growing your own food

[Jeff]

in my refugium i have grape calurpa and cheato growing. instead of throwing it out or giving it away i just throw it back into my big tank for all the fish to eat. the tangs go crazy as well as the wrasse, clowns and fox face over the pods and fresh algea. i also add dried nori every couple of days for variety and i have never seen my fish healthier. when i first bought a powder blue tang and put it in a tank with 2 blue and2 yellow tangs the only one to show signs of ick was the pbt. when i added a copper bandbutterfly a few months later, no ick outbreak.

could it be that fresh live food such as pods and fresh macro actually make fish more resistant to ick and other problems?

[erikharrison]

I'm sure that the freshness makes the fish take to it right away, and with that selection, it probably is reducing the agression amongst the fish, which is helping control any outbreaks. :)

[Ram_Puppy]

Jeff, I absolutely think that is the case. In addition, I have a theory that live algaes have the benefit of diversity living right on them, eat the algae, probably gonna eat the copepod that's running around on it's surface as well.

I am actually very fascinated by algaes and when i finally get a large tank up, I want to dedicate a huge refugium to growing them.

I have always loved Red Grape Algae (not a caulerpa), Ochtodes, dragons breath, etc... all of which would be excelent food sources as well.

[villjr]

I agree with Erik. When i get a new tang I throw in some dragons breath to get the new tang eating to reduce any stress it may be going through. Helps that the established tangs also eat it.

[Jeff]

i think that the live has more vitamin and minerals than the dried stuff, also that each variety provides something different nutritionaly. i don't think that it reduces stress as much as it provides more nutrients to the fish. i'm sure if you add selco or other vitamins to you food daily you would get the same results but why buy when when you can grow it.

[Ram_Puppy]

Jeff = MAAST Food Bank!

[Ping]

I have done a bit of research on algae, fuges and their relationship to HLLE and you are all correct. As far as ICH goes a healthier fish fights off illness' better.

Another way to help add essential vitamins and minerals is to blend up fuge algae and add this mix to homemade fish foods. If one is using cheato, I would strain out the solids through cheese cloth and only add the liquid to a homemeda food.

[Jeff]

get you own refugium. :w00t

[Ram_Puppy]

I'm tryin!!!!

[captexas]

I had decided to throw some feather culerpa in the main tank awhile back just to get a more natural look and add something different to it. When I added a blue hippo tang to the tank, he took right to it, even pulling it up by the roots from the sandbed. Fortunately it grows like crazy in my sump.

[Ram_Puppy]

Cap,

do you run your lights 24 hours a day to keep it from going sexual and nuking your tank?

[Jeff]

i do and have had no problems with it.

[captexas]

I only run my fuge lights at night.

[Jeff]

i have moved my tank 3 times in the last 6 months and the last time i almost lost all my fish including my 2 blue tangs. 3 clowns and 1 flame angle died the rest i had to throw into the tank with no aclimating and at least a 5-10 degree difference. the next day all were fine and ready to eat, no ick or any bad effects.

[Ram_Puppy]

cap,

and no problems w/ it going sexual?

I know caulerpa readily grows, but i thought most people were just scared of it going sexual and tended to avoid it infavor of Ogo, cheato, etc...

[captexas]

No problems that I know of. Of course I don't have much in my tank right now. After my fish problems, I've not added anything to it.

[Richard]

could it be that fresh live food such as pods and fresh macro actually make fish more resistant to ick and other problems?


Instar used to always recommended feeding lots live macroalgaes to treat an ick outbreak, said it worked well.