Can you recommend a diet for micro fish?

[PolypPocket]

So I have a captive bred mandarin, FL tiger goby, blue neon goby, and a hi fin banded goby.

I have been feeding TDO B2 pellets as a staple and they all LOVE it. However I would like to supplement their diet with other things that offer different nutritional value than TDO.

I have tried frozen mysis because everyone says it’s the gold standard of fish food. They hate it. Like they will literally spit it out and watch it rot. I’ve tried so many ways of offering, even making tiny bits…nope.

I also have started experimenting with non-live baby brine shrimp (teeeeeny tiny dots that snow in the water). Primarily I bought it for the mandarin and he seems to like it. Unfortunately they’re a bit too small for the other fish and while they do occasionally get a few it’s not really effective for them. The corals enjoy them though.

Are there other brands of micro pellets or other types of food that you’d recommend to round out their diet?

Yes there are also live pods in the tank, in case anyone is wondering.

 

[mcarroll]

Lots of my fish seem to dig Hikari micro pellets....even fish that are absurdly too big for the pellets. ;)

Hatching live baby brine is super easy and they should like them a lot better. (Instant baby brine is excellent in most cases as well tho.)

Maybe try to get froze copepods? I have pods+garlic from TMC and some fish dig them a lot.

 

[PolypPocket]

Lots of my fish seem to dig Hikari micro pellets....even fish that are absurdly too big for the pellets. ;)

Hatching live baby brine is super easy and they should like them a lot better. (Instant baby brine is excellent in most cases as well tho.)

Maybe try to get froze copepods? I have pods+garlic from TMC and some fish dig them a lot.

Oh that’s a good idea, the frozen pods + garlic. I will look for that. And thanks for the pellet recommendation.

I thought about breeding brine shrimp and collecting the freshly hatched ones, but I tried the liquid stuff first instead. I may still eventually hatch live ones though.

 

[mcarroll]

Oh that’s a good idea, the frozen pods + garlic. I will look for that. And thanks for the pellet recommendation.

I thought about breeding brine shrimp and collecting the freshly hatched ones, but I tried the liquid stuff first instead. I may still eventually hatch live ones though.

Even if you think it's easy, I swear it's easier than you think. :)

Either get a good hatchery that can go in the tank (google it) or this one: https://sfbb.com/product/shrimpery/ (I DIY's one like this for what that's worth.)

Others are fine too, but IMO for our purpose these are the ideal ones.

* Rio used to market one that looked very practical as well, but I have never actually seen one for sale. Also, look up @Paul B 's DIY baby brine shrimp feeder. I intend on DIY'ing one like that next time I need BBS.

 

[PolypPocket]

Ok you convinced me to give it a try haha

 

[Lasse]

I use Ocean nutrition´s frozen adult brine shrimps and freshwater copepods for all my fish and only that. I have had all of your fishes on that diet. Especially fresh water cyclops is gold for small fishes and give very bright colours. They are loaded with Astaxanthin/xanthophyll family. Artemia (Brine shrimps) is also loaded with this. Artemia have a softer shell compared with mysis and therefore more eatable for many fish. There is a myth according the nutrition values of adult artemia contra mysis - in real world - they are nearly the same.

Ocean Nutrition Cyclops

Ocean Nutrition Artemia/brine shrimp

Ocean Nutrition Mysis

They are rather similar in content - the only differents is for proteins and fat. Mysis has most proteins (min 5.7 %) followed by Brine shrimps min 4.9 % and Cyclops (min 3.4 %). For fat - its another story - Cyclops content min 1 % fat - the other two - min 0.1 %

However - there is one thing you need to have in mind if you feed with frozen natural food. Water content its about 6-7 times higher compared with dry food. If you feed 1 gram dry food - you need to feed around 6-7 gr of "wet" food in order to get the same nutrition value to your fish. IMO - that´s one reason why its important to feed aquarium with many fish - especially if they are small - with frozen food. There is more chance that everyone get food.

I have never feed my present aquarium with dry food - its however only 10 years old so I do not know if it works for 11 years

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

If you can find reef frenzy, no fish can resist that, and IMO its one of the healthiest foods you can offer.

 

[Naso180!]

Calanus is a great frozen copepod. I think PE makes it. Feed to my tank occasionally

 

[PolypPocket]

I use Ocean nutrition´s frozen adult brine shrimps and freshwater copepods for all my fish and only that. I have had all of your fishes on that diet. Especially fresh water cyclops is gold for small fishes and give very bright colours. They are loaded with Astaxanthin/xanthophyll family. Artemia (Brine shrimps) is also loaded with this. Artemia have a softer shell compared with mysis and therefore more eatable for many fish. There is a myth according the nutrition values of adult artemia contra mysis - in real world - they are nearly the same.

Ocean Nutrition Cyclops

Ocean Nutrition Artemia/brine shrimp

Ocean Nutrition Mysis

They are rather similar in content - the only differents is for proteins and fat. Mysis has most proteins (min 5.7 %) followed by Brine shrimps min 4.9 % and Cyclops (min 3.4 %). For fat - its another story - Cyclops content min 1 % fat - the other two - min 0.1 %

However - there is one thing you need to have in mind if you feed with frozen natural food. Water content its about 6-7 times higher compared with dry food. If you feed 1 gram dry food - you need to feed around 6-7 gr of "wet" food in order to get the same nutrition value to your fish. IMO - that´s one reason why its important to feed aquarium with many fish - especially if they are small - with frozen food. There is more chance that everyone get food.

I have never feed my present aquarium with dry food - its however only 10 years old so I do not know if it works for 11 years

Sincerely Lasse

Wow thank you, very thorough response and so helpful!

 

[PolypPocket]

If you can find reef frenzy, no fish can resist that, and IMO its one of the healthiest foods you can offer.

My local fish store (well “local”…it’s over an hour away haha) carries that. I will try it!

 

[PolypPocket]

Calanus is a great frozen copepod. I think PE makes it. Feed to my tank occasionally

Thanks so much!

 

[Hunna’s Stunnas]

Reef nutrition bottled foods like R.O.E. and the Arcti Pods are what I mix in with my frozen food. All I have are nano fish and the combination of those (and oyster feast) along with Mermaid’s Delight frozen keep my fish and coral happy and healthy.

 

[PolypPocket]

Reef nutrition bottled foods like R.O.E. and the Arcti Pods are what I mix in with my frozen food. All I have are nano fish and the combination of those (and oyster feast) along with Mermaid’s Delight frozen keep my fish and coral happy and healthy.

I’ve seen those at my LFS so that would be convenient. Thanks for the recommendation.

 

[Privateye]

Otohime is kind of the gold-standard for raising larval marine and freshwater fishes. They have a variety of pellet sizes, even ranging into the sizes we see in the hobby. The nutritional profile is excellent. Usually commercial operations will start on Otohime and move to a cheaper feed once the fish get bigger.

For frozen, I agree that copepods would be good to look into too. Cyclops and calanus as mentioned previously.