What do you guys feed your fish with?

[ocarius]

Is there a good food product out there to feed my fish other than the DIY methods. I have a yellow tank, and two Clowns so I already have some food demand contrast and im feeding flake atm, and they are eating it up.. but I would like to go to the very best method of feeding them. Is there a good place to read up or do you guys through experince have some suggestions.

Thanks!

[alextheromanian]

yellow tang not tank....im sure its just a typo but just in case i hope this will prevent an awkward moment


some people mix their own foods...
some grow their own...

i have a tang and two clowns in my 75g and i feed them


frozen reef plankton
frozen mysis
frozen brine

food flakes
freezedried seaweed both red and green.


you can also add garlic to their food...(garlic x)
uhhhh vitachem
and selcon.

i mean....its good to mix it all up...occasionally add vitamins and supplements.

as a matter of fact im gonna piggy back on your thread since im curious to see what others are doing.

good post

[FloatingFish]

I feed mine (Tang, Foxface, And Wrasses) a half sheet of nori when I get home.
Then I feed them some Rods Food before lights out.

[fatdaddy]

Mine eat whatever hits the tank. Just mix it up as I don't trust any particular food, but I figure a mixture will cover it.

My fish have grown considerably and two pairs spawn regularly, so they seem to be thriving.

[BucNtears]

I'm useing Rods Food as well. Everything in tank goes crazy when I feed.

[fender4string]

My staple food I feed my fish is New Life Spectrum pellets-these were recommended to me by a lot of people here on RC. They are apparently one of the best, if not the best, prepared foods you can feed your fish. I feed NLS twice daily. The fish go nuts for it to .

I also feed mysis, nori, and a mix I made composed of scallops, squid, shrimp, some finely chopped nori, NLS pellets, a little garlic, and selcon. I feed one of these foods once a day on an alternating basis.

[Tangweed]

Flakes, pellets, nori and mysis schrimp.

[drparker]

+3 for Rod's food.

[agreeive?fish]

iam at the point that i need a spread sheet to keep track of what i feed

Just make it a varity..i feed flake pellets frozen and home made ect

[BPKlein]

Hikari frozen mysis and H2O Life brand Spirulina/brine shrimp. Those are thawed and rinsed. I also use New Life Spectrum Cichlid pellets. (the small ones) The cichlid pellets are high in spirulina. Once a day the tank gets a 1/2 sheet of red or green algae.

SailFin Tang, Foxface, Solon Fairy wrasse, Fathead Anthia, pajama cardinals and chromis'.

[Ohiomom]

+1 on the spectrum..all inclusive stuff..also nori sheets..sometimes some extra treats..

[IslandCrow]

but I would like to go to the very best method of feeding them.

I feed my fish with my hands (reference thread title). . .

Just to make sure we're answering your question, are you asking what to feed your fish or how (i.e. what method) to feed them?

Sorry if I'm reading too much into your question, but you got an English major, so I probably pay too much attention to how things are written.

[Ohiomom]

"Is there a good food product out there to feed my fish other than the DIY methods."

Was in the OP thread..first line so that is what people are referencing..

[reeferstace]

Rod's Food herbivore blend

[Superstretch18]

Two types of flakes, frozen mysis, reef chili and my own secret recipe. Anytime that I'm eating seafood, my fish have what I'm having too (unseasoned, uncooked of course)...

[xJake]

Basically, I feed w/e is available in our lab or w/e live food culture I have ready to feed out.

The list includes:

Frozen/Refigerated Foods:

Raw "Cocktail" Shrimp (chopped)
Raw Whitefish (Cod or Pollock) (chopped)
Raw Squid (chopped)
Silversides (chopped)
Raw Muscles or Clams (or w/e bivalve we have in stock) (shucked and chopped)
Jumbo Krill
Baby Krill
PE Mysis
Hikari Mysis
Cyclop-eeze
Blood Worms
Daphnia
Brine Shrimp
Baby Brine Shrimp
Spirulina Enriched Brine Shrimp

Herbivorous "grazing" foods (provides limited nutritional value, but allows for behavioral enrichment for grazing animals):
Blanched Chinese Cabbage (Bok Choy)
Blanched Romaine Lettuce
Blanched Spinach
Blanched Iceberg Lettuce (only occasionally, usually as a last resort; almost no nutritional value - cellulose and water are the two main components)
Blanched Collard/Mustard Greens

I simply "blanch" the greens in the microwave by wetting the leaves with water and then heating them for a few seconds just to soften everything. I'll usually do this in a plastic bag or another partially-sealed container.

