Feed your fish

[Paul B]

OK I got a theory. Not a very good theory, but a theory none the less. I had an epiphany, that's an idea. I was looking at my tank last night and something hit me. I mean, after my wife hit me. I read all the time of the problems, diseases, fish dying (or going off to college) water problems, ich, things that don't eat etc. I know the solution to all these fish problems. Yes, I said it numerous times but here it is again because I just thought of it again.
I think we should forget (temporarily) the water purity problem. Parameters and all that, For a minute. Just a minute. Feed the fish, then feed them again, Feed them what they are supposed to eat. No, they are not supposed to eat pellets or flakes and if that is all you want to feed them, go and watch Oprah give away a Cadillac to a bunch of homeless catfish. Overfeed the fish or feed them a couple of times a day. Fish are not like us. We worry about losing weight and not having cellulite or those bags under our eyes. Some of us belong to the Hair Club. Well, I don't but some people do. After we feed our fish (the correct foods) so that they are spawning (or at least looking at Girly magazines) then change the water. After that, change it again. But the main thing is the fishes health through food, not water. Our fish are crying out for good food, that's why disease threads predominate these forums. If your water parameters are screwed up, change the water, but feed the fish. I personally feed clams every day (along with live blackworms) I also use whiteworms because I am not prejudice to anything. But the clams are great for the fish and corals because when you shave pieces off clams (or put them in a blender like some people do, but I don't) they exude clam juice. Clam juice is composed of tiny pieces of clams along with whatever is in clam juice. I just made a big pot of clam chowder so I know clam juice is great stuff. Corals love clam juice even corals that you didn't think were eating. If they have a mouth, they eat (or at least sing)and some of them are so tiny that clam juice is the only thing they can eat. I have been feeding my fish clams for probably fifty years so that is a lot of juice going in my tank and yes, the clam juice clouds the water a little. But to corals that is an all you can eat smorgasbord. The cloudiness dissipates in a few minutes and if you look close, you can see those little polyps grinning from ear to ear, or whatever polyp's grin to.
I think we worry to much about nitrates, phosphates and anthrax and we are starving our fish and corals. Virtually all my paired fish are spawning, even the 24 year olds and it is because of the food. I do not have to quarantine
(I don't want to argue about that so if you want to debate me about it send a self addressed envelope to my house where I will ignore it) If you need to or want to quarantine, that is up to you and none of my business what you do.
But if you want to keep your fish disease free and never want to post on a disease forum, feed your fish correctly. Lettuce is also not a fish food.
So feed the fish, and change the water. Don't skimp on food because you are worrying about parameters. (or global warming) Your fish can't read the test kits anyway. If you are more into SPS corals, don't have to many fish, but feed the ones you have correctly.
I keep pipefish, shrimpfish, mandarins, ruby red dragonettes and all sorts of things that people feel are difficult with no problems. They are all even spawning. So all of this is Just my opinion of course. If you disagree start your own thread called Paul B doesn't know a fish from an Emu. :dance:

 

[Breadman03]

I'm convinced that my tank troubles stemmed from not feeding enough. I was feeding a small pinch of food daily.

I began feeding small and large pellets 3 times per day, probably about 1-1.5 teaspoons each time, plus a cube of frozen mysis or Marine Cuisine every day for 2 clowns and a kole tang. My coral started coloring up nicely and has started growing.

I just added a pair of cardinals, a Tanaka's pygmy possum wrasse, a red head salon fairy wrasse, and a pair of bristletail filefish to my tank and will be increasing my feedings accordingly.

I need to get a blender and some ice cube trays just for clams so that I can add them to the mix.

As far as QT goes, I'm an advocate, but I'm also a relative newb and would like to control risks where I can, sort of like taking a teenager to an icy parking lot for their first snowstorm practice.

