'm prolly going to get flamed here, but here goes.
I've lost fish over the years, but I don't think I ever lost one due to starvation. The losses have usually been a result of my carpet anemone (which I removed..... I could have been underfeeding him), and jumpers... but the jumpers were wrasses and a few of my green chromis. Maybe they jumped they were not being fed enough???? But then again, I've heard these fish are known to jump.

Here's my current fish stick:
Purple tang
Powder blue tang
Saddleback clown
Flame Angel
2 green chromis
blue damsel
yellowtail damsel
mandarin.

I also have a few shrimp, crabs, serpent stars, snails, sea cukes.... and a few other grazers.
Now all of this is in a 150 with about 300#'s of LR and a 55 gal sump. I also haven't been runing a skimmer for the past 6 months or so. I'll prolly get flamed for that too
Now by no means amd I saying this is recommended. I think my tank is probably pretty established, so there is probably more natural food to go around than in other tanks. This wouldn't be possible in a FO or a freshwater b/c the lights in my tank generates a lot of algae which is the source of the food chain.

But I like to admit, I really like having a low maintenance tank. Most of the work is my glass scraping, which I do about once every 3 days. Then comes the water changes where I do it about once per month, maybe every 6 weeks (15-20%). Then I'd say semi-annually I clean the pumps and other equip.

Mark,
I think the reason this is working out for you is believe or not because of not having skimmer. Skimmer are too good in removing and stripping water, it removes bad stuff but it also removes good natural food that corals and other small organisms and filter feeder can thrive on. I think reason you have more pods and such is the fact that pods and other filterfeeders are getting natural food. I hope this make sense.

I am actually planning to do similar low maintance, low bioload skimmerless tank setup. In this type of setup, you don't need to provide heavy feeding as there is plenty natural food for corals, pods and filterfeeders which can provide more food for fish (in terms of algae, pods and mysis) as well.

 

[Gina McReeferson]

Scott, you're funny.

-Gina

 

[MarkO]

Well I need a minimal maintenance tank. Last night is proof.
After a few pops last night, I decided to remove some water from my tank (I had done a W/C over the weekend and instead of changing the water, I just added.) So I started to syphon the waste water into the drain. It's a really small tube (1/4") and it takes a couple hours... and fell asleep. Well you know what comes next. Fortunately nature called @ 5AM, and I got up, did my business then got a drink of water. I heard something unusual in the basement... The sound of a MAG 7 sucking air. The 20 gal. water change has now become a 50!
Doah!

 

[NateHanson]

I think the biggest reason Marks tank is working that way is his stocking levels. By most people's standards he has a very low bioload. I think many reefers would have twice that number of fish in his tank. I too found I had great luck, and fewer problems, by keeping about half the fish of most tanks. (I had 4 small and one medium fish in a 65 + 55)

 

[merk1_99]

I agree with Nate low stocking levels help minimize problems, maintenance, and feedings. When I check out other reefers tanks they have stocking levels for a 150 stuffed into a 90, and they feed way to much way to frequently. When I look at my tank compare to their's my two fish look make my tank look like its just full of rock and inverts. Invariably they complain of multiple fish illnesses and deaths, algae outbreaks, and PIA maint. And I just look at them and shake my head...In the 2 yrs this tank has been up no illness, or deaths other than my LMB carpet surfing or outrageous maintanence. While I don't think either stocking method is good or necessarily bad. I just think people with heavily stocked tanks need to stay on top of their water changes, skim heavily, and be very aware of what is going on in their tank.

When I upgrade to my 75 I would love to keep my two fish and add a LMB, a diamond goby, and something that flashes around. If I really wanted to push my luck I would add a LMB and a mated pair of Blue throats. But being as conservative as I am probably won't be able to make that decision....

Enough of my off the subject rant...Feed however you want and be prepared to stay on top of water changes and such if you feed heavily with a well-stocked tank.

 

[JohnK]

"Try to find the clips that float" (for nori)

Or tie one to a mag cleaner with fishing line, then you don't have to reach in to get to it, just slide it up.

 

[merk1_99]

now thats a good idea...

I thought I was smart gluing the suction cup of a clip to my mag cleaner....Who knew my YT would hit the clip like a shark in chum infested waters. So now I have at least six clips laying around the tank in precarious and hard to get spots(isn't it funny how they do that)....Thanks for that tip...

"Try to find the clips that float" (for nori)

Or tie one to a mag cleaner with fishing line, then you don't have to reach in to get to it, just slide it up.