How do you decide how much to feed your fish?

[Dogeatbird]

Generally I prefer to feed multiple times, but very small portions.

For my herbivores; I confetti nori, all varieties: green brown red.

So I can add to an auto feeder, or use with my glass flake feeder.

I use feeder rings, so food doesn’t go immediately over the overflow.

I also use a feeder mode on the return pump, again to prevent immediate loss over the overflow; but leave my flow pumps in normal operation mode.

I broadcast feed a zooplankton substitute.

Various frozen mixes on odd days, enriched with selcon or aminos. Sometimes both.

My practice is micro/multiple opportunities throughout the day.

Basically if I admire the tank, I will entice the occupants to come out and say hello.

I try and stay away from target feeding corals. Burglars don’t care or respect who they rob!

 

[Dogeatbird]

I also still practice a very old school technique, which dates back to the ‘50; start of marine fish husbandry.

Poached egg whites.

I offer this very sparingly, basically only if I myself make an egg white omelette.

Egg whites poached have the consistency of fresh clam mantle, but are infinitely more available.

Although in the 40 years I’ve keep marine organisms, I have never found a study or paper on this practice.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

I also still practice a very old school technique, which dates back to the ‘50; start of marine fish husbandry.

Poached egg whites.

I offer this very sparingly, basically only if I myself make an egg white omelette.

Egg whites poached have the consistency of fresh clam mantle, but are infinitely more available.

Although in the 40 years I’ve keep marine organisms, I have never found a study or paper on this practice.

Interesting

 

[BeanAnimal]

Interesting

I can't find any known reference to the practice.

How does one make a poached egg white omelet?

It wouldn't smell or taste like clam mantle anyway, why would a fish think it was floating clam mantle? If a fish did decide to eat it for some reason it wouldn't think it was clam mantle based on texture either. None of it makes sense other than sounding like it should make sense.

As I dig through this guy's posts, I am finding that they often don't fully add up. Maybe he can explain.

 

[Imrahilwjz]

I can't find any known reference to the practice.

How does one make a poached egg white omelet?

It wouldn't smell or taste like clam mantle anyway, why would a fish think it was floating clam mantle? If a fish did decide to eat it for some reason it wouldn't think it was clam mantle based on texture either. None of it makes sense other than sounding like it should make sense.

As I dig through this guy's posts, I am finding that they often don't fully add up. Maybe he can explain.

interesting

 

[Ichthyosaur]

Here is what I have learned from my previous mixed reef and planning on a larger one. First, your behavior indicators are the best. But you might want to check with the following if you want some kind of confirmation. There are a lot of variables, the the biggest one is whether your fish have stopped growing. Once they mature, the feeding should taper off a bit. For grown fish, about 2.5% of their body weight in wet or frozen food per day is about right (85% of the food is water, roughly). A 12-inch Emperor is going to be 700 grams or so. A typical six inch fish will be 100-150 g. It depends on the shape of the fish, obviously. For example a 12-inch French Angelfish will almost double the mass of a 12-inch Emperor, at more than a kg (2.2 lbs)! If you are feeding dry food, then 0.5% of their body weight per day is about right.

If they are growing, then you could multiply those numbers by 2-5 depending on how fast they are growing. It makes a big difference. So a 2/3 adult-length fish could consume the same weight in food as when they reach adult size and stop growing. Don't underestimate teenagers, haha. If you continue to feed at the same rate into adulthood, you might end up with a fat fish. This is much better than a starving one, but still not great for an extended life. Most of our fish don't get the exercise that they would in an ocean reef environment also. If you don't really know what is fast or slow growth, doubling the food estimate for a growing fish would be a good starting point and see if that matches the 2 minute rule.

A hyper Powder Blue or Bird Nose Wrasse is going to consume more. A lazy fish less but those differences tend to be smaller. If you are feeding sponge rich food, say for angelfishes, which they must have in about 10-20% of their diet (their wild diets are often well over 50% sponge), that food doesn't carry a lot of calories so it doesn't count much towards the numbers, but it is necessary for nutritional reasons (the right amino acids being a big one).

The two minute rule is a great one for many reasons. However some fish need a lot of time. The Copperband Butterfly and the Regal Angelfish are good examples. The Copperband is limited by its beak and the Regal often by its personality. Anyway, if you planning new additions or just want to know the numbers, this gives you a rough guide.