Water wafers: Do you ever feed fish food flakes in your reef tank?

Do you ever feed fish food flakes in your reef tank?

  • Yes, my fish love it.

    Votes: 250 44.8%
  • Yes, but only on a rare occasion.

    Votes: 88 15.8%
  • Meh.

    Votes: 74 13.3%
  • No, it’s a problem waiting to happen.

    Votes: 51 9.1%
  • No, it’s for freshwater only.

    Votes: 71 12.7%
  • Other

    Votes: 24 4.3%

  • Total voters
    558

zoomonster

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 9, 2014
Messages
1,542
Reaction score
1,611
Location
Central Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Of course flakes are fine for saltwater aquariums with many made specifically for it. For the longest time all I fed was Prime Reef, Spirulina flakes, New Spectrum 1mm pellets (auto feeder also for away times), nori and I had a tank full of fat happy fish. Being I have switched games with more soft and LPS corals along with a few new fish including nitpicky Anthias I have also gone back to feeding frozen mysis, brine, arctic pods, calanus along with oyster feast and occasional reefroids. The bad thing about frozen is spotty availability except online. I just dropped $136 + $30 shipping from BRS. Even at that they only had one Hikari frozen mysis in stock. Well price too... some of the boutique stuff out there is more expensive than premium human seafood.
 

vtecintegra

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
1,386
Reaction score
1,561
Location
Tampa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I looked at the ingredients of some popular flakes. Wheat gluten, wheat starch, wheat flour, marigold, pea by-product meal, soy protein, dried yeast. Why would you feed junk like this when there are great frozen alternatives that don't have these fillers? No, I don't feed flakes.
 

Jwise

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 5, 2022
Messages
243
Reaction score
219
Location
Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I make all my own mix of food I include flake into it. I use flake, 3 types of pellet, mysis, bryne, seaweed, garlic guard, and vitality and mix it all together and freeze it. That's what I feed every time I feed and my fish couldn't look better. They are all filled in and look really healthy.
 

Potatohead

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 3, 2017
Messages
2,427
Reaction score
3,581
Location
Vancouver
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I would guess about 70% of what I feed to my reef tank is flake.

I looked at the ingredients of some popular flakes. Wheat gluten, wheat starch, wheat flour, marigold, pea by-product meal, soy protein, dried yeast. Why would you feed junk like this when there are great frozen alternatives that don't have these fillers? No, I don't feed flakes.

Doesn't seem too bad. There will always be flour or similar used as a binder.

1682100661053.png
 

docforestal

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
285
Reaction score
433
Location
Vermont
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i do same @Jwise ; not all of my fish eat flake, but need to be fed more than twice a day and have the feeder do flake to supplement - the cardinals and file fish will only eat frozen mysis, the wrasse is a pig; gobies will eat whatever
wish i could just feed the frozen slurry 3-4 times a day instead of flake tho
 

Jwise

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
May 5, 2022
Messages
243
Reaction score
219
Location
Florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i do same @Jwise ; not all of my fish eat flake, but need to be fed more than twice a day and have the feeder do flake to supplement - the cardinals and file fish will only eat frozen mysis, the wrasse is a pig; gobies will eat whatever
wish i could just feed the frozen slurry 3-4 times a day instead of flake tho
I feed my mixed food twice a day I make up 4 ziplock bags of the food
 

docforestal

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 19, 2023
Messages
285
Reaction score
433
Location
Vermont
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
i use clams/mussles/squid/mysis/vitamins/selcon/garlic/spirulina/nori/reef chili and some flake/td pellet, blend it and smear it into mini silicon cube trays and freeze
this recent batch has a bit more spirulina and squid and they are not loving it until it breaks apart IMG-3446.jpg
 

Turkey head

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 26, 2017
Messages
327
Reaction score
224
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I feed Ocean Nutrition Formula One and Two flakes daily. I put in small amounts a few times in the evening, making sure they have eaten all of it before adding another small amount. I feed frozen too but I like the variety. I see most of my carnivores and herbivores eat both types. Probably overall good for them. So load you don’t overfeed, pollution isn’t a problem. I used to overfeed enough that it was a problem but I overfeed frozen too.
 

JoJosReef

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 27, 2021
Messages
6,641
Reaction score
17,442
Location
Orange County, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I voted other, because I target feed flakes to the cleaner shrimp and also sometimes give them to the porcelain crab. Haha, and really funny is I'll place a flake over the opening to the pistol shrimp's cave and watch it get snatched into the hole :)
 

Cheezle

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 9, 2022
Messages
376
Reaction score
574
Location
Phoenix
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I got a tub of the marine plus flakes from seachem and everyone eats it. Goby, clowns and blenny all love it. My watchman eats it too when I turn the pumps back on.
 