Live Foods:

Mysid (Mysidopsis bahia)
Baby Brine Shrimp
Rotifers
Phytoplankton (only occasionally; about twice a month)
Various Marine Macroalgae/seaweed (we will occasionally have leftovers from research projects and classes where it was needed; it is kept refrigerated)
Cultured Caulerpa, Ulva, and Chaetomorpha Macroalgae (to those fish who will eat them)

Freeze-Dried/Dried Foods:

Raw "Sun-dried" Nori (un-toasted) (ordered in bulk wholesale packages)
Pellets and Flakes (only occasionally)
Jumbo Krill
Blood worms
Cyclop-eeze
Daphnia
Baby Shrimp (Sun-dried Gammarus Shrimp; Tetra-brand)
Red, Brown, Purple, and Green Dried Marine Algae (TLF-brand mostly, but sometimes SFB-brand)

We have a few dozen types of HUFA, and Vitamin supplements, but I don't normally use them for feeding the reef systems.

These supplements include:

Garlic Guard
Vitachem
Super Selco
Selcon
Zoecon
Various Vitamin tablets and pastes for certain animals and for animal research purposes (the only one that specifically comes to mind is a shark/ray nutritional supplement)
etc. (chances are if it exists then we have a bottle of it somewhere)

We also feed gelatin-based mixes. You can buy commercially manufactured mixes (herbivorous, carnivorous, or omnivorous blends) and then simply add hot water and refrigerate or freeze (then thaw; obviously). These are great for feeding doses of internal medications as they can be blended right into a whatever amount of food the animal will eat in a day/week. Then the animal receives the correct dosage when fed the correct amount of the medication-laced food. Also, the gelatin creates a much more rubbery/meat-like texture, which I assume is more appealing to most animals than hard/crunchy/dry pellets or flakes.

Basically, you can pretty much feed w/e you'd like or w/e is most available and affordable. Most of the meaty foods contain the same basic nutritional profile, and most herbivores (notably your Yellow Tang) will eat the dried marine algae that I mentioned above.

[eyesinthedrk]

every day when i get home i feed either flake, dried krill, ot formula 2 pellets, on a rotating basis

at night before lights out i feed either frozen mysis, emeald entrai (sp), frozen cyclopse, grated table shrimp, grated oysters, or grated red fish guts, (people down hear do a lot of fishing for red fish, they keep the meat i take the carcasses home freeze the guts and some tissue in to a block and pass the block over the cheese grater when i want to feed) also on a rotating basis

nothing in my tank likes nori well except the clraner shrimp

[Superstretch18]

Originally posted by eyesinthedrk
...grated red fish guts, (people down hear do a lot of fishing for red fish, they keep the meat i take the carcasses home freeze the guts and some tissue in to a block and pass the block over the cheese grater when i want to feed)

The fish guts is a great idea! One of the major flaws with making your own fish food is that you use a lot of lean muscle protein, but completely miss the other nutrients that are in the rest of the fish's body and stomach contents. I probably wouldn't use anything large and/or pelagic for fear of mercury, but I have to see if I can get some snapper guts down here! Definitely adding to my secret recipe! Thanks!

[Uncle Salty 05]

All of the above are good recommendations.
Just PE mysis and a Formula Variety Pack is a good start for a newbie IMHO.
Add some Cyclopeze and Selcon and you are good to go.

[joemck]

so we are supposed to feed them too!!!???


j/k


I was told that brine shrimp to fish is like feeding tater chips to a kid.

is that true?

[KarlBob]

Originally posted by joemck
I was told that brine shrimp to fish is like feeding tater chips to a kid.

is that true?

Adult brine shrimp? Yes, it's pretty close. Junk food. If you have to feed brine shrimp to your fish, you can improve the nutrition by soaking the shrimp in Selcon, VitaChem, or one of the other supplements on the market.

