Saltwater Fish & Coral Feeding Tips: GIve a Tip, Take a Tip!

When it comes to feeding fish and coral.....

  • I have a lot to learn

    Votes: 100 44.1%
  • I'm still learning a little

    Votes: 101 44.5%
  • I've got it mastered

    Votes: 21 9.3%
  • Other (please explain)

    Votes: 5 2.2%

  • Total voters
    227

revhtree

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Hope everyone had a great weekend, extended one here in the US! This week we are going to have some topics pertaining to Aquarium Food, feeding, etc. Feeding your fish and coral seems pretty easy and something that doesn't require a lot of learning to do but for someone new it can be a topic that takes some time and traversing to figure out. So let's help them and maybe learn a thing or two ourselves today! Let's talk about it!

What's one fish or coral feeding tip that you would like to share that has helped you?


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polyppal

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Hope everyone had a great weekend, extended one here in the US! This week we are going to have some topics pertaining to Aquarium Food, feeding, etc. Feeding your fish and coral seems pretty easy and something that doesn't require a lot of learning to do but for someone new it can be a topic that takes some time and traversing to figure out. So let's help them and maybe learn a thing or two ourselves today! Let's talk about it!

What's one fish or coral feeding tip that you would like to share that has helped you?


b6I.gif

PPs DIY Premium Frozen Fish Food

C4A96893-C765-469B-B1D3-24251D6A3938.jpeg
75% Fresh (human grade/no flavorings or preservatives) shrimp w heads and 25% shellfish w shell juice (makes the fish go crazy for it), some selcon and spirulina powder, grind up and freeze. Regrind frozen chunks to make nice bits for ez feeding.

5EEE338B-CAD4-4521-AA87-09CEE7038A3B.jpeg

$15-20 worth of ingredients nets me enough premium frozen food for about 4-6mo. I don’t make huge lots beyond that because I fear it would freezerburn being in the freezer too long. Compared to 20$ a month or so for store bought frozen that’s prob not as nutritious and this is very clean in the water column compared to some others as well. Never had a fish that didn’t loose their minds trying to eat this simple recipe.
 
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BeltedCoyote

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I've been told I know a ton. And I suppose I do. But I am am eternal student and I know that there is always something more to learn/discover. Especially in something like Iike reefing.

So I know some and have even more to learn
 

Glenner’sreef

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So consider how consistent we are with our feeding schedules. Daily for sure, some of us and for various reasons multiple times a day. Then think of an ocean reef. It can be feast or famine. Normally healthy fish can become “the prey” and are. A large fish can die (whale) and feed a reef for days. The ocean is balanced in so many ways but our small echo systems are so fine tuned when it comes to feeding and our fish show it as they swim right to the top of the tank to greet you each morning. Enjoy!
 

design.maddie

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"Other" because I have no idea where I stand in regards to the other hobbyist. I understand the circle of life and what each of my inhabitants prefer to eat. I understand mechanisms of their bodies and how they use the nutrients I am providing. My corals/fish are all very healthy in appearances and growth rates.

Do I know 50+ brands of pellets or what frozen food has the fastest melt times? No way. I barely can tell you what brand I use. I looked for ingredients not labels and pretty boxes/bags.

I have also made my own foods.
 

njreefkeeper

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After 20 plus years in the keeping reef tanks, I’ve come to the realization that every tank I’ve had only thrived when the fish I kept were noticeably what most would consider fat. One day I just started researching pictures of what healthy specimens looked like in the wild and realized I was feeding far too little, not often enough and not varied enough a diet. Since then I’ve committed to feeding at least 4 times a day with a mix of pellets, flakes, frozen and sea vegetable varieties. This has impacted my maintenance by me matching filtration and a routine water change schedule based on the fish I keep in a given tank; not a boiler plate maintenance regime of a 10% weekly water change, changing socks twice a week, etc etc. Every tank is different based on what you choose to keep and how much it REQUIRES to be fed; and what percentage water change and maintenance is needed to keep it stable and thriving.

My .02
 

gbru316

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I was feeding far too little, not often enough and not varied enough a diet.

I've come to that realization, too. I think many of us become so focused on water quality that we end up underfeeding, instead of feeding sufficiently and adapting our maintenance/filtration to accommodate. My thinking is that by offering a wide variety of food, our livestock will have access to enough of something to grow and thrive. My method is purposely wide in scope, but I don't feed a ton of any particular source. For instance, the daily mix has a total volume of around 2.5 mL (2 mL of liquid components, 0.45 mL of pellets measured with one of those 0.15 mL scoops from an old test kit) for my average stocked 40 breeder.

