Feeding

I have to respectfully disagree with daily feedings.

1. Fish don't consume as much energy as humans do or any other warm blooded animal for that matter. Since they are cold blooded, their temp is regulated by the surroundings. This is a lot of energy saved for them.
2. They don't eat regularly on a daily basis in the wild. They eat when they get the opportunity to do so in the wild.
3. Cutting corners - Since I am a Christian man, I will put it this way: Our protein skimmers aren't near as efficient as our creators
4. You say that fish are accustomed to feeding nearly constantly in the wild. Not fully true. The are accustomed to foraging for food constantly in the wild, burning a ton of energy. This is energy that's not burned in our aquariums due to space. They don't have to go far for their meals and most of them adapt to when they are going to be fed. IE my rabbit fish coming to the front of the tank when I have food in my hands.


With this being said, I do feed every other day with daily feedings for my tang and rabbit fish because they are constantly grazing in the wild but fish who feed out of the water column don't need near as much as those algae grazers who are always able to find a source of nutrition on the reef. I hope I didn't offend you with my post, Mr. Bill. BTW, this is the first time I believe I have ever disagreed with you.

 

FWIW, I usually feed 2-3 times per day with a variety and amount that the fish can consume within 2-3 minutes. I feed my corals 1-2 times per week and my anemone once per week. I would be considered a "heavy" feeder by many, and yes, I have nitrate problems due to this so that is why I went the bio pellet route to help with nutrient export.

 

Is it normal for my fish to only accept frozen mysis and not pellet food, im going to give pellet food another try tomorrow...but just wondering??

 

Yes. Fish have their own personalities.

 

simple question - so many answers.

I respectfully disagree with you Daniel072

So many times i see aquariums with starving fish due to underfeeding b/c they don't want algae.

90% of fish should be fed at least once a day - most tangs and free swimming fish need 2 to 3 times a day. Like mr.bill said it's the amounts and types is most important. variety is key - feeding frozen mysis every other day or every two days is fine - but supplement with flakes (for fire fish as original question) or they will lose color. My firefish love oyster eggs too.

only feed as much as they can eat with in 1 min - a good rule of thumb.

good size skimmer (bigger than tank rating) / great cuc / established live rock and sand / good flow - are the key to a healthy aquarium.

 

I like the differing opinions on this post. I dare you to look at any of my fish and tell me they are possibly malnourished. I'm pretty sure I put somewhere in this thread that my tang and rabbitfish get fed every day because they are high energy fish and open swimmers. My other fish get fed every other day. Once again, I dare you to find a skinny fish in my system.

 

;D like I said Daniel no disrespect. And great that you have healthy thriving fish. you do your research and learn - just like me

I guess I just wanted to insure a new person to 3reef and this amazing hobby didn't get the wrong impression on feeding. We all learn our aquarium personalities over time and what works.

 

Depends on what kind of fish you have, if they are very active, how big they are.