Conditioning feeds for Clowns and other Marine Breeders

[jake levi]

I am wondering if many here have special conditioning foods for their Clowns and other Marine breeders. I know having raised Discus and Angelfish we had a number of foods for conditioning and also raising out young fish.

The beef heart formulation is almost universal now for both Angels and Discus.

Is there one particular food folks are using? I used to save fish roe in the spring when it became available, put it in small flat bags and freeze it for later use. I will again, along with beef heart. Looking for foods with higher lipid acids. I can see adding shrimp and krill to the beef heart mix and gelatin. I expect the beef heart will have to be rinsed strongly to get the blood out, or boil it and them process it.

Thoughts, comments?

 

[Arc Katana]

Beef heart isn't really that great for them - not a lot of HUFA in there. Stick with mysis, krill, copepods, black worms, live brine, and more copepods. Feed plenty and often. Cyclopeeze is great if they will eat it. Try squid but not everyday. Clams/mussles/shrimp are all good too.

 

[jake levi]

I have plenty of copepods, and krill available, plus selco, I used to have a good source for roe, and am going to be looking for quantities of that. I am a 3.5 hr drive from the saltwater stores that carry good selections, I wrote Rods Foods this morning as to if they sold direct, his mixes are very similar to what I used to make. I noted he doesnt use gelatin, I wonder what he uses to bind it?

If I cant find a commercial mix I will make my own. Rotifers, artemia, copepods, and phyto to stuff them I raise plenty of. I have started using selco too in the live foods before feeding them with the phyto. I have copepods now in the deep gravel filter/sump and in a refugia.

 

[Arc Katana]

He just freezes it in a sheet. I use Rods as well - my only complaint with it is sometimes there is a huge hunk of squid/shrimp/etc in there that my fish can't eat. Its good stuff.

 

[jake levi]

I got a couple emails from him today, his nearest dealer is about a 4 hr drive south of me, and the sizes they had it in was little cube 2 and 4oz packages. The ingrediants sound very good but sizes are small to work with, I will keep looking .

 

[duncaholic]

you can get rods online. search the usual auction type sites.

 

[jake levi]

Foods/Rods

Foods/Rods

Thanks I will,

I was hoping that Rods' was available in 2lb sheets like artemia. I can pick some up now and then when I am down south of here but would like to get it in a bigger quantity. I need to ask him about a box price.

Meanwhile looking for another source of roe . Most other ingredients I can get locally other then the krill and thats available online.

 

[NirvanaFan]

My everyday feed is a mix of finely chopped seafood. I use Shrimp, squid, clam, fish, scallop, a bit of nori, vitamins (selco, vita-chem, etc), brine shrimp, and cyclop-eeze.

I've heard of people using live blackworms and mosquito larvae. Anything live would be good though.

 

[jake levi]

Nirvana your diet is much of what I prefer, also both artemia and rotis are gut loaded with phyto before feeding, I am a big fan of cyclopeeze, if I cant find the commercial that I want in sizes I want I will go back to making my own. Certainly got the freezer space.

 

[duncaholic]

I know that this is not the conventional wisdom, and that many here would not go this way, but I feed my clowns NLS 1mm pellets almost exclusively. With the exception of my home brew about once every week or two. I've got 2 pairs actively breeding and they produce large clutches 300-400 per nest, and my hatch rate is nearly 100%. I've only been raising clowns for about 5 months though, so IDK if the pellets alone will produce high quality coloration in the juvis. My fry are super healthy though.

 

[jake levi]

Pellets

Pellets

Thanks, that is good to know, I will give them a try, I am thinking that I am probably going to be making my own again as I put the ingrediants together. The roe is the big one. It made all the difference with the discus.

Shrimp, squid, krill, marine fish, selco, vits are all readily available, and I will use some gelatin, but want a goodly portion of roe in it.

I'll be looking for the NLS pellets too.

Thanks.

 

[NirvanaFan]

I've heard nothing but good things about NLS pellets. I picked some up a few weeks ago and my pairs really like them.

 

[Crusty Old Shellback]

I do not rais emy fry but I have had a pair of breeding gold striped marron clowns and now have a breeding pair of ocallirs clowns. I have never done anything special for them. My basic food is a large variety of pellets. I buy just about every marine pellet there is and mix them all up in a large container. I then feed from that. I also occasionaly feed froxen cubes of Spiro fed brine, mysis and blood worms with an occasional marine quisene.

That's my experience over the last several years, yours may vary.

 

[reefstew]

I've heard nothing but good things about NLS pellets. I picked some up a few weeks ago and my pairs really like them.

What are NLS pellets & where do you purchase them?

 

[duncaholic]

NLS is just an abbreviation for a name brand of pellets that you should be able to find at any salwater fish store.

 

[Samcro]

i use everything i can get my hand on. i have a person who makes her own food and she has a great blend and shared the lipid, protein contents with me and they are great numbers to keep healthy clowns, i also use omega one flake, nls pellets, ocean nutrition pellets and when i bought some otohime for raising my fry i u bought the starter kit and feel them the larger pellets and they actually go nuts for the larger sized otohime. with the home brew stuff i buy from the lady how makes, it i add some extra PE mysis and i always add selocon to the mix. i feed them 4x a day and once or twice a day they get the live foods.

 

[billsreef]

What are NLS pellets & where do you purchase them?

New Life Spectrum. Great pellet food IMO. In fact, I've been lazy lately and just feeding that to my fish and had a pair of Ocellaris decide to start spawning...and got very good hatch out and healthy larvae. I'm actually surprised how good the initial hatch out and larval survival is, considering it's the only thing the parents have been eating since I hadn't actually planned on spawning them yet.

 

[reefstew]

New Life Spectrum. Great pellet food IMO. In fact, I've been lazy lately and just feeding that to my fish and had a pair of Ocellaris decide to start spawning...and got very good hatch out and healthy larvae. I'm actually surprised how good the initial hatch out and larval survival is, considering it's the only thing the parents have been eating since I hadn't actually planned on spawning them yet.

Thanks Bill, now I know what to look for.

 

[jake levi]

commercial feeds

commercial feeds

Thanks Bill, I am curious now about the NLS pellets.

If, I can find a good source for roe I will be making some of my own anyhow, but now I am curious about the various commercial feeds, I have used and liked the Omega One Flake, and will try the other ones listed.

I like the idea of having some good commercial foods, but, want to also have a good home feed in case for one reason or another the commercial becomes unavailable.