Is there a specific way we should be picking food for our first tank?

[randyBRS]

When you first started the hobby, who or what helped you make your fish food decisions?

Cheapest?
Most popular?
Recommended from fellow reefer?

 

[Waynerock]

When in started in 2000 I had 1 shop near me and they made there own food. It was like LRS before LRS. They always boasted about how it was suitable for “captive or keeper” and one time someone called him out on it and he sure enough ate some. The food options especially frozen is staggering now

 

[mfinn]

When I first started saltwater in the 80's, there wasn't much of a choice. Many times it was flake food meant for freshwater.
We had 1 lfs in town that had a saltwater section where I got all my supplies from. But it was only around for a few years.
I don't remember what year it was but there was a magazine called FAMA that had great articles, and of course the full page glossy ads

 

[Idoc]

I took recommendations from what I read on R2R as what was good nutrients for fish. Overwhelmingly, the answer was frozen, so that's what I stated with and still use. The brand is whatever I can get locally, which is what's available at a Petco. The fish have been very healthy.

 

[NanoDJS]

For me it was experiment, talk with fellow reefers for input , get stuff from the store lol , try and be a chef. I will never forget the first big red pouch of cyclops eze. I introduced it to my then LFS lol , then got really into pods / and importance of water column zooplankton ect , then guys like LRS Larry and such really took it to a whole new level.I could always feed the fish well , it was figuring out how to target feed coral that was the problem , now Reefroids FTW .

 

[S2G]

I think pellets are underutilized (word). Pellets imo should be the main staple. A quality pellet that is. I have way more issues with frozen. LRS is clean but expensive. More nutritious than say nls thera A probably not and bang for buck no comparison.

I really don't understand all the long term frozen food use.

 

[AltitudeAquarium]

When you first started the hobby, who or what helped you make your fish food decisions?

Cheapest?
Most popular?
Recommended from fellow reefer?

I watched YouTube reef channels and asked LFS. As I went to Petco and LFS, I looked at what was readily available and the cost. I wanted the best nutrition for the health of the fish and corals. Luckily, there is a LFS frozen food available with apparent natural ingredients without additives that may potentially contribute to waste and other algae conditions. I still overfeed because I want the fish healthy and easy to keep. When I raised my cows and did not cheapen their food, they were healthy and happy. Why not the same for our aquariums.

 

[Wolverine47]

I started by talking to my LFS and watching some videos online. Started out with flakes, then moved on to pellets and now use LRS Reef Frenzy. I still mix in a small amount of pellets because they are very nutrient dense but I have never had a fish refuse LRS and I think a clean high quality frozen food is worth the little extra money that it costs. Easiest thing for beginner is to learn from other reefers that have been doing it for a while. But understanding that every situation is a little different.