advice for feeding idea

[greatgman]

on the regular reef discusion i put a post explaning a new feeding technique i'm trying out
(my feeding rock idea)
i will spread a homemade paste(the consistancy of peanut butter i think) on a peice of base rock and put it in the tank
to let the fish eat and graze all day long on it
any ideas or suggestions on this idea?
the mash i have now was too thinly made
but still works well for regular feeding
i in essence want to create a feeding rock i could put in there in the morning b4 the lights come on and take it out the next morning (the crabs would clean up any uneaten food on it overnight
in fact they did pick it clean last night
any one have a recipe they have i could try out?

here is the post
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=819700

 

[Ghumbee]

What kinds of fish do you have?

I personally would not leave food "Rot" on a rock in my tank



Chuck

 

[acroconut]

I think it could be risky. Anything that is left uneaten over a period of time will begin to get broken down by bacteria. If you miscalculate the amount you feed, I think you will be dealing with a lot of nuisance algae in the not too distant future. I always feed my fish, and let the crabs fend for themselves (they always seem to do well enough on their own).

 

[Steven Pro]

I know people have done something similar with skeletal corals trying to tempt coral eating fishes to graze.

 

[leebca]

I have kept obligate coral eaters alive and eating using this technique. But as Steven Pro has said, it is a means to an end.

Leaving the food in the rock for an extended period of time will develop quite a bacterial bloom in the aquarium.

The only way around this is to strongly bind the food in a non-soluble or soluble resistant binder or gelatin. But I have found that in doing so, the fish generally don't like it. I guess it doesn't have the right 'texture' they expect of 'food-on-the-rock' banquets.

 

[greatgman]

i dont intend to put massive amounts of food on just a nice thin layer for several hrs of feeding/ grazing
normal feeding will also be done

i have a
hippo tang
yellow tang
perc clown
3 blue /greem chromis
2 blue devil damsels
will be getting either a cb angel or a flame angel
and when i upgrade to my larger tank i want a queen angel

so will have a few grazers

 

[Steven Pro]

It sounds like too much work for the fish you have mentioned. If you wanted to dedicate a tank to an orange spotted filefish or some coral eating butterfly, that would be one thing. But, these fishes' nutritional requirements can be met much easier with conventional methods.