Does anyone NEVER feed their fish?

[wantahealthytank]

I was at a fish store, and the owner asked me if I feed my fish. It really threw me off, and I answered of course I do!

He then proceeded to tell me that he never feeds any fish, and says his business maintains 90 tanks and they don't feed those fish either. He claims no fish should be put in a tank unless it serves a purpose, and then they can take care of themselves and the tank.

To me the purpose of this, is the beauty (and the pride of keeping a healthy reef) that you get from the tank and the fish, and I think my fish would be miserable without food. They are like puppy dogs begging for treats everytime we get up off of the couch, they love their food (we don't feed them everytime we get up LOL )

Just curious if anyone else does this?

 

[dc_909]

Go to another fish store.

 

[Kreeger1]

Ditto, find a new place that guy is nuts
Erik

 

[dl1030]

does he sell fish food in his store?

 

[dymaxiun]

Is he a fishkeeper or Reefkeeper...

I agree with him to a point though. All fish need supplemental feedings.

Say the only fish is a mandarin in your tank. Would you feed it, and why?

 

[Hopestar075]

good question dl1030! I wonder how long he has been open and how many problems hes had?

 

[gobygoby]

I feed my fish......but only like once or twice a month...sometimes more if I remember.

I agree the guy is nuts.....but if you have an established reef there should be plenty of stuff in there for most fish to eat.

 

[The_Reef _Man]

The owner of my LFS almost never fed his fish. He had a 300 gallon at home and claimed all his fish served a purpose. I think people these days feed way too much.

 

[Casie]

Depends on the tank and the fish, on how long you can get away with no feeding.

Don't feed your anthias, your pipefish, your bristletooth tangs, your angels, CBBs, etc... and see just how long they live for you!

 

[thereefmaster]

I alternate feeding F1 with bloodworms and F1 with mysis shrimp every other day. They love it.

-Nate

PS: Also a garlic/selcon soaked piece of seaweed for my PB tang.

 

[flyhigh123]

I dont feed my fish....:rollface:


:hmm3:

 

[Azurel]

A buddy of mine only feeds his fish once a month, he has a arabian psudochromis and a purple tang. The tang can't keep up with his macro and the psudo lives on the pods, both are fat and happy.....I say it would depend on the situation I feed my fish just little bits at a time over a half hour period each day or every other day.

 

[LOTUS50GOD]

Anyone who wants to keep a tang... has to feed. There isnt enough area in a tank to keep a tang healthy without supplemental feedings...

 

[ste6168]

a guy that works at an LFS near me has a 55g reef and has told me that he rarely feeds, but he does feed every once in a while he said.

 

[M. Python]

This is old thinking. Years ago it was common practice with reef aquariums not to feed. In those days fish had short lives and were ich magnets. I had a perfect, fat yellow tang that I had over four years become aggressive and sold it to an aquarium store where the owner put it in his display tank. This owner had the same idea that feeding in a reef should be avoided. The fish was skin and bones and died three months later. I feed my tank three times a day with out a problem and I donââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t even run a skimmer with 24 fish.

 

[mikeatjac]

You can do it but it depends on the tank setup and the fish. I did it for a year but I had a low bioload. Never heard of feeding your fish three times a day with no skimmer and not have a pending problem though.

 

[M. Python]

Doing it ten years now. I have a small refugium, nothing else.