well, this is the 2nd double saddle i have had. the first one was in the tank for a good while before i ever added any of the corals for a good month. I think he just got used to the food i fed him at the times i fed and that worked for him. When i began adding corals he never paid any attention to them at all. he did however eat a couple of cleaner shrimp (at least i think he did because i haven't seen them since the day after i put them in the tank, at the time he would have been the only one who could eat them). Then he suddenly died acouple days later with no sign of illness or anything. He was active and eating the morning he died just like normal and then died a few hours later. It was my favorite fish at the time so i had to have another one despite already having corals in the tank i went for it. This one will start to pick at my torch esspecially if i don't stay on top of feedings. So the short answer is I feed a lot and frequently. I feed probably 4 times a day and when i feed i feed quite generously. If you imagine frozen cubes i would say minimally 2 full cubes 3 times a day and pellets at least once a day too.
I am sure people will critisize me and say i over feed and whatnot. I have heard it all before. The bottom line is this is what i have to do to make a system like this work. There is a reason why i have a trigger in a reef that has never eaten a snail and a butterfly that i can keep with corals. If you keep them full of good food they like then they have no reason to graze on the corals. Plus i am feeding 16 mouths and the food doesn't go as far as it used to with fewer fish.
Now if i can just curb this angel i will be all set. I slept in this morning and missed my morning feeding and something (angel i assume) went apeshit on one of the heads of my big torch.
From what reading i have done it seems they keep their Juvi coloration for around 4 years. The tricky part about fish is who the heck knows how old they are exactly when they are collected. The one i have would be classified as a medium to large Juvenille so i am guessing he is a fair time through that period. Best i can really estimate it from the little knowledge i have on them is it could be as long as 2 years before he reaches adult coloration.
