Healthy Fish: What's the secret to success?

[Why-Me]

I am sorry to hear of your loss, must be painful.

Thank you, has been a hard week.
If anything I hope to be an example of what not to do.
I learned the hard way!!

 

[JCM]

The #1 path to healthy fish is to get over the thought

"More food will make my fish grow bigger"

You aren't feeding a 14yr old boy that plays two sports!

You are feeding a fish that has a stomach the size of your pinky fingernail... and in most cases SMALLER

You feed fish twice a day (am/pm) the amt of food they can consume in 5min or less.

After feeding the tank, if food is still present after 5mins.... tooooo much bc you are poisoning your tank.

Quit feeding your fish like they're 6ft 1000lbs sharks


.

I dont fully agree. I agree with feeding smaller amounts, but most reef fish eat almost constantly in the wild. You'll have much happier/healthier fish if you feed those small amounts many more times a day.

 

[WVNed]

I dont fully agree. I agree with feeding smaller amounts, but most reef fish eat almost constantly in the wild. You'll have much happier/healthier fish if you feed those small amounts many more times a day.

I have some that eat 5 times a day and some that eat every other day, one that eats every 3 days and one that eats about every 7-10 days.
I have 2 that will only eat live food and another that only started eating frozen food after a few months eating live worms.
There are so many different kinds of things in my tanks that one set of rules never works for me.
I feed live worms, live fish and shrimp and about 7 kinds of frozen foods, some from the grocery. I also feed nori sheets, 4-5 sheets every other day. This is what my animals call for.

You have to learn what to give them when they want to eat it.

 

[Thaxxx]

Other than proper diet, I think the number one thing is keeping them as stress free as possible.

For instance, I'm seeing a bad trend lately in my view of all these nice looking negative space aquascapes. NSA. They might look good but they provide no cover/sleeping spaces for even the smallest fish. I hear the arguments for them that the corals will fill in and provide cover. In most cases that could take years. In the mean time that stress on a fish can't be healthy.

 

[JCM]

I have some that eat 5 times a day and some that eat every other day, one that eats every 3 days and one that eats about every 7-10 days.
I have 2 that will only eat live food and another that only started eating frozen food after a few months eating live worms.
There are so many different kinds of things in my tanks that one set of rules never works for me.
I feed live worms, live fish and shrimp and about 7 kinds of frozen foods, some from the grocery. I also feed nori sheets, 4-5 sheets every other day. This is what my animals call for.

You have to learn what to give them when they want to eat it.

I certainly agree with that, I may have been over generalizing a bit. When I said "reef fish" I was thinking tangs, anthias, wrasses, blennies, gobies... most of those like to eat frequently.

 

[Thaxxx]

I have some that eat 5 times a day and some that eat every other day, one that eats every 3 days and one that eats about every 7-10 days.
I have 2 that will only eat live food and another that only started eating frozen food after a few months eating live worms.
There are so many different kinds of things in my tanks that one set of rules never works for me.
I feed live worms, live fish and shrimp and about 7 kinds of frozen foods, some from the grocery. I also feed nori sheets, 4-5 sheets every other day. This is what my animals call for.

You have to learn what to give them when they want to eat it.

I've always loved your tanks. Get that couch in there!
Those fish own you. Lol

 

[WVNed]

I've always loved your tanks. Get that couch in there!
Those fish own you. Lol

Thank you. Many things have a piece of me.
I cant have a couch because this is the animal play space. Especially on rainy days like today.

 

[iMi]

I find that whispering sweet nothings into the sump every night drastically improves their happiness. That and high quality food, good husbandry and compatible stock that isn't overcrowded.

 

[dhnguyen]

For me it's QT, water quality, and quality food fed often but in small portions.

I have mostly stopped buying commercial fish food and make my own frozen food instead. Better quality, better ingredients, and far cheaper.

 

[Mark Gray]

I believe it is mostly about food they eat, and yes stable water too. I try to feed live most, rarely pellet food unless I soak it with Selcon.

 

[Paul B]

My fish are all healthy. They generally die of old age and one is 30 years old, one about 25. All the fish that can spawn are spawning. They get only live or frozen food and fresh clams. No quarantine or medication ever. No additives.
I feed once a day.

 

[weamdog]

Fish are mostly happy, healthy and stress free with the exception on some new purple queen anthias which are extremely difficult but not impossible. Haven't lost an acclimated fish in years. Wish I could say the same for corals.

I just keep the water stable and give them half of my frig & freezer. There is no doubt they eat better than I do.

 

[DeniseAndy]

My fish get a large variety of foods. I also let them work some hunting on their own. I will add nori sheets and that if fun for them. My fish are all very young right now (pretty sure) and they are all getting nice and plump, yet not fat. They are all active and have their own little caves to hide in.
I think providing a good healthy environment is also key. They want to feel secure. If they are always stressed, the immune system is down and the normal fauna will take over and run rampant.

