Feeding Large Predators, Please Read

[EdKruzel]

Yes some (most) are adaptable or will at least live long enough to feed your fish. Keep in mind that shrimp and krill are mostly empty calories, meaning little to no nutritional value. Think of them like a grocery bag; what you put in them is what they bring to the table. You should purchase some sort of small container like a rubbermaid bowl of < 1/2 gallon. Place some of your tank water in the bowl along with the shrimp you intend to feed and some good quality seafood pieces or frozen (now defrosted) prepared fish food containing HUFA, highly unsaturated fatty acids. Allow the shrimp to eat their fill; being clear you can see when they become stuffed. Remove any excess food that may pollute the water and dump the gut loaded shrimp and water back into the main tank. Little nutritious grocery bags swimming and crawling around your tank being eaten by your fish.

 

[sportyrox]

Ok, I'm a trigger feeder that is tired of spending so much money on food from a pet store. I live in north Georgia so getting food from the ocean is a no go. What can I buy from a local Ingles, Kroger, Publix, etc. that I can feed my Clown trigger and Tesselata Eel?

 

[EdKruzel]

Sporty,
This thread is getting long, but it answers your question and more; to be brief, hit your local seafood deli, think meaty and variety. Two or three jumbo shrimp with the shell and tail left on, rock clams on the half shell and whatever fish fillets are on sale (providing they are from the sea). Cut everything into serving sized chunks and freeze it. Thaw amounts you need for feeding.

 

[Finsky]

I have had a pair of Yellow Hawaiian Leaf fish, 3 1/2" & 3 1/4", which I have been feeding live ghost shrimp for the three week I have had them.

Tonight I put in a 3 1/2" Fu Manchu Lion fish and a 1 1/2" Redfin Waspfish.

The lion fish was eating live ghost shrimp and the Waspfish was eating everything.

I am using a small green net to feed the shrimp and will start adding pieces of frozen food.

I went to a local fish store and purchased three pounds of squid and a pound of razor clam. I cut these into 1/2" pieces for my six bubble tip anemones and then I also cut up some much smaller pieces for my fish including some frozen silversides and frozen krill.

Hopefully I will be able to get the Leaf fish and Fu Manchu eating frozen food at some point. I do not know whether I should buy a 10 or 20 gallon tank to keep live feeder shrimp and fish or just buy my live food at the LFS weekly?

 

[scubasteve06]

Sporty,
This thread is getting long, but it answers your question and more; to be brief, hit your local seafood deli, think meaty and variety. Two or three jumbo shrimp with the shell and tail left on, rock clams on the half shell and whatever fish fillets are on sale (providing they are from the sea). Cut everything into serving sized chunks and freeze it. Thaw amounts you need for feeding.

I just recently started buying my frozen and fresh foods for my fish from the grocery store. I still buy Rod's and NLS for my community S/W fish but my snowflake eel gets market shrimp cut into pieces and squid also cut into pieces. He would eat maybe one or two tiny pieces of krill and would leave it alone even while he was very actively searching out food. Krill was waving right in his face and he didn't want it. Now as soon as I got some shrimp and dumped the water I was thawing them into the tank (it was water already from my sw tank) he went into search mode immediately and once I put it in front of him on a feeding stick he snatched it up right then. I've read that they like shelled invertebrate meat best, and it was true. I do market shrimp one day and squid the next. Since he is only 7-8" I feed him once a day to every other day.

 

[Finsky]

I have weaned my 4" Fu Manchu onto frozen krill, silversides, razor clam off a wooden feeding stick. The Redfin Waspfish still eating well off the feeding stick.