Brine shrimp nauplii (hatchlings)? No. Not the same as a steady diet of Pringles. Baby brine shrimp still have their yolk sack, which contains some good nutrition.

Really, every food has benefits and drawbacks. That's why we're encouraged to feed our fish several different things in rotation. That way, brine shrimp day is roughage day, and other days provide more nutrition.

[ocarius]

I have some formula 1 and 2 that is like a Gel based but Im having a hard time figuring out how to put it in the tank

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by xJake
Basically, I feed w/e is available in our lab or w/e live food culture I have ready to feed out.

The list includes:

Frozen/Refigerated Foods:

Raw "Cocktail" Shrimp (chopped)
Raw Whitefish (Cod or Pollock) (chopped)
Raw Squid (chopped)
Silversides (chopped)
Raw Muscles or Clams (or w/e bivalve we have in stock) (shucked and chopped)
Jumbo Krill
Baby Krill
PE Mysis
Hikari Mysis
Cyclop-eeze
Blood Worms
Daphnia
Brine Shrimp
Baby Brine Shrimp
Spirulina Enriched Brine Shrimp

Herbivorous "grazing" foods (provides limited nutritional value, but allows for behavioral enrichment for grazing animals):
Blanched Chinese Cabbage (Bok Choy)
Blanched Romaine Lettuce
Blanched Spinach
Blanched Iceberg Lettuce (only occasionally, usually as a last resort; almost no nutritional value - cellulose and water are the two main components)
Blanched Collard/Mustard Greens

I simply "blanch" the greens in the microwave by wetting the leaves with water and then heating them for a few seconds just to soften everything. I'll usually do this in a plastic bag or another partially-sealed container.

Live Foods:

Mysid (Mysidopsis bahia)
Baby Brine Shrimp
Rotifers
Phytoplankton (only occasionally; about twice a month)
Various Marine Macroalgae/seaweed (we will occasionally have leftovers from research projects and classes where it was needed; it is kept refrigerated)
Cultured Caulerpa, Ulva, and Chaetomorpha Macroalgae (to those fish who will eat them)

Freeze-Dried/Dried Foods:

Raw "Sun-dried" Nori (un-toasted) (ordered in bulk wholesale packages)
Pellets and Flakes (only occasionally)
Jumbo Krill
Blood worms
Cyclop-eeze
Daphnia
Baby Shrimp (Sun-dried Gammarus Shrimp; Tetra-brand)
Red, Brown, Purple, and Green Dried Marine Algae (TLF-brand mostly, but sometimes SFB-brand)

We have a few dozen types of HUFA, and Vitamin supplements, but I don't normally use them for feeding the reef systems.

These supplements include:

Garlic Guard
Vitachem
Super Selco
Selcon
Zoecon
Various Vitamin tablets and pastes for certain animals and for animal research purposes (the only one that specifically comes to mind is a shark/ray nutritional supplement)
etc. (chances are if it exists then we have a bottle of it somewhere)

We also feed gelatin-based mixes. You can buy commercially manufactured mixes (herbivorous, carnivorous, or omnivorous blends) and then simply add hot water and refrigerate or freeze (then thaw; obviously). These are great for feeding doses of internal medications as they can be blended right into a whatever amount of food the animal will eat in a day/week. Then the animal receives the correct dosage when fed the correct amount of the medication-laced food. Also, the gelatin creates a much more rubbery/meat-like texture, which I assume is more appealing to most animals than hard/crunchy/dry pellets or flakes.

Basically, you can pretty much feed w/e you'd like or w/e is most available and affordable. Most of the meaty foods contain the same basic nutritional profile, and most herbivores (notably your Yellow Tang) will eat the dried marine algae that I mentioned above.

a great list Jake

this thread also has a great introduction on what and how to feed nutritionally

It was also written by a biologist--you guys are handy to have around
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1

[xJake]

Originally posted by capn_hylinur
a great list Jake

this thread also has a great introduction on what and how to feed nutritionally

It was also written by a biologist--you guys are handy to have around
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&pagenumber=1

I don't agree with a lot of what he has posted in that thread. The following jumped out at me, forcing me to question his credibility:

No matter the types of foods you use, you must use some supplements. Your fish are caged. They can't seek out the tidbits that provide those trace compounds (e.g., vitamins and fats) they need to round out their optimal health. Fish can't produce all the vitamins and fats they need to live. So, you have to provide it.

