Big clown takes all the food

skijumpersc

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I have two ocellaris, a big one and a little guy thats maybe a third of the size of the other one. I've had him for a couple weeks and they get along well, the only issue is that its really hard to get food to him. Any pellets I drop in get snatched up by the big one, he's a total pig. The little one doesn't know to come to the surface to get food and most don't sink past the big one to get to his level. I've been using a coral baster to get pellets to him, but I'd like to move past that. How can I train him to come up for food?
 

Retro Reefer

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Try a different foods like flakes or frozen and spread the food out across the tank when you feed.. I will take a small pinch of flake for example and release it under water in front of a powerhead so it blows all over tank, frozen foods I mix with tank water and pour in front of power head so it blows around my tank.

It’s best to feed very small amounts multiple times a day vs one large feeding..
 

Billldg

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I have the same problem and found that we I feed j release food jn one section and allow the bigger one to start to feed, then I release food on the other side and the smaller one has learned to expect it and eats on the other side, also I agree, release food with the powerheads on so it blows around given all a chance.
 
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skijumpersc

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Cool, thanks for the input. How do you balance putting a lot of food in and letting it disperse with trying to keep nitrates down?
 

Billldg

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I only use a pinch of food
 

davocean

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Soak your pellets so they sink and disperse better.

The big one is a she not he, the the smaller he should become more out and able to get food more on it's own in time.
 

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