Can you buy angel food like sponges. In the same manner as you do fresh shrimp?

[ddc0715]

My angels eat. But i would like to give them a ocean item.

Does anyone know. If you can buy Sponges, tunicates, bryozoans, and other benthic invertebrates. Like we do a bag of frozen shrimp you get at Walmart.

I'm not talking pre made frozen food. I have some of that.

And what is a benthic invert?

 

[GARRIGA]

Check out RUSALTY

 

[powers2001]

There was a couple different threads on here about sponge for angelfishes. Some experts said none of them eat sponges. However there’s a frozen angelfish food in little cubes that claims to have sponge in it if you want to try. Your best bet is to ask fish expert @Jay Hemdal or go to the nutrition subforum.

 

[powers2001]

@david campbell

 

[srobertb]

My angels eat. But i would like to give them a ocean item.

Does anyone know. If you can buy Sponges, tunicates, bryozoans, and other benthic invertebrates. Like we do a bag of frozen shrimp you get at Walmart.

I'm not talking pre made frozen food. I have some of that.

And what is a benthic invert?

By a nano pack from gulfliverock. Tell them what you are looking for. They’re helpful. Setup a 5-10g tank with an airstone to store the rock. It will have sponges, tunicates, clams, etc all over it.

 

[damsels are not mean]

1. We don't know what kind of sponges they eat, if they eat them at all (some angels certainly do in the wild but not necessarily all).

2. Sponge has very little nutritional value so it's really not necessary to their health.

3. They might just not have a taste for any sponge you can provide to them

4. I've heard reports of angels getting poisoned by some sponges in our tanks, though I don't know if any real research has been done into this.

5. If they do like the sponges it won't last and you will have spent a lot on live rock just to feed a fish once.

I think if you want to give them a more 'natural' food source that is easier to get, clams on the half shell are probably the best, and also more nutritious to the fish. They love to pick at them and some experienced fishkeepers use half shell clams to wean picky eaters (including some obligate corallivores!) onto better foods.

 

[powers2001]

I have read there are accounts of angelfish eating sponges in the wild. However since there are very few metabolically usable nutrients in sponges, they must be used as a source of fiber. The definition of dietary fiber is the portion of diet that isn’t digestible but helps the digestion and passage of nutrients in the gut. This is what the said angelfish must be after.