Pacific Island Aquatics
- Thread starter mbauma
- Start date
I know Ted will disagree, but I like to use pellets in QT if I can... it's just "cleaner"... you know? No left over Mysis heads and antennae and stuff. I'm so used to butterflies eating the main body and leaving the rest, with Mysis, so maybe it's just specific to me. Same reason I use minced diver scallop if I need to use frozen.
humaguy
Premium Member
I wont disagree because if it is working for you, go for it...
I personally avoid dry foods as I believe it may lead to buoyancy issues, bloat, or death. I have also seen bloat with frozen foods, though not nearly to the extent that I have with dry.
When I lost the Cortez a few months back, it confused me big time. She had been doing so well for many years. When I went back thru my notes, I saw that I had given the tank some flake food that I received for free when I bought some fish. (In my notes I actually wrote down, "I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me.) I had like 10 cans of the stuff, from a well-known company. The Cortez ate it like crazy but I think she was eating it so fast much of it was totally dry while she inhaled it...after 2 feedings, over 2 days, she was hiding, not eating and died 3 days later. I am sure the dry food was the cause.
I shared this with a diver friend in SA and he mentioned that he had just lost a small conspic and baby Kingi after also feeding dry foods..and the food he used was also from another very well-known company, tough it was not the same brand I used.
What works for my and the wonderful health of my fish is frozen food..if what you are doing works for you, excellent! I have spoken about the risks of dry food in the past and it led to the death of my cortez. I keep kicking myself for using the flake and am confident in saying that if I hadn't, I would still have the cortez today...
mbauma
New member
Thanks for the input. I respect everyone's ideas and as you say, there are many things that work for different people. I feed primarily frozen mysis, but have some high quality pellets that I got for my Neptune AFS for vacation.
I found a girl from the vet to stay at the house and take care of the dog, cat and fish so I don't have to feed using the AFS as much as I was planning.
I found a girl from the vet to stay at the house and take care of the dog, cat and fish so I don't have to feed using the AFS as much as I was planning.
I don't think I have to point out, that as a scientist yourself, this is not proven, simply assumed. The other comment I would add is that if dry food caused such issues consistently, we'd be hearing way more about it here. How many accounts of bloat have you read here? Just saying..... not trying to be argumentative (and frankly respect your views very much!), but pellet food is a great, concentrated food source, especially with new, skinny-ish fish. BTW I ALWAYS presoak my pellets... maybe that helps?
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humaguy
Premium Member
I agree...the fish did not undergo a necropsy.
The cause of death is totally my assumption solely based on years of having the fish and only feeding her frozen.
pellets can be an outstanding source of nutrition but I chose to avoid...
there were some semi-soft pellets that I did like but I cant find them anymore...
I am not sure though about the "if dry food caused such issues consistently" comment...we read about unexpected fish deaths in here all the time and I wonder how many are in fact caused by dry foods...you know those comments like "I lost a fish and everybody else in tank is okay, parameters are consistent and within range, and nothing has changed."
I would also agree that the soaking of the pellets prior to feeding may in fact help lubricate them and allow for an easier digestion of the product.
My dt has a feeding port. So, when I added the flake food it was not dispersed into the tank but was held within the port itself. So when the cortez inhaled the flake as she did she was sucking in flake that was wet on the bottom as it was sitting on the surface of the water. However, the flake that sat on top of that layer was probably totally dry....
While I understand the concept, I don't want anyone on these forums to be afraid of pellet food.....fish die for all sorts of reasons. While I think your reason may be valid... it's a stretch, and certainly not what people deal with with a new fish, IMO. I have yet to loose a fish to dry food bloat in the many years I've been keeping fish. Can I prove it? No. Do I think it? Yes.
sc50964
New member
Pellet form of food is a great way to pack in all the nutrients that fish need in a small package that does the minimum contamination to the water, and is my first choice in any tank, QT or not. Frozen food is a good treat/snack and a supplement for color retention. Some pellets float longer than others. Problem with that is some fish could get in trouble/sick by accidentally taking in too much air while taking the floating pellets. Flakes to me are the worse since they break apart the easiest.
Honestly I never use flake any more. Presoaked pellets that always sink are my go to.
humaguy
Premium Member
frozen food should not be viewed as solely a treat or snack...
humaguy
Premium Member
agree...imo, there is a tremendous difference between pellet and flake...
sc50964
New member
humaguy
Premium Member
so, frozen food should only be used as a treat, snack, and for color retention?
sc50964
New member
stunreefer
Reef Hugger
Isn't forum banter great? 
As all of us know, there's more than one way to skin a cat, and if it's working for you (meaning very high survival rate with thriving fishes) then, don't fix it if it ain't broke!
I should add that I perform good size water changes every 48 hours with freshly mixed SW (RO/DI with 0 TDS + ESV salt) for the first two weeks. This is where having an overly filtered small QT/conditioning (10 gal tank with AquaClear 70 is perfect ratio - of course upsize that for larger fishes) system helps keep costs low and fishes happy.
While I feed both frozen and pellets, I feel frozen is always going to be most natural for fishes to consume. Pellets can be great, but there's always fillers in them that no fish in nature would consume. Ever. Again, I feed both, so it comes down to what works best for you, IMHO.
As all of us know, there's more than one way to skin a cat, and if it's working for you (meaning very high survival rate with thriving fishes) then, don't fix it if it ain't broke!
For a freshly received fish I highly recommend feeding as many times as possible throughout the day. I generally feed every time I pass the tank, which equates to 10-12 times per day. If properly feeding and observing, feeding this often will not cause any issues with water quality.
I should add that I perform good size water changes every 48 hours with freshly mixed SW (RO/DI with 0 TDS + ESV salt) for the first two weeks. This is where having an overly filtered small QT/conditioning (10 gal tank with AquaClear 70 is perfect ratio - of course upsize that for larger fishes) system helps keep costs low and fishes happy.
In a QT/conditioning situation it's incredibly important, no matter what your food choice is, to observe and ensure every piece of food that goes into the tank is consumed. Of course you will have a piece here and there get sucked into the filter, but I base food additions down to the individual number of shrimp when it comes to a particle size of say, P.E. Mysis. I'll literally feed two Mysis to the tank and observe. If it's eaten quickly, feed again. It's that's eaten quickly, feed again. And continue until they start to stop hitting the food so fast. Repeat several times per day. This style of feeding will ensure that there is minimum waste, no matter your food choice. If it's an incredibly oily food, perhaps consider rinsing in RO/DI water to remove some of that "waste" if that's a concern.
While I feed both frozen and pellets, I feel frozen is always going to be most natural for fishes to consume. Pellets can be great, but there's always fillers in them that no fish in nature would consume. Ever. Again, I feed both, so it comes down to what works best for you, IMHO.
stunreefer
Reef Hugger
Dude you can come drink Dos Equis while hitting a piñata any day of the week with me
We're all on the same team!I wasn't calling anyone out, just adding my $0.02 :thumbsup:
stunreefer
Reef Hugger
Indeed :fish2:
However I have a nice sundeck as well for terrestrial folk :smokin:
However I have a nice sundeck as well for terrestrial folk :smokin:
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