 

[CStrickland]

Also, feeding fish is FUN!
I like how they swim up to the glass and wag their tails at me when I come home cause they know they're about to get something tasty. I joke they're gonna get fish-diabetes, but I don't think theyll get too heavy, swimming is great cardio

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

+1 I feed my fish every week and they're doing just fine. Just kidding. I'm in the same boat, I feed my fish plenty, as well as spot feeding my coral every night. There's ways you can get water quality in order while still feeding plenty. It's just a little more work sometimes. No problem keeping a mixed reef for me, even with a good fish load and "over feeding". If I noticed water quality problems or algea growth, I just bump up my carbon dosing a bit, or add an extra sqirt of vodka and it's all better.

Not sure if the extra feeding helps with deseise or not. I havn't had problems so it could, or I could just be lucky.

 

[ReefsandGeeks]

haha, my foxface knows which contanier the food is in. When I feed pellets, he losses his mind with excitment. When I put frozen food in, he'll actualy pass it up looking for pellets untill he realizes there is none before eating the frozen. I don't know what it is about those pellets he loves so much, but he can't get enough.

 

[tidus10]

I feed frozen twice a day the reef frenzy that i really like and the fish go nuts for it.. then i spot feed the corals i want to spot feed.... get a little more algae but thats what a water change is for..

Paul, how do you prep the clams? Is it just straight clams? I have been thinking of making my own food..

 

[ca1ore]

I feed my fish 4-5 times per day.

 

[Mishri]

I noticed a huge difference in my powder blue tang's personality when I gave him a treat. I had nothing but base rock in my tank, I was feeding green algae strips and flake food and frozen mysis.. he ate it all.. but was hiding a lot, not really active.

I put a rock in the tank from tampa bay saltwater, it was covered in hair algae... He loves this rock.. after less than a week he has almost all the hair algae gone, he wont even touch the strips of algae anymore, nor the mysis (He still likes the flake food).. he is constantly picking at that rock... He is now out all the time, swimming around, not hiding when I walk by like he used to. Also he developed a bit of a belly. I always theorized that base rock was not a good way to go, this was the first time I ordered it 1) for cost, and 2) to have an algae free start.. welp... looks like my fish has spoken.. don't use dry base rock. (or at least use some good pieces full of life as well)

 

[jminick2]

I think ill go feed my fish, Paul where do you get your blackworms?

 

[Paul B]

I need to get a blender and some ice cube trays just for clams so that I can add them to the mix.

Paul, how do you prep the clams? Is it just straight clams?

Sometimes I read to the clams but usually I just freeze them and shave off paper thin slices. I do not blend them as that is messy and wastes to much of the clam.
It's just cheap clams and nothing else.

I get blackworms from a LFS. Here in NY they sell them all over the place.

 

[CuzzA]

Paul,

I think you're spot on. After reading some of your other posts a while back I stopped offering pellets and now only feed frozen foods to my fish and all of them have never looked healthier....fat and energetic... Only fish can be fat and energetic and consequently be qualified as healthy. Too bad the same can't be said for us humans.

Anyway, my fish get served fish eggs and mysis for breakfast. Reef frenzy after work (which I'm going to start making myself) and finally I'll feed a rotation of cyclops and arcti pods mainly for my anthias just before lights out. My tangs get a sheet of nori every other day and about once a week I'll dose phyto for the pod and filter feeder population and oyster eggs for the corals. I do have a stash of pellets however, in case I'm running late and don't have the time to thaw food. But I hate being late so this is rare.

Are my nitrates undetectable? Nope. Is everything thriving? Yep.

I'm also working on a continuous automatic artemia feeder for my upgrade. It will be based on the no longer in production Reefworks auto plankton feeder. I want to be able to keep some more finicky eaters and I think I have the perfect solution. I'll be sure to share once I have it setup and operating properly.

Anyway, keeping preaching about the foods around here, I'm sure it will save a lot of fish and keep the disease boards quieter.

 

[rffanat1c]

Paul's approach is the exception. It's amazing. I don't know how he does it and it works.