Superd513

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 8, 2023
Messages
206
Reaction score
96
Location
Miamisburg
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Water wafers: Do you ever feed fish food flakes in your reef tank?

Many reef keepers feed their tank with live foods, frozen foods, pellets, and other types of feed. However there seems to be a common thought that flake food is for freshwater tanks only. Do you ever feed flake food to your reef tank? Is there a place for flakes in saltwater tanks? If you do use flake food, when and how do you include flakes into your feeding program. If you don’t feed flakes, please tell us why not. Maybe there is a place for flake food in saltwater aquariums and maybe there isn’t – let’s talk about it!

JumboShrimp_FlakeFood.jpeg

Photo by @JumboShrimp
I have 5 saltwater Mollys and they will eat anything. They are super friendly. As soon as I walk up to the tank they come up to the glass and follow me. I use goldfish flakes for them. I tried using some frozen food but it always ends up on the rock or in the sand. Once I get my clown fish, I will start feeding them food specifically for them but until then I’m not worried about it.
16FCF02E-FAC3-45ED-9E97-40C63A1A8D27.jpeg
 

jda

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 25, 2013
Messages
14,325
Reaction score
22,134
Location
Boulder, CO
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I have a pretty new Blue Star Leopard that will eat spirulina flake, but not mysis. Weird. Variety is good for me.,

Flakes are a great way to get food all over the tank to crabs, shrimp, etc. I do put them under the water with my fingers so that they don't just float down the overflow.

The newer (well, like more than a decade ago) high quality flakes and pellets with HUFA an vitamans no longer required me to use Selcon and Zoe like I used to have to. Mysis helps with some of this too. No more HLLE for me.

Dry will always be part of my diet.

For those who think that binders like wheat and things do not belong in the diet of saltwater fish, do you feed mysis? Mysis is a freshwater shrimp. I have always found this amazing...
 

rossco

.
View Badges
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
758
Reaction score
1,131
Location
Redding, CA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Prime Flakes in the morning, and Rods Seaweed Blend chopped to about the same size as flakes most evenings for the Tangs in the display.

Just Prime flakes in the morning for the frag tank and nano.

No frozen except for PE Mysis occasionally for the anemones in the Nano.
 

Tub Life

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 28, 2021
Messages
167
Reaction score
180
Location
Burnaby, BC, Canada
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My copperband relishes dry food now
How?!?! While I am delighted my copperband is a good eater. it does not take any flake or pellets. you sir have achieved the dream!

on topic, I do feed flake every now and then. as noted not all my fish go for it. i like to think it fills the tang up a bit on the cheap. lol
 

Baka Mop

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 16, 2023
Messages
102
Reaction score
110
Location
California Bay Area
Rating - 100%
3   0   0
My fish go crazy for prime flakes. Even my tiny possum wrasse will hoover up big chunks. They are so-so with mysis, and they really don't seem to touch pellet food aside from my clowns.
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,861
Reaction score
200,138
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
How?!?! While I am delighted my copperband is a good eater. it does not take any flake or pellets. you sir have achieved the dream!

on topic, I do feed flake every now and then. as noted not all my fish go for it. i like to think it fills the tang up a bit on the cheap. lol
It took about 3 years before it looked at dry food but I’ve had this fish close to 5 years and sooner or later it was bound to try it. This fish eats Anything
 

Spare time

10K Club member
View Badges
Joined
Apr 12, 2019
Messages
12,042
Reaction score
9,683
Location
Here
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I looked at the ingredients of some popular flakes. Wheat gluten, wheat starch, wheat flour, marigold, pea by-product meal, soy protein, dried yeast. Why would you feed junk like this when there are great frozen alternatives that don't have these fillers? No, I don't feed flakes.

Can you explain why you say those are bad. Gluten and wheat are used as the binding material
 

vetteguy53081

Well known Member and monster tank lover
View Badges
Joined
Aug 11, 2013
Messages
90,861
Reaction score
200,138
Location
Wisconsin -
Rating - 100%
13   0   0
Can you explain why you say those are bad. Gluten and wheat are used as the binding material
Agree and without these preservatives would be very poor grade food product
 

vtecintegra

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
May 14, 2010
Messages
1,386
Reaction score
1,561
Location
Tampa
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can you explain why you say those are bad. Gluten and wheat are used as the binding material
Goes against common sense to feed things like wheat and other land based ingredients long term to marine fish. I stick to things like LRS, fish eggs, plankton, and krill.
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 73 51.8%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 72 51.1%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 36 25.5%
  • None.

    Votes: 31 22.0%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 6.4%

New Posts

Back
Top