Feeding amount question

[cdicato]

Is 3 cubes 3 times a day too much here is my stocking list - all fish size

1 longnose hawkfish
1 yellow wrasse
1 checkerboard wrasse
1 gem tang
1 powder blue tang
1 kole tong
3 bimac anthias
1 male watanbe angel
1 female watanbe angel
1 copperband butterfly
1 longnose butterfly
1 starry blenny

I am keeping my nitrates at 8 and only have 0.04 phosphates but thats with dosing phosphate-e and nopox.

I am thinking of dialing it back to 7 cubes just so things don't get out of control but just wanted to see other people thought/feed. Thanks!

 

[exnisstech]

My thoughts are if the fish are eating all of the food you add in several minutes it's isn't too much. I have never measured food and just dump it in. If it's gone very quickly like one minute or so I add more. I'm a fan of over feeding because I think it helps curb aggression. Fish that feel like they are not getting enough food go into survival mode and will fight to survive. I flood my tank with food and the powerheads blow it all over the tank so all the fish, even the little ones can get some without fighting over it. IMO too many people worry more about nutrient levels than they do the health of their fish. I'm more concerned with my fish but thats just me.

PS i feed 3 times a day but I keep pellets on top of the tank as in between meal treats.
None of my fish hide when I approach the tank. They all swim to the front waiting to be fed .

 

[JumboShrimp]

Sounds like you're keeping your fish healthy and happy with that schedule. Is it a FOWLR? Because if you're not letting the 'excess' get to corals, I would personally rinse the cubes in a tea strainer of something similar to have less impact on water quality. And I'm assuming you have a good protein skimmer. Do you go to the grocery store and by cheap white-fish to freeze and cut up for feeding time? Makes even less of a mess that some cubes.

 

[W31Olds]

That sounds about right but really difficult to assess without knowing the size of your Fish. The more important question is you are feeding Cubes. Cubes of what? Brine shrimp is not adequate for proper nutrition. Mysis is better but you should also be supplementing with Pellets, Nori, and an all-round Food like LRS Fish Frenzy.

 

[cdicato]

Sounds like you're keeping your fish healthy and happy with that schedule. Is it a FOWLR? Because if you're not letting the 'excess' get to corals, I would personally rinse the cubes in a tea strainer of something similar to have less impact on water quality. And I'm assuming you have a good protein skimmer. Do you go to the grocery store and by cheap white-fish to freeze and cut up for feeding time? Makes even less of a mess that some cubes.

It is a mixed reef - 180 gallons.

Ya I have an oversized protein skimmer with my tank and a roller mat.

Ill definitely consider that!

 

[cdicato]

That sounds about right but really difficult to assess without knowing the size of your Fish. The more important question is you are feeding Cubes. Cubes of what? Brine shrimp is not adequate for proper nutrition. Mysis is better but you should also be supplementing with Pellets, Nori, and an all-round Food like LRS Fish Frenzy.

They are all full size at this point - I feed a mix of everything. I have a whole bag of cubes like mysis, brine shrimp, squid, mussel, bloodworms, etc. I just kinda rotate through them all throughout the day.

 

[cdicato]

My thoughts are if the fish are eating all of the food you add in several minutes it's isn't too much. I have never measured food and just dump it in. If it's gone very quickly like one minute or so I add more. I'm a fan of over feeding because I think it helps curb aggression. Fish that feel like they are not getting enough food go into survival mode and will fight to survive. I flood my tank with food and the powerheads blow it all over the tank so all the fish, even the little ones can get some without fighting over it. IMO too many people worry more about nutrient levels than they do the health of their fish. I'm more concerned with my fish but thats just me.

PS i feed 3 times a day but I keep pellets on top of the tank as in between meal treats.
None of my fish hide when I approach the tank. They all swim to the front waiting to be fed .

I would say they eat 90% of it within the first couple of minutes so sounds like it should be fine just continuing to do 3 cubes 3 times a day