Feeding Quantity & Habits

[cbleehk]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to a larger tank and I'm not sure about what is a sufficient feeding amount for larger group of fish. My current tank is 180G in total volume and it's approaching 3 month old. I was wondering if anyone can give me an idea if my current feeding amount and habit is good.

Stock:
6 green chromis
6 barletts anthias
1 blue tang (mid-big)
1 yellow tang (small)
1 blue demsel
2 skunk shrimps
1 fire shrimp
(Yet to add CUC, but will do with algae blenny & diamond goby)
Future stocks:
1 flame angel
1 kole tang

Feeding:
Usually 3x a day
Morning: Forumula 2 flakes (a pinch), 1 cube of cyclopes
Lunch: auto feeder Formula 1 pellets (total around 30 pellets over 4 spaced out feeding)
Dinner: Forumula 2 flakes (a pinch), 1 cube of fish eggs or mysis shrimp
Late coral feeding: a bit of coral frenzy

I'm asking mostly because of a couple things:

1) the fish are always hungry
2) my NO3 is super low, only did a fish die earlier had it went up for a couple days, but it came back down to 0.2-0.5. I wanted to increase it to 2 (is it not a good idea to raise it with higher feeding?)

Thanks in advance!

 

[Billldg]

You have to remember that fish are opportunistic eaters, in the wild they eat when they can because they dont know when they will eat again and therefore will eat whatever you put in the tank. I have a 120 gal tank, current livestock is:

1 purple tang
1 LT tang
1 tomini tang
4 blue/green chronos
1 pintail fairy wrasse
1 pink streaked wrasse
1 onyx clown fish

I feed 1 sheet of nuri daily, 1 turn of pellet food for my apex feeder, 2 cubes of brine shrimp daily, in that order. I only feed that much to keep my nitrate and phosphate higher, but they are at 20 ppm nitrate and .17 phosphate. I started using a 1/4 cup gfo to lower phosphates and as of right now they r at .09. I plan on lowering both as my tank matures again, they were at 0 ppm for both and ended up getting dinos. Just remember that the more you feed the better the odds of having a algae outbreak. It's a fine line to manage.

Also, when my chaeto starts to grow it will lower the nitrates and phosphates.

 

[ScottR]

Hi all,

I'm relatively new to a larger tank and I'm not sure about what is a sufficient feeding amount for larger group of fish. My current tank is 180G in total volume and it's approaching 3 month old. I was wondering if anyone can give me an idea if my current feeding amount and habit is good.

Stock:
6 green chromis
6 barletts anthias
1 blue tang (mid-big)
1 yellow tang (small)
1 blue demsel
2 skunk shrimps
1 fire shrimp
(Yet to add CUC, but will do with algae blenny & diamond goby)
Future stocks:
1 flame angel
1 kole tang

Feeding:
Usually 3x a day
Morning: Forumula 2 flakes (a pinch), 1 cube of cyclopes
Lunch: auto feeder Formula 1 pellets (total around 30 pellets over 4 spaced out feeding)
Dinner: Forumula 2 flakes (a pinch), 1 cube of fish eggs or mysis shrimp
Late coral feeding: a bit of coral frenzy

I'm asking mostly because of a couple things:

1) the fish are always hungry
2) my NO3 is super low, only did a fish die earlier had it went up for a couple days, but it came back down to 0.2-0.5. I wanted to increase it to 2 (is it not a good idea to raise it with higher feeding?)

Thanks in advance!

Sounds like you’re feeding them quite a bit to be honest. Fish always look hungry when they’re not. Fish would eat 100 times a day if we fed them that often. Is there any uneaten food leftover?

 

[Hemmdog]

Doesent seem like enough. Try to incorporate fresh/frozen food for as many meals as you can if your home. Not only is it lower in phosphates it’s better for your fish in general. I feed 8 cubes of pe mysis a day in a 90. Zero algae issues, very happy, active and colorful fish. They eat every last shrimp in under 45 seconds. 4 cubes 2x daily.

 

[cbleehk]

Sounds like you’re feeding them quite a bit to be honest. Fish always look hungry when they’re not. Fish would eat 100 times a day if we fed them that often. Is there any uneaten food leftover?

Not too much uneaten food. I had it at the far end of the tank away from the overflow and very very little gets down. maybe 5-10 pellets sinks down to the floor and gets picked up by the shrimps instantly.

Doesent seem like enough. Try to incorporate fresh/frozen food for as many meals as you can if your home. Not only is it lower in phosphates it’s better for your fish in general. I feed 8 cubes of pe mysis a day in a 90. Zero algae issues, very happy, active and colorful fish. They eat every last shrimp in under 45 seconds. 4 cubes 2x daily.

Wonder how many fish you have in the 90g? 8 cubes sounds quite a bit, but I guess that means I can go higher. Do you have corals and how's your NO3? My ex 20g had very high NO3 even if I feed slightly more, but it's too small to compare.


On a side note, the barletts anthias eat algae flakes like crazy.... in my last tank, they don't eat any, so I feel like I got lucky

 

[ScottR]

Not too much uneaten food. I had it at the far end of the tank away from the overflow and very very little gets down. maybe 5-10 pellets sinks down to the floor and gets picked up by the shrimps instantly.



Wonder how many fish you have in the 90g? 8 cubes sounds quite a bit, but I guess that means I can go higher. Do you have corals and how's your NO3? My ex 20g had very high NO3 even if I feed slightly more, but it's too small to compare.


On a side note, the barletts anthias eat algae flakes like crazy.... in my last tank, they don't eat any, so I feel like I got lucky

The only real downside to feeding is when your parameters get out of control. If you feel like you’re not feeding enough, feed more and just keep an eye out for increased levels.

 

[Hemmdog]

Not too much uneaten food. I had it at the far end of the tank away from the overflow and very very little gets down. maybe 5-10 pellets sinks down to the floor and gets picked up by the shrimps instantly.



Wonder how many fish you have in the 90g? 8 cubes sounds quite a bit, but I guess that means I can go higher. Do you have corals and how's your NO3? My ex 20g had very high NO3 even if I feed slightly more, but it's too small to compare.


On a side note, the barletts anthias eat algae flakes like crazy.... in my last tank, they don't eat any, so I feel like I got lucky

My main eatter is my blue throat trigger, then yellow tang, blue tang(juvi), Atlantic blue(juvi), potters wrasse, yellow head goby, yellow watchman goby, mandarin goby(loves mysis), some cardinal, geometric Pygmy hawkfish, a lone blue green chromis.
Yea I have a lot of coral, mixed reef. Nitrates are around 10, phos is around .1. No algae issues at all, I have macro algae that grows like crazy and I harvest regularly.

 

[ScottR]

My main eatter is my blue throat trigger, then yellow tang, blue tang(juvi), Atlantic blue(juvi), potters wrasse, yellow head goby, yellow watchman goby, mandarin goby(loves mysis), some cardinal, geometric Pygmy hawkfish, a lone blue green chromis.
Yea I have a lot of coral, mixed reef. Nitrates are around 10, phos is around .1. No algae issues at all, I have macro algae that grows like crazy and I harvest regularly.

Mandarin gobies are beautiful. I love watching them dance around corals.

 

[Hemmdog]

Mandarin gobies are beautiful. I love watching them dance around corals.

Yea they really are cool!

 

[cbleehk]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll adjust my feedings accordingly!