I have since added a 4" Cebu Maroon and Cream Wartskin Angler who takes silversides off the feeding stick and an Orange 5" Angler(the terminator) who ate my female Clarkii and floated around the tank like a giant balloon for a few days resting in various locations and positions before digesting whatever made it look so big. This has calmed the tank down since Mrs. Cinnamon was splashing water out of the tank onto my face (my recliner is two feet from the end of my five foot 120). I tried without success to net the Clarkii pair. They immediately dove for the 150 lbs. of live rock. The terminator did me a giant favor as the tank is now very peaceful. The terminator has not eaten from the feeder stick yet although I am down to three yellow tail damsels from five and one male Clarkii from a pair. I would rather have the orange angler with maximum 6" size than the yellow tails or the two four stripe and one black mouth damsel although the four stripe and black mouth are pretty aggressive and street smart although I would not bet against the terminator if they offered themselves up as a meal.

The female Cinnamon and her mate lay eggs on the left side and the right side of the tank near one of the five bubble tip anemones: one red rose on each end and two green on the left end and one green on the right end. She is the reason I have rubber aquarium gloves by drawing blood from the back of my right hand protecting her two year old red rose bubble tip.

I am still trying to get the pair of leaf fish eating frozen food without success although I need to try the fishing line method. I recently purchased two acrylic feeder sticks from Ocean Nutrition. They have a chisel/screw drive end which is rather blunt. I am thinking of shaving one of them to a little sharper end for smaller pieces of food although I do not want to ruin one when I may just be able to use the 25 lbs test monafilament method from an angler post.

I was really at a loss with the pair of Yellow Hawaiian Leaf fish. I have moved to 1/2" to 3/4" zebra danios this past weekend and the female ate two and the male ate three and the Fu Manchu snuck in for one. I have tried white clouds and ghost shrimp as well from LFS's.

?????????????

I feed my carnivores once or twice a week.

I also have a Regal and a Majestic Angel and a Purple and Powder Blue Tang which get along well with their new carnivore neighbors.

I am still at a loss trying to get the leaf fish to take frozen food.

 

[Tryin2layadime]

Guppies ae OK occassionally, but like all FW foods are high in the wrong fats......if you switch to mollies, you can toss them directly into the tank, where they will thrive until eaten and eat some of your alae while waiting.

Mike

i found your post mike very commical even tho i know you didnt directly mean it to be. but whe you said they will eat some algae while waiting made me laugh pretty good lol.



and side not i plan to buy some lionfish if i do like mollies one day and the next i do like frozen fish and the next a flake substance or something along those lines wont the 2 lionfish get the proper nutrients?

 

[Finsky]

First success with Yellow Hawaiian Leaf fish after having them for four months and eating nothing accept live food.

Last weekend I had one of my leaf fish snap up a half of frozen krill off the end of a wooden feeding stick.

I then went to the second leaf fish with another piece of frozen krill, I melted it first, and it also snapped at it at the same time my 4" purple tang and 4 1/2" powder blue tang decided to snap and nobody got it as I pulled it out of the aquarium. I fed the tangs, a second time for that day only this time with meaty foods and not the earlier seaweed and freeze dried mysis and brine shrimp soaked in Selcon, Vitamin C from Brightwell, and Vita-chem.

After my two tangs had enough of the meaty food I went back to trying to feed the second leaf fish although she was put off and would not take anything even after my tickling her nose for five minutes with a piece of krill.

I now have a two inch fuzzy dwarf lion who ate a piece of krill the day after I put him in the tank over a week ago.

That leaves my fu manchu lion, orange angler, maroon and cream wartskin angler, redfin waspfish, and one leaf eating frozen food with only the one leaf fish to work on.

The tangs like meaty food. I was at the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium in Tacoma, Wa and watched a daily feeding of the tangs, angels, etc. The feeder was giving them pieces of what looked like chopped up clams, squid, and other meaty foods. I did not ask what they do for their tangs besides the meaty foods although you would think they put vitamins in their meaty foods?

I used to cut up my raw razor clam into 1/2" pieces and feed them to my five bubble tip anemones and then I would tear up small pieces of what was left and feed it to the tangs and the Regal and Blue Girdled angels along with a few damsels and a pair of Cinnamon clowns.

