How often to feed fish

[reely989]

I don't know man, I have two planks running multiple times a day and an inD aquatics frozen feeder going twice a day. Think it probably depends on what you have but it seems to cut down on a lot of other problems to have fish that are well fed and not ornery. That being said I do rely on NoPox and Phosphate Rx to help with nutrients.

 

[winxp_man]

Small portions 6-7 times a day. Keeps the tangs happy and not wanting to fight.

 

[BryanM]

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.

I feel like most people underfeed because they think its good algae controll.

Most fish graze all day.

I feed my fish 3x a day.

 

[Paul B]

I feed once a day and sometimes I skip a day, or two. Most fish can go without food for over a month or so........
But don't do that.

 

[BryanM]

I feed once a day and sometimes I skip a day, or two. Most fish can go without food for over a month or so........
But don't do that.

I feel like your comment should come with a quick snippet about what you feed and your philosophy.

Feeding once a day for most is not ideal IMO.

 

[Nano_Man]

Twice a day
Some days I will miss feeding

 

[Paul B]

I feel like your comment should come with a quick snippet about what you feed and your philosophy.

Feeding once a day for most is not ideal IMO.

I feed LRS food, chopped earthworms and live whiteworms. (not usually at the same time) No dry foods of any kind and no nori.

Most of my fish only die of old age and many are spawning. I have been feeding like this for the 55 years the tank has been running and so far, never had a problem.

I think I have about 35 fish.

 

[cryingrn]

Generally, my autofeeder goes off 2x a day and then I feed frozen in the evening + nori where applicable. Sometimes i will do frozen romaine lettuce as a treat in addition to nori (not as a substitute). But my smaller tank has issues with nutrients skyrocketing so I only feed that tank once a day currently

 

[jwwoodjr]

Right now I feed frozen twice per day because I'm trying to fatten my hawk fish back up. He doesn't eat pellets and got skinny when I got too reliant on the auto feeder. I have some anthias in QT and once he's fat and they make it into the display I'll feed a small amount of pellets multiple times per day and frozen once a day.

 

[Largeangels]

Multiple small feedings throughout the day of mysis and various pellets and Nori for the tangs and angels.

 

[mulsky]

4x.
I could never refuse these hungry faces.

 

[Marc G-L]

I feed morning and eve, dry in Am, and frozen in pm. I find that feeding less and waiting 3-5 mins between adding more cube fragments at night ensures nobody gets snooty and avoids the smaller particles. That ensures less debris floating around and my CUC works diligently on the Algae.

Benggai Cardinals go for chunks unless they see no more coming right away, then they eat little stuff, so I wait before adding more. My purple fire fish will join the eating forays but, also hunt the little stuff. Royal gamma eats everything and will outcompete the flame angel. Lastly my red firefish stays back happy to catch the tiniest specs floating by.

 

[Nordy]

The purple tang I have and Foxface love Arugula. Kinda cool, because I enjoy it, some I’ll harvest, and some I let go to seed. Once the seed pods are blanched looking, I will dry out the seeds another few days, then start again. Arugula germinates so fast, under 48 hours sometimes, then it grows like a weed. I like the seeds too, kind of a nice gentle spicy essence.

 

[jabberkaycee]

I feed 2-3 times daily. Mixture of frozen in the morning, flakes in afternoon, and pellets in evening.

 

[jonelder68]

I do 7-8 feedings daily. All automated by avast plank with blend of reef jerky, pellets, and flake. Ind AF4 for frozen feeding multiple frozen foods and also ROE. The feedings are small but frequent. Enough to ensure each fish gets some. System was designed for this with large refugiums and large skimmer. Still have to dose a ton of ammonium and phosphate to keep from bottoming out. I do have Anthias but feel regardless small and frequent feedings are superior to 1-2 large feedings daily.

 

[kichimark]

Twice a day during the work week with mornings being thawed out mysis/spirulina/artic pods. In the evening when I get home it might be some mysis and some PE pellets. During the weekends I would do 3x a day. Once a week I give treats such as live blackworms (die fast but the fish gobble them up FAST).

 

[EricR]

Wow. Many on here feed more frequently than I do.
Twice a day, frozen.
*I like LRS Reef Frenzy but haven't been able to get it locally recently so have been using S.F. Bay Marine Cuisine from PetCo

When away on vacation, fish get fed once every day or two, depending on schedule of whoever we get to check on the house.

 

[Nordy]

The purple tang I have and Foxface love Arugula. Kinda cool, because I enjoy it, some I’ll harvest, and some I let go to seed. Once the seed pods are blanched looking, I will dry out the seeds another few days, then start again. Arugula germinates so fast, under 48 hours sometimes, then it grows like a weed. I like the seeds too, kind of a nice gentle spicy essence.

Little bit of young broccoli leaves with Arugula. Most of the time there is a seaweed clip or 2 with various colored seaweeds from 2 Little Fishies. I enjoy watching the tang hit the clip, and then the Foxface gets in there for some nibbles, and usually gets the tang to back off some with the dorsal spines or the spines underneath depending on relative location. Wanted to show my Chalk bass. He was a blimp for almost 3 weeks, and then resumed his more normal, sleek tiger shark appearance. He is always feeding, loves chunks of LRS, but he would be good with 1 or two normal feedings vs. my every 2&1/2 hour feedings for the rest of the family.

 

[kfries]

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.

I have tried dicing up frsh samon and other items but it never seemed to entice my fish. Whatr fish do you find that eat the fresh seafood?