If you provide your fish with a varied diet containing items that they would feed on in nature, then you don't need to supplement your foods for "optimal health." Just the simple fact that he states "No matter the types of foods you use..." should make you question the accuracy of his claims. He provides absolutely no evidence to support his claims, so unless I see a comprehensive study that even comes close to supporting this statement then I won't believe it.

To a small degree the health of our fish depend upon obtaining some nutrients directly from the water they swim in. They need and use trace elements found in their water environment. Where we fail them sometimes is keeping them long term in water that doesn't contain these elements or contains these elements in concentrations too low for them.

The use of synthetic sea salts and saltwater mixes isn't the problem. The problem is sometimes we aquarists 'over clean' the water. The worst offender is activated carbon. Activated carbon removes organics the first week it is put into our system. After that it removes trace elements (and sometimes adds phosphates). It's the removal of trace elements we need to be watchful for. I've had long-term success with using carbon or carbon-like substances every other week and each time no more than 5-7 days, then removing it from the system to prevent the abnormal depletion of trace elements.

Adding small quantities of trace elements to a fish only aquarium is recommended.

In addition, for this reason (if not for the many other reasons) make sure you perform regular water changes (10% per week; 25% every three-four weeks; or more often).

Again, his claims seem rather sketchy. He doesn't support them with any credible sources, and I've never heard of a fish being able to directly absorb elements (or anything, except water, for that matter) from the water column, so this sounds extremely far-fetched to me.

Also, I've never heard of a fish's health being negatively affected by a "lack of trace elements" in the water column due to overusing activated carbon. Commercially produced flakes and pellets designed for ornamental marine fish provide virtually every major and minor element that a fish needs for "optimal" health.

Feeding a varied diet that is appropriate for your individual animals is enough to maintain their "optimal" health. If I were to be worried about a lack of trace elements negatively effecting ANYTHING in my tank, the first thing I would consider is my corals - NOT my fish. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Most of his "suggestions" and ideas (which he seems to be stating as "fact") seem to be supported only by speculation and his own hypotheses, and it doesn't seem very accurate to me. I'm sure he meant well, but I just don't buy into most of his claims.

[Aquarist007]

Originally posted by xJake
I don't agree with a lot of what he has posted in that thread. The following jumped out at me, forcing me to question his credibility:



If you provide your fish with a varied diet containing items that they would feed on in nature, then you don't need to supplement your foods for "optimal health." Just the simple fact that he states "No matter the types of foods you use..." should make you question the accuracy of his claims. He provides absolutely no evidence to support his claims, so unless I see a comprehensive study that even comes close to supporting this statement then I won't believe it.



Again, his claims seem rather sketchy. He doesn't support them with any credible sources, and I've never heard of a fish being able to directly absorb elements (or anything, except water, for that matter) from the water column, so this sounds extremely far-fetched to me.

Also, I've never heard of a fish's health being negatively affected by a "lack of trace elements" in the water column due to overusing activated carbon. Commercially produced flakes and pellets designed for ornamental marine fish provide virtually every major and minor element that a fish needs for "optimal" health.

Feeding a varied diet that is appropriate for your individual animals is enough to maintain their "optimal" health. If I were to be worried about a lack of trace elements negatively effecting ANYTHING in my tank, the first thing I would consider is my corals - NOT my fish. It just doesn't make sense to me.

Most of his "suggestions" and ideas (which he seems to be stating as "fact") seem to be supported only by speculation and his own hypotheses, and it doesn't seem very accurate to me. I'm sure he meant well, but I just don't buy into most of his claims.

Jake---glad to hear your perspective. I would be fantastic if you could repost this on the original posters thread. I for one and I am sure many others would enjoy further discussing this with you.
You have certainly raised some questions in my mind but don't want to hijack the original posters thread here.