I started feeding fresh raw tiger prawn($.35 each) meat two weeks ago when they had a sea food cart at the entrance to Fred Meyers. I bought four and put them in the refrigerator for a day and then cut them in pieces and fed then fresh to the anemones freezing what is left over. The anemones really go for this meat as it is a bit softer than the razor clam although not greasy. They do not like sea bass or squid which put a film on the waters surface and drive the protein skimmer a bit wet.

 

[steven11]

EdKruzel, how would you factor in water flow to fish "exercise?" I've got quite a bit of flow in my 250. The lion stays away from the strong current but is very active in the tank.

 

[EdKruzel]

Steve,
I apologize for missing your question until now. Movement equates to burning calories, well more calories. The body of any creature burns calories by simply existing. The more current you have, the more the fish has to exert itself. Providing the specimen isn't rolling throughout the tank out of control you don't have too much current. Your concern is to ensure each fish is getting the proper nutrition and calories. If the fish is firm and growing, good, if the fish becomes thin or emaciated than you need to increase feeding. For humans I can easily calculate a BMI and a needed caloric intake. Fish are a guessing game through observation and knowledge on healthy specimens.

 

[Finsky]

I have a five foot 125 mixed reef and the two 3,250 gph Koralia Hydor 8 circulating pumps was one of the best things I did for my aquarium.

I have one 6" under the surface in the upper left end three inches from the front facing slightly upward towards the opposite back right corner.

I have a second 6" under the surface in the upper right end three inches from the front facing slightly upward towards the opposite back left corner.

These two currents crash into as well as flow through/past the opposing Hydor 8's current gives the water:

"Laminar flow straight, unidirectional flow, like that produced from a powerhead, or at the latter stages of a wave whose energy has been channeled in one direction by the reef.

Surge is similar, only on a larger scale. To an observer viewing a school of fish, surge is when the school remains in the same pocket of water, but due to surge, the pocket of water and the school of fish suddenly move six feet in one direction, and just as quickly move back.

Turbulence: Turbulence is the random flow of water in multiple directions. Of the three flow patterns, turbulence is the most desirable and the most difficult to produce."

My two red rose bubble tips and two green bubble tips along with various lps and sps corals, zoanthus, mushrooms, two maxima and two crocea clams along with my various tangs, mated pair of tomato clowns, damsels, etc. much health.

 

[Dragon moray ki]

Mine did the same thing pesky lfs try gost shrimp to entice him to eat and then he may sart eating frozen again

 

[pooldude]

wow

 

[gamecockfan803]

Great article

 

[eel guy]

lol i fed my lions (volitans ) by hand as a do all my preds

 

[SantaMonica]

My only recommendation for FW feeders is if they are needed to get a blue ribbon eel to eat. Of course any ribbon eel must have an enclosed pipe to cover his entire length or else he'll never eat (scared of being seen/eaten), but dumping 20 feeder golds/guppys in can do wonders to snap the eel into feeding mode.

Then it's time to switch to silversides.

 

[DpsiQ00]

I'm thinking about putting a tessi, and a blackedge together. I've had a zebra eel, an a yellow head eel with other tank mates but never two eels together in the tank. Has any one had any luck? I've seen videos on YouTube, that's what gave me the idea of trying it.

 

[Fish Stix]

It's really not that hard to get your predators on pellet food...

 

[Finsky]

My 12" and growing Stars-n-Stripes puffer, "The Captain", loves Hikari Massive Delite. Each round thick Nugget is gobbled as quick as I can drop them and I need to regulate his eating as he would eat half a bag and make himself sick.

My 7" Annularis Angel likes them broken in quarters and the 5-6" Picasso, Indian, and Undulated Triggers will bite the in half as they sink. I have had a 3" Huma Huma Rectangular Trigger who has not been introduced to the massive for the big boys!

47% protein and lots of vitamins.

It's Hikari for my aqua beast.. I mean aqua kids.

 

[Finsky]

Addendum, I was putting a sponge prefilter in my canister intake near where I put the krill and the Captain happened to be nearby and clamped on my middle finger. I yanked my hand out of the water and I think I scared him as much as my finger hurt although only temporarily. It could have been worse as he has a lot of crunching power.