My feeding regimen consists of a core mix fed twice daily, supplemented with other products daily. I shut down my return for 15 minutes when I feed the core mix or larger supplements (marine fusion, reef jerky, LPS food), and for the rest I just shut down the skimmer for an hour. As I've programmed both feeding regimes into my Apex, everything turns back on automatically after the allotted time.

Core mix:
1. AF liquid artemia
2. AF liquid mysis
3. AF liquid vege
4. AF plankton elixir
5. AF tiny fish feed
6. AF Fish V

Supplements:
1. Marine Fusion cube (1x/week)
2. AF Phytoplankton (3x/week)
3. Avast Reef Jerky (3x/week)
4. Brightwell Garlic power
5. AF LPS Food (1x/week)
6. AF Zoanthid Food (1x/week)
7. AF Power Food (1x/week)
8. Benepet (1x/week)
9. Oyster Feast (3x/week)
10. AF Power Food (1x/week)
11. AF Build (3x/week)
12. AF Energy (3x/week)
13. AF Vitality (3x/week)
14. AF Amino (3x/week)
15. Nori sheet piece (1x/week)

I'm also thinking of adding live phyto and BBS to the mix (one LFS cultures 2 different varieties of phyto, the other cultures brine shrimp), and considering picking up some fresh shrimp and clams and chopping them up (and using the remainder for bait).
 

shakacuz

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i just feed LRS reef frenzy 3x a week (M/W/F), 1 hikari algae wafer/and some TDO chroma boost size small 2x a week (T/Th), dose phyto 2x week (Sa/Su), and use my nori clip to feed nori 1x a week (Sa, but usually lasts about 2-3 days)

once in a blue moon if my po4 is lower than where i want it i broadcast feed a mix of reefroids/reef chili/benepets 1x a week, usually on Sunday once lights are out and after i test my water.

i am still learning, but what i do works for my tank!
 
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ninjamyst

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My corals look best when I feed heavy. Heavy import and heavy export. I fed my fish 3-4x a day with mix of LRS and pellets. A lot of people don't like pellets but my fish and corals love them. I also like feeding pellets daily to train all my fish onto pellets so I can go on vacation for a week with an auto feeder on. For corals, I recently started easyreef SPS and really like it. I also use reef roids. Keep in mind this is in a 240g total volume tank with refugium and oversized skimmer. Again, heavy in and heavy out.
 

ying yang

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I prefer to feed diced/sliced cut up small clams/oysters/scallops/mussels to my fish ,mainly because gkt a cooperband butterfly fish and read they just won't accept flake or pellets and I just feel like better for the fish as my opinion on pellets/flake is equivalent to me eating processed food all the time which I don't want ro do and don't feel healthy enough for me.

1 little tip if got any cleaner shrimp or any shrimp that likes to steal food from corals after spot feeding corals ,cut bottom off a bottle off pop and place bottle over the coral after feeding to stop shrimp harassing coral and sticking/stabbing the poor coral as it steals the food,even if feed shrimp first ,the shrimp will often drop food in its grasp just to go harass and steal from corals mouth lol
 

Jay Hemdal

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Feed the Fish, not the tank! The fish's feeding response should dictate to you how much and how often to feed. Too many times I hear, "Well, I feed my fish every day, one capful of food". What if, as the fish grow, they now need two capfuls?

Jay
 

LisaD1

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PPs DIY Premium Frozen Fish Food

C4A96893-C765-469B-B1D3-24251D6A3938.jpeg
75% Fresh (human grade/no flavorings or preservatives) shrimp w heads and 25% shellfish w shell juice (makes the fish go crazy for it), some selcon and spirulina powder, grind up and freeze. Regrind frozen chunks to make nice bits for ez feeding.

5EEE338B-CAD4-4521-AA87-09CEE7038A3B.jpeg

$15-20 worth of ingredients nets me enough premium frozen food for about 4-6mo. I don’t make huge lots beyond that because I fear it would freezerburn being in the freezer too long. Compared to 20$ a month or so for store bought frozen that’s prob not as nutritious and this is very clean in the water column compared to some others as well. Never had a fish that didn’t loose their minds trying to eat this simple recipe.
What is seal on? Feeling stupid
 
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