My crazy clown is so finicky.

[Arizonah13]

First, how much should my clown be eating in one session? My little guy is about 1.5 - 1.75" from nose to the end of his tail, and just doesn't seem to a very big eater. With flakes and pellets (which I crumble/crush up to make into bite-sized pieces), he probably eats a total of 2 entire flakes or pellets.

He has shown zero interest in frozen brine shrimp :eek2: - but does show a lot of enthusiasm for mysis - even still, he only seems to eat *maybe* two total shrimp.

My tank does have some green hair algae - do clowns graze on that throughout the day? He seems healthy and spunky - I just feel like he should be more of a piggie.

Oh, and I've ordered some of the garlic stuff to add to his food to see if that'll entice him to eat a little more....

So, short story, long - does it seem like he is under-eating? Is just picky?

Oh! And I also feed him about 2-3 times a day - just tiny amounts until he starts to ignore the food (which, again, is after about 2 pieces of shrimp, pellets, flakes, etc...)

Thanks in advance for any thoughts, suggestions, etc...

P.S. If it matters, he is a tank raised ocellaris.

 

[Chiya]

Hi,

I'm new to the hobby and my clown only start eating food that I fed recently.
It previously ate the bits that the anemone in my tank couldnt catch while I'm not looking..

For me, I look out for the bulge in its tummy so see if it's full =)
I think a couple of mysis shrimps should be enough for a meal.. Your clown seem to be a little fellow.

Remember not to overfeed as it can mess with the tank parameters when the excess food rots =)

Cheers,
Ryan

 

[DustinB]

At that size he probably can barely get the pellet into his mouth. I have a couple small ones in my nano and they only eat 2-3 pellets once a day.

You really only need to feed once a day, some people actually only feed a few times a week. 2-3 times a day is why he's not taking much or showing a strong response.

I feed a very small pinch of flake in the morning and about 2-4 pellets in the evening. Keep in mind this tiny thing has a stomach only slightly larger than a BB. Pellets will expand to twice or more their size when fully saturated with water.

Skip feeding for a day and try a couple flakes in the morning and 2-3 pellets in the evening. He should perk right up. They also like a bit of variety. Try some spectrum pellets one day and some formula two pellets the next. Maybe a bit of frozen mysis a couple times a week.