"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks, y'all!
Well, yes. Stomach content analysis of wild fish shows that about 95% of their diet is stony coral polyps. Most people will tell you that they are "obligate" corallivores. The problem is to find out if they eat stony corals because the corals have something their bodies _need,_ or if there's some other reason. I personally believe that they eat corals in the wild because they're really pretty bad at catching moving food. So, they get out-competed for all of the good stuff. But, that's just my personal opinion. But, if it's true that means that once you get them out of the habit of eating corals and get them eating something they want more, they'll never look at another Acro. And that seems to be what I'm seeing, with these two at least.
In a similar vein, stomach contents show that the diet of Queen angels in the wild is about 97% sponge. But no one calls them "obligate" sponge eaters because you can get them eating other foods. People will tell you to use sponge foods for some of their diet. Why? Because no one knows if sponges have something the fish need (it can't hurt to get sponges in the fish's diet and might be good for them), sponges are easy to culture, and it probably sells some food flats for Ocean Nutrition.
So, it's probably the same for these fish. If you are going to try them, you must be prepared for the possibility that they'll _never_ eat prepared foods and you might have to feed them a steady diet of Acro frags for the rest of their lives. But, we're at the point that Acro frags are fairly easy to grow. So....
But, like I say, these two have never visibly damaged another Acro after their first week or so in captivity. In fact, I may still use their tank as a frag tank, one of these days.
Well, yes. Stomach content analysis of wild fish shows that about 95% of their diet is stony coral polyps. Most people will tell you that they are "obligate" corallivores. The problem is to find out if they eat stony corals because the corals have something their bodies _need,_ or if there's some other reason. I personally believe that they eat corals in the wild because they're really pretty bad at catching moving food. So, they get out-competed for all of the good stuff. But, that's just my personal opinion. But, if it's true that means that once you get them out of the habit of eating corals and get them eating something they want more, they'll never look at another Acro. And that seems to be what I'm seeing, with these two at least.
In a similar vein, stomach contents show that the diet of Queen angels in the wild is about 97% sponge. But no one calls them "obligate" sponge eaters because you can get them eating other foods. People will tell you to use sponge foods for some of their diet. Why? Because no one knows if sponges have something the fish need (it can't hurt to get sponges in the fish's diet and might be good for them), sponges are easy to culture, and it probably sells some food flats for Ocean Nutrition.
So, it's probably the same for these fish. If you are going to try them, you must be prepared for the possibility that they'll _never_ eat prepared foods and you might have to feed them a steady diet of Acro frags for the rest of their lives. But, we're at the point that Acro frags are fairly easy to grow. So....
But, like I say, these two have never visibly damaged another Acro after their first week or so in captivity. In fact, I may still use their tank as a frag tank, one of these days.
