Mysis vs. Brine shrimp

Strawberry

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I’ve been working to give my fish a more varied diet. I currently have 2 juvenile clowns and a juvenile diamond head goby, and I’ve been feeding them omega pellets (crushed) and brine shrimp as long as I’ve had them (a month or so) and yesterday, I wanted to offer them something different, so I gave them some thawed mysis. They wouldn’t even touch it! Do you think it was because the pieces were too large or what?
 

Heathd

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i find most stuff eats mysis. Maybe soak it in some garlic before feeding to get their attention, but everything in my tank eats without any sort of alteration needed. Mysis is already pretty small.
 

ectoaesthetics

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Could have been to large. Mysis can vary in size and I don’t know how large your clowns are. They are easy enough to cut in 1/2 to test the theory. Defrost then use a pairing knife. It’s not like you need a dozen to test it out just a few would do.
 

huckjai

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My first few cubes of mysis were pretty small pieces. Recently they have been larger pieces, with more shell and the fish don't really like it.
 
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Strawberry

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Has anyone tried Algae Barn’s (I think it’s called) reef snow for corals? I was thinking about trying some after I finish my phyto dose.
 

Hemmdog

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Try hakari mysis, it’s smaller and I’ve never had a fish that wouldn’t eat it. I had a wild mandarin that started eating frozen immediately when offered the smaller mysis fwiw.

also make sure you are thawing in tank water not tap water.
 

Hemmdog

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@Hemmdog I will definitely try that! My clowns and goby love the brine shrimp, but I like to offer them different things.
That’s good! A varied diet is best! Mysis has more nutrition and more calories compared to brine, so it’s a “bigger meal” for fish. They will be very happy and healthy once they learn that it’s ok to eat it :)
 

huckjai

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Try hakari mysis, it’s smaller and I’ve never had a fish that wouldn’t eat it. I had a wild mandarin that started eating frozen immediately when offered the smaller mysis fwiw.

also make sure you are thawing in tank water not tap water.
I'm using Hikari, and the pieces were small at first, but this batch is pretty big. They can barely fit on my fish's mouths. But then again, I have small fish.
 

lapin

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You can also try something like Rods food. Its a blend of all kinds of stuff. Use it as a treat. It is very easy to overfeed your tank with it.
 

LisaMarie

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I use Hikari and Piscine Energetics mysis for my fish and seahorses. Everyone seems to love it. I thaw in RODI water (tank water works too) and rinse thoroughly with a brine shrimp net (wash net in warm soapy water after every use to avoid bacteria buildup). It's a great way to add variety.
 

Carter's Reef

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In my expierience, nothing in my tanks has not been intrested in mysis. Especially the clowns. Maybe try smaller pieces?
 

Triple.T

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I use PE mysis and PE calanus. Each cube I cut in half, then half again so its 4th. I feed one of each with a pinch of flake and a pinch of micro algae pellets twice a day.

FWIW, I also have 2 juvenile clowns, 5 hermits, 2 snails, 1 emerald crab. Everyone in the tank gets excited when it's feed time.
 

Hemmdog

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This is pretty much what I feed exclusively

Haven’t feed flake or pellet ever
That makes me happy to hear. Frozen is so much healthier for your fish.

Flake/pellets =
396AF3D2-1F0A-4FB8-BC2C-D0CD1F4E8571.jpeg

Frozen =
9663EFFD-DCAF-4E57-B3F2-00D6F8567BBF.jpeg


If you’ve tried astronaut ice cream you will clearly understand the analogy and the importance of quality food.
 

ReefFrenzy

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Thanks for the shout out!

Try LRS reef frenzy, has everything your tank needs. Also, reef nutrition makes mysis feast that's refrigerated, best stuff IME

Our all-in-one blends are known for getting finicky feeders eating and we add genuine PE Mysis so you can cover both basis as well. I would recommend our "NANO" blend, and shaving off frozen slivers of food for your smaller fish. You can learn more about our products and process at: http://www.larrysreefservices.com/media-gallery.html

 
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Strawberry

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I appreciate everyone’s input on this! I will try all of your suggestions in time to see what works best for my tank. I purchased some frozen krill to feed some small pieces to my torch, and my clowns went crazy over the leftover bits! I think that the mysis pieces I tried at first were just too large since both of my clowns are very young. I will check into the reef frenzy that you guys keep recommending ;)
 

JayinToronto

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That’s good! A varied diet is best! Mysis has more nutrition and more calories compared to brine, so it’s a “bigger meal” for fish. They will be very happy and healthy once they learn that it’s ok to eat it :)
I don’t know re: nutritional values of brine vs mysis.. People always say that mysis is so much better. The numbers don’t really support it. Marginally better maybe.
 

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lapin

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Mysis has meat. Brine shrimp are mostly shell.
 

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