 

[PhaneSoul]

it isn't the exception. he feeds his fish proper foods, does regular maintenance to keep the environment where his critters need it and lets nature do its thing. an example of a well run system

 

[CStrickland]

Phane, shh! It's fun to watch Paul get hyped up when people say that
Just kidding, Paul's unhypable

 

[Azedenkae]

I feed my fish 3-6 times per day, basically every few hours if possible.

Must say, algae is everywhere but I don't give a -. Fish are healthy and active, so are corals. So yay. All I care about.

 

[dkeller_nc]

I agree. As a long-time fish breeder, there are many species that just won't do their thing unless they're fed live foods (in this case, black worms, mosquito larvae, daphnia, chopped up earthworms, etc..). I don't breed marine fish (yet - working on that), but it doesn't take much imagination to draw an inference from the freshwater side of fish keeping.

One thing I think Paul'd agree with is the concept of feeding whole animals. When you're feeding clams, blackworms, or even high-quality frozen Mysis, you're feeding the fish the gut contents of the critter. For many carnivorous fish, this is the only way they get vegetable matter - feeding just the muscle of an animal, such as shrimp or fish flesh can lead to nutritional deficiencies.

 

[Paul B]

Only fish can be fat and energetic and consequently be qualified as healthy. Too bad the same can't be said for us humans.

Thats because fat fish are fat because of oil, not solid fat like in warm blooded creatures like cows and us. Warm blooded creatures can have fat because at their high body temperature that fat is semi solid and can be carried around the system and be used for energy and get stuck in arteries and kill us. I don't think fish get heart attacks but i am guessing. I take fish oil myself every day. If you cut open a fat makeral, you don't find solid fat, just oil and plenty of it.

Cuzza, that is a great diet, but don't go overboard on the fish eggs. Although they are probably the best food, they are very rich and you may over do the fish oil but again, I am guessing as that diet is much better than most.

Paul's approach is the exception.

Not really, all the other people's approach is the exception. When I started the hobby in 1971 I was just about the only one in it because salt water animals were not available in the US before that. I devised my methods from watching fish while SCUBA diving because there was nothing to read. Then Al Gore or Brian Williams invented the internet and all sorts of theories came about. Many of them rediculous which is why the disease forums predominate these forums. I have never posted on a disease forum because my fish don't ever get sick. I don't mean in 5 or 10 years, I mean ever. I have no need for medications, hospital tanks or quarantine tanks. I realize I am in the vast minority and I know all about my tank being a time bomb. So don't go by me, read all you can and decide how healthy you want your fish to be. Mine are all spawning and some are 24 years old so if you find healthier fish, go with that theory. So will I. And if you find someone who has had fish longer than me, don't get to close to that person or they are liable to spit up or drool on you. I am getting there myself which is the reason I am writing this book before I forget everything and eat my fish. :wavehand:

 

[Lmax8rn]

I make my own fish food. I chop or blend clams, two kinds of fish, shrimp, mussel, squid, baby octopus. To this I add thawed brine and mysis, phytoplankton, and two different sized pellets. Then put a piece of foil on a cookie sheet, and I cut a piece of plastic grate for flourescent lights to fit the cookie sheet. Spread the fish food, freeze it, and pop out the cubes. When I feed i thaw it in RO water, strain it in a small net, add roe, then soak in garlic, vitamins, and Selcon for 15-20 minutes. My fish love it. I do not quarantine either, and have never had any disease or parasite on anything. Fish LOVE it!

 

[Paul B]

You can eliminate the Selcon, vitamins and garlic as that stuff will just wash off the food as soon as it hits the water, but I realize many people like to do that.

 

[kissman]

I feed my fish twice a day. I have an auto feeder that feeds a mix of pellets and flake. It feeds at 10am when i get home from work i feed a cube of frozen. Then twice a week after lights out i feed corals Reef Chili. I also feed my nem a small pice of shrimp twice a week because i am trying to get it to grow