 

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

I take mine to the vet for check ups every week... lol!

-d

 

[Jase4224]

Good nutrition needs to be talked about more in this hobby. I feel that we could all have so much more success with our fish by feeding smaller amounts of food at a time, feeding more frequently, and most importantly, feeding a variety of foods.

On top of that, not all foods are the same. Have you looked at the nutritional content of frozen Hikari mysis vs frozen PE mysis? Very big difference in protein and fat content!

I think the PE vs Hikari nutritional difference has been debunked. Apparently PE shows the the nutritional content of there food as dry weight. Whereas Hikari shows the actual wet weight nutritional value. I think the wet nutritional values are the same. There’s more info on this somewhere around these forums.

I agree that most fish do require more frequent feedings and more experienced hobbyists and LFS should be educating newcomers about what specific fish need and how to get it at a high quality.

 

[dyno]

What has worked for me:

1) If you want a lot of fish do a fish only tank with bare bottom. Treat all fish with Copper Power, PraziPro, and Furan 2. Once all of the fish are healthy don't treat anymore. Huge water changes are a must, I do 40% every week. Every time I have over stocked a reef tank with too many fish I have had to deal with disease.

2) If you love corals, start a coral tank but invest in a QT. Treat all fish and listen to your gut before introducing them to the main display. Follow all the great advice there is out there on quarantine time and quarantine procedure. If you are going to invest so much money on your reef tank why not spend a little towards a QT?

3) I am amazed at how much my fish can eat and as a result how fat my fish are. I have my auto feeder feeding 3 times a day and feed frozen twice a day. Fish eat all day in the wild and fat fish are healthy fish with strong immune systems in my experience. Have had no losses even with an outbreak of velvet after adding a new specimen. Again water changes are a must.

4) Most importantly, I wish there was a way to teach new hobbyists to analyze if a fish is healthy before purchasing it. But this is something that takes time, trials, and failures to learn. Obviously it should eat most importantly, not have a pinched stomach, and should show normal behavior. Sounds weird but after years of buying fish, healthy fish act happy and swim around, show their colors, and always eat.

5) After going through all the tough stuff, there is still one thing left: fish aggression. Learn which order to add your fish from most docile to most aggressive. Be ready to catch fish that won't stop picking on new additions and put them in time-out (sump / isolation box) until the new fish has had time to rest and establish itself. I have been amazed at how well this works with my tangs and triggers. Established fish literally have a gang-like mentality and seem to always want to initiate the new addition. Sometimes you're good in a day or two, other times the fish gets so beat up it dies, unless you are there to watch and do something about it.

6) Sorry I had to share all that I have learned. For an established set-up I have experienced the following to be most important:
1) Water quality: Frequent water changes, Buffers for a steady PH, and nutrient control with Carbon and bacterial additives
2) Frequency and variety of foods: Feed 5 different types of frozen and almost 8 different types of pellets...lol
3) Learning and knowing when to be happy and satisfied with your healthy tank and avoiding adding an additional fish just cause you want it!

 

[Fish Think Pink]

My fish are all healthy. They generally die of old age and one is 30 years old, one about 25. All the fish that can spawn are spawning. They get only live or frozen food and fresh clams. No quarantine or medication ever. No additives.
I feed once a day.

love your advice & stories! Looking forward to arrival of your book via Amazon XOXOXO <3

 

[vetteguy53081]

1. Once a fish is in your aquarium what are some of the best ways to keep them healthy and thriving? List what you do to ensure success!

Ensuring GOOD water quality and optimal diet along with vitamins in the foods.

2. What percentage of your fish do you consider to be healthy?

I have no issues with tank and livestock health,

 

[Bruce60]

1. Plan fish load based on capacity of system. You will forever struggle to keep fish healthy if you overload the system, have fish that will be too large for the size of the tank, or are aggressive towards each other.
2. Okay, now that you have a stable and acclimated population, I make sure they all have appropriate space for swimming, territory and safety. Then I provide a varied diet. I also try to keep things interesting (e.g., band algae to short pieces of PVC that I place in different places that encourage the fish to work a bit. I keep water parameters relatively stable.
3. Keep increasing complexity of food chain. I added a variety of pod species to the refugium and am feeding with phytoplankton. Refresh populations of pods and bacteria periodically. More levels on the food chain that you have in your system, the happier and healthier all the life becomes.
4. Have a maintenance routine and stick with it.

 

[XRayLee]

No QT on what I buy from PetSmart and I have yet to have any issues with what I get from them. I won't buy from the high end LFS's anymore because I lost over $150 worth. so when the last one died held off for about a month and bought 2 from PetSmart and a couple weeks later picked up a couple more from PetSmart, all are doing great. They don't have a great selection but I have a in with the manager and he can get me pretty much what I want.