How often to feed fish

[Kokanuty]

I used to feed a few times a week with pellets and frozen two a week but on occasion had some pretty thin fish. Less algae but really like the look of well fed fish.

How often do you feed yours?

I now have an auto feeder which is nice so I don’t skip any feedings when I’m gone for the day etc, but I think it’s easy to go overboard with the availability for multiple feedings per day. I bumped it up to two per day and frozen twice a week as my Royal Gramma only eats the frozen and will wait till then to eat.

I do have a large skimmer so I don’t notice a big problem and it’s actually noticeably working now with the higher bioload.

 

[LPS Bum]

I feed 3 times a day. NLS pellets in the morning, frozen food in the afternoon and nori in the evening. But I work from home, so that’s not a problem.

Just like with humans, most fish seem to do a lot better with multiple smaller meals rather than a single big one. Helps cut down on aggression too.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

I also feed about 3 times a day, just small amounts that are gone in less than a minute. I do believe that fish should be fed daily.

 

[Nordy]

5 small meals a day. All a different type of food. Mostly frozen. I’ll plan out meals like a bodybuilder preparing for a contest.

 

[EnterName]

5 small meals a day. All a different type of food. Mostly frozen. I’ll plan out meals like a bodybuilder preparing for a contest.

I'm eagerly awaiting your article on Creatine dosing in reef tanks

 

[Waters]

I feed once a day with a mixture of mysis and pellets....unless i have some more demanding fish like anthias.

 

[The Ugly Phase]

i use to feed ALOT but i have cut down to twice a day as nitrates went sky high

 

[Nordy]

I have some picky eaters, also a pencil wrasse that is elusive, and spends time in the sand bed a lot throughout the day. Having a purple tang, inhabiting a 158.5 gallon DT with 14 others keeps the aggression down. Also a seaweed clip or two added. The Foxface eats anything and everything, and I have a well hidden watchman goby that does not venture out too far, so a complete feeding throughout the water column and a couple of fish that nab morsels not eaten by finicky eaters works out well. I like putting in a lot of frozen with spirulina and other ingredients to target different nutritional requirements of specific fish. A mixable non flavored creatine powder is in the ATO,

 

[Seansea]

3 times a day my own home made concoction of cod, shrimp, squid, scallops nori and reef roids. Nori twice a day. Algae scrubber and good skimmer a must.

 

[Nordy]

Keep those small active fish with smaller intestinal capacity and a higher metabolism fed a lot. For health, vitality, coloration. Small meals, like throwing a log on a hot burning fire to keep it hot. No overfeeding to snub out that fire, just add a little log to the fire to keep it hot regularly.

 

[Blitheran]

I'm eagerly awaiting your article on Creatine dosing in reef tanks

So you mix it with your reef jerky as well?

 

[Nordy]

The Picasso Percula I have that paired with a Darwin Clown blew up in size so fast. She is Not really aggressive, but I suspect performance enhancers in use.

 

[ScottJ]

I feed 3 or 4 times a day frozen. All different kinds my LFS has in stock. I mix 2 cubes together with some freeze dried phyto and RO water in a shot glass and use that. I also feed it to my blackwater tetra tank.

 

[LeftyReefer]

I feed my fish multiple times per day, but all of the feedings are crammed into the evening time.

I work all day and get home around 5pm. so that is when I give them their first feeding. I'll give them another feeding around 8pm and then another feeding before I go to bed at 11pm. I typically try to feed them 3 times each night, all feedings are a variety of frozen foods. I use them all... rods, LRS, mermaid's delight, mysis/brine cubes, etc.. if my fish are still acting "hungry" after a feeding, I may throw in a few extra pellets via the autofeeder.

I have a smart autofeeder for dry foods that I can turn on/off remotely with my phone. but I mostly only use that when I'm out of town for a few days or if I want to give them an extra meal. When I'm home though, I feed them pretty much exclusively frozen foods.

I also try to only feed what the tank can fully consume in about a minute.

My tank's lighting schedules are also based entirely around my work schedule.
I'm only home in the evenings, so I have my lighting schedule set so that my tank lights come on shortly before I get home and stay on until after I go to bed. My fish sleep during the day when I'm gone at work and are awake when I'm home in the evenings. I don't enjoy looking at a dark tank, so my tank lights are based on my schedule.

I have anthias, so that is why I typically feed multiple times per day. if I didn't have the anthias, I think all my other fish would be just fine with just a single feeding per day.

 

[X-37B]

I feed heavy 4-5 times a day.
I control no3 with Vodka and po4 with P-minus.

 

[Tangdora]

Heavy once a day. Rest of the day they can do what they were bought for and keep my rocks clean lol.

 

[kfries]

I run an auto feeder in the morning as we have a pretty busy household. I have a mix of pellets in it. I feed frozen food in the evening and feed nori at least every other day, if not every day, to keep the algae crew happy. I will say some of my fish are pretty plump.

 

[Kokanuty]

I feed heavy 4-5 times a day.
I control no3 with Vodka and po4 with P-minus.

I have read briefly about vodka, may have to dive deeper into that. Looks like most of the tanks that get fed multiple times a day are the reefers that are home most of the time... I have an auto dry feeder but don't plan on changing out the pellets so they may get tiered of it after a while. Those who mix frozen and other foods would be fantastic but not really feasible for those who are away from their tanks.

But I see many are feeding frozen pretty much daily and I know the fish love it, but again has to be done while at home unless an expensive frozen feeder is purchased.

 

[mattdg]

I have a 120 reef with 12 medium size fish. Feed a small pinch 2 x day reef flakes and pellets, sometimes soaked in Selcon. It's enough to keep all the fish happy and plump, but not too plump. Frozen 1-2x / week, usually whatever seafood we have around. Will take a bit of raw fish or shrimp, dice it up and toss it in. I used to overcomplicate this aspect of reef keeping. I find simple is way better, for my sanity, limited time and the overall health of the mixed reef.

 

[X-37B]

I have read briefly about vodka, may have to dive deeper into that. Looks like most of the tanks that get fed multiple times a day are the reefers that are home most of the time... I have an auto dry feeder but don't plan on changing out the pellets so they may get tiered of it after a while. Those who mix frozen and other foods would be fantastic but not really feasible for those who are away from their tanks.

But I see many are feeding frozen pretty much daily and I know the fish love it, but again has to be done while at home unless an expensive frozen feeder is purchased.

Yea being retired helps, lol.
In my 150, 10 fish, I only need 5ml a day to keep no3 at 5.
2 year old 150.