should i feed my fish two times a day?

[ilikepie777]

Hi Reef Central:
So i recently perchased some fish from live aquaria and in every single one of them's discription it says feed them twice a day. Do I really need to feed my tank twice a day?

 

[geaux xman]

preferably yes.

What fish do you keep? size tank? sps tank? etc etc?

need more info.

 

[sandwi54]

Yeah two to three times a day for most species. Large adult predators can be fed every two to three days.

 

[ilikepie777]

well i have a biocube 14 with two ocellaris clowns and a wheeler's goby and none of them are above three inches so I should still feed them two times a day, also i feed them a whole square of frozen brine shrimp every time so is that enough to hold them for the day or do i need to feed them two squares

 

[MrTuskfish]

As a rule;smaller fish need more, but smaller feedings. If you're feeding those frozen cubes, that's way too much for 3 small fish. You can thaw a cube of food and feed part of it, keep the rest in the fridge. Feed only what your fish will eat in about 5 mins. I'll bet a lot of the food ends up in the filter system or just rotting in a dead spot. IMO, many fish are underfed and all fish, except big predators, should be fed at least 2X a day. 3-4 small feedings would be fine for your fish. I'd also ditch the brine shrimp. Plain BS are very low on the nutrition charts. The green, gut-loaded BS are good though. Offer a variety of foods: mysis, a small quality pellet food, other frozen marine foods.

 

[rssjsb]

I agree a whole cube of anything is too much for 3 small fish. I would also switch to mysis or other small frozen food.

I feed frozen in the morning and use an autofeeder to deliver small feedings of pellets during the day. For your fish and in that size tank, I think two feedings a day is probably plenty.

 

[Dmorty217]

As a rule;smaller fish need more, but smaller feedings. If you're feeding those frozen cubes, that's way too much for 3 small fish. You can thaw a cube of food and feed part of it, keep the rest in the fridge. Feed only what your fish will eat in about 5 mins. I'll bet a lot of the food ends up in the filter system or just rotting in a dead spot. IMO, many fish are underfed and all fish, except big predators, should be fed at least 2X a day. 3-4 small feedings would be fine for your fish. I'd also ditch the brine shrimp. Plain BS are very low on the nutrition charts. The green, gut-loaded BS are good though. Offer a variety of foods: mysis, a small quality pellet food, other frozen marine foods.

+1 I feed all of my fish a little multiple times a day (at least 3) and all fish are healthy and fat

 

[humaguy]

2-3 times a day here...with baby fish as many as 6 and depending on the fish sometimes almost around the clock until they have fattened-up...I especially do this with tiny trigs and angels...

 

[ssick92]

I try to feed 2 times a day but sometimes I can only get around to once before they go to sleep, all fish are fat and healthy!

 

[EllieSuz]

I feed three times a day. They get pellets in the morning and the Mandarin gets prawn roe. Around noon they get a piece of seaweed (Nori) and in the evening they get mysis or enriched brine shrimp. Not all the fish eat at each meal. For instance, the clown only eats pellets, so she just gets a morning feeding. Only three of them dine on seaweed. The point I'm trying to make is that you have to feed for the species of fish you keep. Multiple small feedings are superior to once daily because they feed continuously in the wild.

 

[rickjd]

I feed 1 to 2 times a day. I'm amazed that some of you have the time to feed 3 times a day. You must work from home....thats a nice leisure. Of course, on weekends I still only feed once or twice. Fish are healthy and seem fat as ever. My feeding is a mixture of brine, mysis, algae wafers, and sometimes bloodworms. Seems to work!!!

 

[sTefaniA]

I feed 1 to 2 times a day. I'm amazed that some of you have the time to feed 3 times a day. You must work from home....thats a nice leisure. Of course, on weekends I still only feed once or twice. Fish are healthy and seem fat as ever. My feeding is a mixture of brine, mysis, algae wafers, and sometimes bloodworms. Seems to work!!!

I work full time and I feed way more than 3 times a day. Usually around 10 or more. I fill a big glass with different frozen foods and every time I walk past the tank, I put some in.

 

[ilikepie777]

will today I completely did an overkill feeding them TWO cubes. Shocker is they ate most of it, but I will stick with a half cube a day. Quarter in the morning quarter in the afternoon is that still too much or is that good. Also other than brine shrimp what else would you recommend me to feed them.

 

[MrTuskfish]

Why all the attention to number of "cubes"? Cubes are just an easy, and expensive, way to feed and are mostly water. You do thaw the cubes first, right? Then just fed what they'll eat in 5 mins or so. (Hey, I hear my own echo!) The posts above have several good food suggestions. You have clowns, which are omnivores. Plain B.S. is a poor choice for any fish, but especially for fish that need greens, like your fish. Many LFS have been recommending BS that they probably aren't even aware of what's on the market. Try some O.S. Formula I & II. Take a look at what is available. Here is more info than you'll ever need. http://www.drsfostersmith.com/fish-supplies/aquarium-fish-food/ps/c/3578/7927 Search the DFS LA site; you'll find plenty of info.
As you can see from the responses; everyone has a timetable for feeding. Again; for the fish you have, IMO, at least 2X a day. It really isn't a big deal from there. If food is getting in your filter or sitting on the substrate, you're feeding too much. With just 3 fish, I'd just take a cup of defrosted food from the fridge and feed a very small amount every 15 mins, or whatever, until they are full. This isn't rocket science, just use common sense. As much as they'll eat, but no more. Overfeeding, especially in a very small tank like yours can be a big problem. That's why I suggest several small feedings.

 

[jhawkor]

To the people that say they thaw frozen food in water and feed throughout the day, I've read that many of the vitamins are leached into the water and wasted. Does anyone know if this is true? I think I read this in The Marin Fish Health and Feeding Handbook.

 

[guezei]

Small amounts several times per day is the best option.

 

[MrTuskfish]

To the people that say they thaw frozen food in water and feed throughout the day, I've read that many of the vitamins are leached into the water and wasted. Does anyone know if this is true? I think I read this in The Marin Fish Health and Feeding Handbook.

I've heard this too. Because the water in the food cup is always tinted, there's probably some truth to it. But I don't like the idea of fish swallowing a frozen chunk and the frozen food defrosts in the tank almost immediately. Maybe that's another reason to using vitamins, like selcon. In any case, there are so many good foods, frozen seafoods from the grocery store, and vitamins available now that any fish should be well fed.

 

[jaa1456]

I only soak pellets in the selcon, I don't believe the frozen picks any of it up when soaked. It's already in a liquid so how much more can it possibly absorb?

 

[sail33]

I thought I might be over feeding at twice a day. So after reading this thread that concern is resolved in my mind.

Another reason to just toss cubes onto the tank is that the water in the cubes is reported to be high in nitrates. I defrost them and separate the water before feeding.

 

[michael_cb_125]

IMO as long as you maintain proper water quality you cannot over feed MOST fish. There are exceptions such as anglers and some other predatory or sedentary species.
I feed my juvenile fish as many times as I can throughout the day without lowering my water quality. Usually this ends up being between seven and ten times per day. My Dult fish get. Minimum of three feedings per day.

One must remember what fish do in the wild. Forage for food. EAT, EAT, guard territories and spawn. Many species forage constantly throughout the day. It cannot be good for their digestive system or metabolism to go from almost constant small shouts of food to one large feeding per day, most fish are just not used to this.

~Michael