How much food to feed my 2 clowns?

Steph1

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Hi all, I have 2 adolescent clowns on about an inch and a tree quaters the other about an inch and a quarter. Apart from the odd treat about once a week I feed thawed frozen mysis shrimp. I feed once a day about a fifth of a block..........does that sound about right? any suggestions?

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SDK

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As long as they are growing and show good body weight you are fine. Having said that, here are a few finer points to consider...

I would not rely on a diet that is 95% Mysis shrimp. Add some high quality pellets and frozen food to their daily feeding. TDO Chromaboost or NLS Marine pellets plus some LRS reef frenzy will give them a much more rounded diet along with the mysis.

I would also try and feed twice a day if you can. Something like pellets in the morning and frozen in the afternoon or evening.
 
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Steph1

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Thanks SDK, thing is the larger fish has more condition than the younger one. This is because if I feed slowly the bigger fish attacks the small one, so I dump the fifth of a block which keeps the larger fish greedily eating and the small fish has a chance to get some food. Cant do that with high density food as a lot would get wasted and will up my phosphates ig a 16 gallon tank. Anyone know how to fix this issue? It is a real problem, it is not am equal playing field for my 2 fish:(
 

SDK

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It's a common and solvable problem. You are just attacking it from the wrong perspective. You can't starve the tank and fish to keep nutrients down. You need to feed your clowns a varied diet and enough so both get plenty to eat. Then manage nutrients based on how much food that is...

You can feed pellets and reef frenzy (or other things) in conjunction with Mysis without causing a drastic difference in phosphates. If you have a surface skimmer, swirl the feeds in a small glass of tank water and pour in so they are not floating on the surface. I'm not sure how your tank is set up, but you can also set up a feed mode that shuts off your pumps for a few minutes. Bottom line is some food is going to get into the filter. That's what mechanical filtration is for (socks, floss, etc).

Once you have your fish eating well, then test your water and fix chemistry as needed. Again, without knowing your specific setup, this could be some combination of:

Increased water changes (easiest starting point for a small tank like yours)
Add skimmer/better skimmer
Add a refugium
Add bag of phosphate remover (GFO)
Some sort of carbon dosing
Etc....
 

ScubaFish802

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What SDK said, also can add that it is normal for the dominant clown to food guard the other as it is eventually going to outgrow the small one by quite a bit (normal). Try feeding a small amount on both sides of the tank at once, or add to the middle of the tank and not a corner. Feeding in a corner will make it too easy to food guard.

I would definitely second adding variety to their food other than mysis. I also keep an eye on their stomach area, after watching for a couple weeks you will notice when they are gaining or loosing weight.
 
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Steph1

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increased water changes .....doing 50% per week
Add skimmer/better skimmer..........Have a very good skimmer
Add a refugium .......all in one tank
Add bag of phosphate remover.........I Have no high flow areas that would not get the GFO to amalgamate. And no room for a tumbler I use a bag of Phosgaurd and AC. I use LC dosing, Can keep it in check to a degree
Some sort of carbon dosing.............Hmmm maybe
 

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