Flake or Frozen

[alton]

Except for one fish I have always fed my fish at least 5 different types of frozen food. I just recently purchased from one of our members a Regal Tang who eats nothing but flakes. He starved for three days until I started feeding flakes. I am currently feeding Formula two and a bulk brown flake and green flakes that I got from CB Pets. My juvenile blue face loves them too. My question is do I feed flake only or continue to feed frozen also even though they would rather have the flakes?

[mathias]

I always switch here or there....... change it up daily.... my fish are pigs they eat whatever I put into the tank....

[Reef69]

Some people mix flakes and frozen...I believe wendy (CD) does that and works fine. I feed my fish whatever, they love anything..

[bigdscobra]

I feed mine frozen than after thats gone some flake. And in the evning just frozen. What ever flake makes it to the bottom the crabs seem to love too.

[CD]

Some people mix flakes and frozen


Yep...that would be me. ;)
I use a cup with tank water, mix in about 6-7 different types of frozen fish food, flakes, a pinch of pellets, cyclopeeze, and oyster eggs...put two drops of GarlicExtreme...let it thaw for a couple of minutes, then serve with a turkey baster. My fish are all pigs, so it's pretty much a feeding frenzy when the food hits the water. If your fish do the same, then this method may help, as the Regal will eventually get his/her mouth on a piece of mysis (or whatever else your trying to get them to eat), and say "hmmm....this ain't so bad!!" In all actuality though, some flakes have got a LOT of good things in them and are quite healthy. Take the Cyclopeeze for instance - that comes in flake form (I think they call it "wafers") and that is VERY healthy. Has the omega 3, good protein, and the like. If you can't get your Regal to eat frozen right off the bat, I wouldn't worry. It will most likely come around, and as long as the flakes you are feeding have all the "goodies" in there, there's nothing to worry about. I am a FIRM believer in feeding nori for tangs though. Asian markets are a great source to find really nice nori at a SUPER great price.
Hope that helps :)

W.

[alton]

Thanks for the info, one thing though I feed Garlic to all my fish and they love it except for one. My new regal tang will not eat anything soaked with Garlic, go figure.

[CD]

new regal tang will not eat anything soaked with Garlic, go figure.


LOL...a really picky eater, huh? I have a husband like that :innocent
Hey, don't worry - at LEAST the Reagal is eating! It may just take her/him some time to adjust...new tankmates, new food, new housing. All these things are stressful on a fish, and Regals are pretty shy until they adjust to their surroundings. Don't worry, she'll be a little piggie in no time. ;)

W. :)

[GaryP]

I do pretty much the same thing that CD does except I strain the food through a brine shrimp net. I think the liquid that comes from frozen food contains a lot of nutrients that aren't doing my fish any good and just contributes to the nutrient load. Of course I probably can't do that with small stuff like cyclopeeze, oyster eggs, rotifers, baby brine, and daphnia that I feed my corals.

[JimD]

You usualy use a turkey baster to "direct" or spot feed certain fish or corals that may not be as assertive at feeding time as other more aggresive eaters, like say Zoanthids and the like. Wendy, what do you think of the Oyster Eggs?

[CD]

why Wendy uses a turkey baster,


There's several reasons - first, it allows me to more closely monitor how much food goes in the tank...IOW, I don't just squirt the whole baster tube's worth of food in there all at once - just short little squirts...watch them eat...squirt some more (repeat until the fish look satisfied). The tip of the turkey baster never has to leave the water while I'm doing this. Also, some of the fish are MUCH more aggressive eaters than the others (like JimD noted above). We have a lovely leopard wrasse that is on the shy side when it comes to getting her share, so I'll squirt some food for the little piggies in our tank, then immediately squirt some in her direction to make sure she is getting enough to eat. Third - I'm also feeding some of the corals when I feed the fish (frozen cyclopeeze, rotifers, oyster eggs), and the baster allows me to direct the food towards the corals too. I even have yet *another* contraption to spot feed some of the corals that looks much akin to a LARGE hypo syringe with a long flexible tube on one end...I love this thing, as you can *really* direct the food well with it.

One of these days I'm going to have to get a pic of the V. Rabbitfish eating - he'll put his mouth right over the tip of the turkey baster, and suck it ALL down...LOL...he's such a pig! :lol

JimD - So far I *really* like the oyster eggs. I was a little apprehensive at first, as they aren't exactly "cheap", BUT you don't have to use very much at all, and the SPS *really* seem to like it (feeder polyps get HUGE when I stick this stuff in the tank). I would highly recommend it. I don't know how many LFSs carry it at this point, but River City Aquatics has it at a better price than you can find it online (with your MAAST discount). I'll probably add the daphnia to the food list for the corals soon also.

W. :)

[CD]

he is fussey, he will not eat anything but nori


Hmmm...how big is he? Hopefully he will eventually try some other things. Have you tried soaking the food with Garlic Xtreme? Sometimes that will prompt a fussy eater to try new foods. It's worth a shot.



By the way wendy I was just looking at your set up, very nice , i'm jealous


Thank you very much! We've actually added a big battery back up to the system, and a PFO moonlight too (I love the way the tank looks at night with that light). I really need to get busy on taking some pics for my gallery! Hey, if you're ever in the area, you are welcome to come by and check out the set up :D

W. :)

[GaryP]

Here's something I wanted to share with you. Studies of wild "reef crest" fish, those that make up a majority that we put in reef tanks, have shown that they eat lots of volume, but very low nutrition diet. In other words, its like they are eating lots of celery and lettuce. These fish eat like sheep, not wolves.

Here's another thing to consider. What does these large feedings do to your water quality? Not only is there an issue of uneaten food, but what comes out the other end of the fish as well. If you haven't noticed, that usually happens right after a big meal. Now you have an issue of "peak" waste production. Its all being produced at one time and your filtration and other waste control processes may not be up to the task of handling this peak demand. We have a tendency to think of everything in our tanks happening in either a constant or cyclic mode. In this case that may not be the case.

Now, with that in mind, consider how we feed our fish. Basically we stick them in an all you can eat buffet once a day. I'm sure their gastrointestinal systems are not designed for the way we feed our fish. For this reason I usually suggest feeding a small quantity of a wide variety of foods several times rather then an "all you can eat" buffet. Obviously some fish will graze on stuff in the tank between feedings but ask yourself, is hair algae a varied diet? Something like Nori would be a good supplement for grazing type foods. An aquarium is obviously not a wild reef, but I think its our job to match the conditions of the reef as closely as possible for the welfare of our critters.