The best live foods to feed to your reef!!! What live foods are you consistently adding?

Peace River · Jul 28, 2023

The best live foods to feed to your reef!!! What live foods are you consistently adding?

There is just something about live foods that seem to make a difference in a reef tank. Pellets, flake, frozen, powdered, and liquid all may have a place in meal time for your reef aquarium, but there seems to be something extra about the immediate response and long-term health and growth from feeding live foods. The live foods may vary based on your tank inhabitants and you may be occasionally adding “treats”, but what live foods are you consistently adding to your tank? Let us know your approach to keeping, feeding, and maybe even reproducing live foods. And yes, we want to see pictures if you are willing to share!

Photo by @DinkinsAquaticGardens

This QOTD is sponsored by: www.dinkinsaquaticgardens.com

"Our mission is to help save the reefs by providing the highest quality live reef foods for every aquarium - from small biocubes to mid-sized reef aquariums, to giant aquaculture facilities" @Dinkins Aquatic Gardens

vetteguy53081 · Jul 28, 2023

I dont add any yet see copepods all the time

Fishy888 · Jul 28, 2023

I voted for pods, phyto, and feeder fish. I have four mollies born in saltwater that are almost fully grown. They’ll be going in my 210 before long. I have pods already and I’ll be adding more soon. As for phyto I’m going to culture several different types.

CO2TLEY · Jul 28, 2023

How beneficial would the reef snacklebox be for a fowlr?

Gtinnel · Jul 28, 2023

I feed live white worms daily. I had been adding phyto but my cultures crashed a few months ago and I haven’t bought any to start them back up.

zoomonster · Jul 28, 2023

I don't constantly add pods since I have a good population but occasionally I add some new ones to keep supply up and add variety. Phyto yes, I add Algae Barn daily until I get around to start culturing my own.

merkmerk73 · Jul 28, 2023

Pods and clams - although I'm not sure if you count the clams if they were killed by freezing in the freezer first before putting them in the tank?

Blackworms I haven't had much success with. A lot of the fish just don't have any interest, and they die in about 10 seconds or so in saltwater.

Sharkbait19 · Jul 28, 2023

I’ve got a pretty constant supply of pods and such living and breeding in the tank, but I have to regularly add ghost shrimp to feed my scorp (or whoever finds them first).

YOYOYOReefer · Jul 28, 2023

live brine brings out everything in my tank that likes to hide. It’s like irresistible to the shrimp

FrugalReefer · Jul 28, 2023

Bacteria bound up with nutrients, and I don’t even have to add it. I just help with the population through carbon dosing.

design.maddie · Jul 28, 2023

I feel kinda bad. Where is the option for "I feed dead things"?

salty joe · Jul 28, 2023

merkmerk73 said:
Pods and clams - although I'm not sure if you count the clams if they were killed by freezing in the freezer first before putting them in the tank?

Blackworms I haven't had much success with. A lot of the fish just don't have any interest, and they die in about 10 seconds or so in saltwater.

I count whole frozen shellfish. I feed mussels, oysters and clams. I also culture phyto which reminds me I need to go do the phyto thing for my tank. I used to culture white worms. They lived and wiggled for quite a while in my tank but were kind of nasty when infested with some little flies and their disgusting maggots. I gave up on them.

Mr. Mojo Rising · Jul 29, 2023

baby brine shrimp is the only one I add consistently, at least once a week, sometimes twice.

And I dose phyto as well.

TangerineSpeedo · Jul 30, 2023

Cheato, Tet, Iso. 10ml each twice a day during feedings. Nightime I have a 1g tank tank I am culturing a "swamp" Phyto, copepods, rotifers and a few brine shrimp. About 20ml of that, everybody goes crazy, like shark week crazy. Fish and corals alike.

Mark Gray · Jul 30, 2023

I add Photo, Rotifers, Copepods, fairly often. I had been feeding black worms daily but my culture died I feed white worms about 3 times a week. When I go to Atlanta I buy live clams now they are dead when they get to the tank water but very fresh. My fish seem healthy I am a 100% on the ICK management side np QT for me.

PeterErc · Jul 30, 2023

Sargassum and ghost shrimp, mmmm!! Throw in some garlic and scampi fish poop, corals love it lol

MnFish1 · Jul 30, 2023

No live foods except what (was) on the rocks.

Doctorgori · Jul 30, 2023

This is interesting…. I read something somewhere explaining/justifying how/why food actually originating from the sea has a better nutritional profile than terrestrial foods or Freshwater sources (black worms, Tilapia et) …I can’t recall the details but it had something to do with Omega 3’s, vitamins and things I can’t understand or pronounce…

IF ANYONE has info or input this topic, pleeeeeeez chime in…. Again, I have no clue why this is, but as I could recall & understand, the article made sense

Anyway, I’ve had success with black worms, earthworms, white worms and Brineshrimp …all depends on what you gutload/condition the foods with 1st …. BTW Marine Betta will take earthworms (not sure if thats good or bad)