feeding mysis

[mcurl98]

I am acclimating a Copperband who is eating mysis. I've never fed mysis before-actually never fed anything but processed foods before. Anyway, they stink. I defrost them in a glass of tank water and have rinsed them a few times in tank water containers. The fish still eats pretty slowly but is eating well-have only had him 4 days. There are no other fish in the tank-just snails and shrimp. I would say the food is in there a good 15-20 minutes by the time he eats most of it (seems to be getting quicker/more interested each day though). I do not feel I am feeding a large amount-maybe the size of a nickel when frozen (4 shrimp in the tank as well-90 gal). To make a short story long, there is a strong fishy smell in my living room, coming from the tank, after I feed. The smell is obvious for many hours. The wife isn't real excited about it. Is it normal to have this odor with mysis? are mine bad mysis (picked up Sunday from Atlantis)? I keep them in a deep freezer. ANy ideas? Thanks, Matt

 

[jkreefer]

If your feeding him a whole cube of misis, thats a bit much for one fish....I feed one cube for 5 fish, 2 arrows and a whole lot of hermits and snails(plus marine plankton). I've never had it smell before though....check your perameters and make sure your not out of wack

 

[mcurl98]

This isn't the cubed stuff. It is a thin, flat pack. The size I fed isabout the size of a nickel in diameter and maybe twice as thick as a nickel.
Ammonia andnitrites-0
nitrates 10 or less
Alk 13 (slowly declining as I turned the reactor off)
calc 460
ph 8.3

 

[MSAreef]

It sounds like you are using PE mysis which come in frozen flats. I think you are overfeeding. These mysis are huge. I feed a chunk the size of a nickel to 4 adult seahorses and 8 nassarius snails who eat the leftovers. For one fish you need to feed less than a dime chunk size. It does have strong fishy smell if left out too long. I defrost in tank water for about 5 minutes and rinse in tank water too. Hope this helps.

 

[mcurl98]

You're right, they are huge-much larger than I thought they'd be. I will try feeding less -I was a bit worried about the cleaners and nassarius (30) not getting any. The shrimp are also new and don't come out to feed. They just grab some if it drifts by. Think I should switch to a smaller brand (the cubed ones?) to get better dispersion without having as much total food? Thanks for the help-Matt

 

[Horizon Canopy]

i feed PE mysis, and it always stinks up the tank for a couple of hoours after feeding... it also makes my skimmer stop working for a few hours too.

 

[raddogz]

Yes, feed less amount wise, but feed more often.

Copperbands are incredibly slow eaters - those snouts are meant for foraging i.e. they eat all day long.

 

[fingerwrinkles]

PE Mysis has the strong odor which comes from the high fat / oil content of the shrimp. While this is great for the fish (in moderation) is does stink and is hard to get off your hands (not to mention making the skimmer go crazy for awhile).

You might try the Hikari mysis which is a bit smaller and doesn't smell anywhere near as much. They don't have the high oil content and thus may not be as "nutritious" as the PE, but they do have a pretty good nutrient profile.

 

[jkreefer]

I use the cubed misis ( about 1/2' x 1/2') and when i didnt have as many fish you can just cut cubes in half......never has stunk though.......

 

[mcurl98]

Thanks all! Really helpful.