So much research on setup...don't know how to feed

[piscivorous]

I've spent two years just getting the money together and researching all of the equipment, then finally getting it all together.....I have realized I have absolutely no idea what or how to feed anything I will be keeping in my tank. too much information....figure I'll have time to research the feeding process during the time in which I am waiting for the tank to cycle.....clownfish, six line wrasse, blennie, royal gramma, corals, shrimp, eventually clams..these are my plans....my my...so much to read up on. Just figured I'd throw my thoughts out there.......funny just how much there is to learn about if you want to take good care of everything up front......

[sir_dudeguy]

all your fish should take pretty much the same thing. Clowns will eat anything (they're damsels, meaning they're pigs :) ). The sixline...both that i've had would only eat meaty foods for about...a week lol. Now they take anything. I've also got a bicolor blenny and he also eats anything, but i'm not sure what kinda blenny you'll have. The gramma, again, will take most stuff. And when i say they'll take anything/most things, i mean stuff from like flake foods, to mysis/ brine shrimp/ etc. Flake or meaty. The gramma is one that is sometimes tricky to start feeding but then later is perfectly fine.

One trick i've heard to get the gramma eating is to put some ghost shrimp in there and they'll go for those. However if you do that, then you're getting it used to eating shrimp....and when you add whatever shrimp you add down the road (and i suggest a cleaner shrimp...way cool), he may eat that too. And same with the sixline, altho i've never had trouble feeding mine. And the only royal gramma that i had would take flake right away so i didnt bother w/the ghost shrimp.

Sixlines will sometimes nip at shrimp, but i've had mine with a cleaner shrmp for over 4 months or so now and they never touch each other. Actually the shrimp tries to catch the wrasse haha. But also the shrimp is bigger than the wrasses mouth, so that may help (this shrimp is about 2 and a half inches long...pretty big one).

For corals....it depends what you want. If you just want stuff like button polyps, i feed mine mysis shrimp (they just get it when i feed it to the tank, i dont spot feed anything) and they'll take whatever meaty foods are put in there too. Some stuff like anemone's may require you to feed them silversides (tiny silver frozen fish) a few times a week.

Clams, they just filter feed, so whatever is in the water they could eat i would think :)

hth

[bertoni]

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=176530

That thread has a lot of good information on feeding.

Clams will benefit from a food like DT's phytoplankton.

[Wrench]

http://www.melevsreef.com/feedings.html

[piscivorous]

thanks for the tips guys....I'll have to start my reading. I've read that Rod's Food is supposed to be excellent for everything...but at the same time...it is kind of pricey....however, it looks like all of the work of a well balanced mix is all ready done for you...so it may be worth it in the long run....I guess part of the fun of this whole hobby is reading and research on everything....at least I feel pretty confident with the specimens I want to keep in my tank....trying to find a group of things that will live together in harmony seems to be the biggest trick...especially if you are including clams in that group.......