Feeding Techniques

[pepbill]

For those who have an AF4 auto feeder and a lot of fish. What’s your schedule look like? A large feeding once a day, multiple small feedings?

I have a school of 8 chronic that a savage eaters. I worry my other fish aren’t getting enough.

 

[EnterName]

Bumping this up because it's unanswered since Friday.

Seems like a tough question because usually multiple smaller feedings is the more natural approach for fish, but I get that having less food flying around may have certain fish struggle getting something for themselves. Maybe it can help to have a mixture of pellets that drop to the ground and flakes that float around so the chromies might focus on one thing and the other fish get the other stuff.

 

[obanarama]

I've got an af4 and have it feed my 180g tank three times per day, on the smallest feed setting. I also have a Neptune auto feeder that feeds various pellets two additional times a day. So five feedings per day, starting at 9:15am and then feeding every 2 hours and 15 minutes. All of fish seem fat and happy, and even my Purple Queen Anthias are getting what they need, while N and P aren't elevated (12 and .09) I also put some Benereef in the af4 so that my corals get something out of the af4 feedings as well.

 

[pepbill]

Thanks for reply. What pellet food do you feed?

 

[obanarama]

Thanks for reply. What pellet food do you feed?

I feed a mix of Nyos pellets (True Algae and Wild Goji) and as well as some small brine pellets, that I don't remember the name of, for the little fish. All of these go into the AFS.

 

[BryanM]

I have an autofeeder that feeds TDO chromoboost 3x a day.

I recently started adding a sheet of nori trying for 1x a day

And I have a mix of mysis, brine shrimp, and megamarine, that I am also trying to feed 1x a day.

 

[jonelder68]

I feed with my AF4 5ml/lowest setting 3 times in the evening. Plank auto feeder feeds pellet and flake 3 times early in the day. So fish are getting fed every 2 hours. I’ll do one manual feeding also right before lights out.

 

[exnisstech]

No AF4 but I have my plank feeding 4 or 5 types of pellet, 2 flakes, freeze dried mysis and calanus all mixed in together. I have it feeding once an hour from 11am to 10pm. I feed frozen by hand. A few times a day.

 

[obanarama]

As an aside, I found that while trying to keep small Purple Queen Anthias alive, the ones that figured out that pellets were food, and ate them, became fat and happy fish. The ones that only ate the frozen mysis, calanus, or even live baby brine, didn't make it, no matter how often they were fed. So in my limited experience, pellets are the key.