success!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[waterfaller1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10003984#post10003984 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by HBtank
Not at all. Some flake and pellet are the by far the most complete nutritionally.

It can be a messy way to feed though and I make sure all is consumed to avoid adding phosphates etc.. All my fish love it and I think of it as a "treat" for them

Ok..sorry about the cut & dry answer. Let me elaborate on why I think this.
I will agree first that not all flake is the same, and there are some better ones available...such as you named.
But here is where I differ in my opinion. You may use it as a 'treat', and you may think they are getting it all...which I doubt.Most flake and pellet gets away from fish...hung up in rockwork[which can lead to phosphate problems and then algae problems]..or excess food for your clean up crew. From the moment the container is opened it is losing it's nutritional value...and it lasts so long ,many of us still have that first container of flake we bought years ago. Come on..some of you do. You may keep it in the fridge or freezer...but most people will barely screw the lid back on tight. It's also very easy to overfeed flake.
But many people will feed flake exclusively, and with many types of fish I promise they will not live long ,vibrantly colored lives. It's not a substantial enough diet for many fish, and no regal tangs are herbivores and need a diet as such. Ocean Nutrition puts out many various great frozen formulas such as Formula 2 for the tang, and other herbivores and omnivores[this includes clowns]Prime Reef...angel formula...VHP......formula 1,and others. Other awesome foods are Piscine brand mysis shrimp & cylopeeze. I use mysis as the staple for most of my fish.
For heavier bodied fish..puffers, triggers,wrasses...something more substantial than flake is very important. Silversides & krill are some other options. For puffers, shelled food items are a must to keep their beak honed down. If allowed to overgrow..it can get to where they cannot open their mouth or eat anything.
Sweetwater zooplankton~in a jar is another.
And then there are fresh foods to get from the grocer's..such as shrimp,scallop,clam,nice white fish,squid. These can be frozen flat in a baggie, and shaved off as needed.
Or you can blend or process a combination of all these foods...including spirulina in the mix..and make a great food. Freeze flat and break off as needed.
I supplement my fish's food on a rotating basis with Selcon{amino acids] and Kent Zoe{vitamins} and some fresh garlic or garlic xtreme on occasion to boost the immune system. Or get a picky fish interested in eating.
On top of this, especially for tangs,rabbitfish, some blennies, etc. unroasted nori or algae sheets[they come in various colors..Julian Sprung's sea veggies are great] should be offered daily.
So..again, just my opinion. I have a couple containers of flake & pellet from when I started and before I started researching nutrition so my fish would be active, live long lives, and be vibrantly colored. Do you want them? Try giving an anthias just flake..I will bet he won't last long.
To me, variety and good solid fresh and frozen foods are superior to any flake out there.

 

[jaugermeister]

I agree but most of the time it is also easy to over feed on frozen foods. also if you have a good clean up crew I don't see the issue with some flakes that fall on the rock work. If the excess foods gowns down the sump your skimmer should pick up the remaining, and even if that fails to grab the excess food the remainder lands in my fuge feeding more cleaner inverts and others. so I still don't see the down side to feeding flakes.

 

[Me No Nemo]

I've been doing this for 31 years and the healthiest and happiest fish I've had are fed fresh or frozen foods (Ocean Nutrition and Piscine Energetics Mysis is the best I've found) or fresh foods such as scallops and squid. Placing them in a bit of water from the tank for about 15-20 minutes with some garlic, Zoe Marine and/or Selcon will add all you need for healthy fish. I've seen lots of HLLE, weight issues, etc. solved with a switch in diet! I've had fish live years and years beyond what most do and look perfect. Flake/pellets are fine for an occasional meal, IMO, if in a hurry. But to get your fish to live 5, 10, 20 years, my experience is most need more than flakes or pellets. BTW, I do agree, the Spectrum foods and Ocean Nutrition (plus ORA's OraGlo) are some of the best on the market when flakes and pellets are used. Just my 2 cents. Marcye

 

[honda2sk]

I like to re-read this article from time to time to refresh my memory:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=785228

 

[Me No Nemo]

Great read, honda2sk. Leebca is, IMO, one of the most knowledgable in the hobby when it comes to feeding and fish disease and has graciouly allowed me to post one of the feeding threads for my customers to use as a guide. You can't go wrong following the advice documented in those threads and the info is very similiar to what I myself have found to be true with my own fish. Feeding what fish would eat in their normal environments is by far the best way to go. His comments about the lion chow vs. meat brings home the fact that we have taken on living creatures and as their custodians, we should take the time to feed them what they want and need from their natural environments. I even grow macros to supplement my tangs live algae. Any one who's seen "Cyndi" do her dance at the store, as soon as she seems me open the doors to the refugium, will attest to how much she loves having that in her diet.

 

[CarlC]

I only use Ocean Nutrition products. I don't feed flake alot though. Only a couple of times a week and even then it is still mixed in with frozen. I mainly keep anthias so if I fed them only flake they would be flipping me the fin. They eat it as long as it is small pieces. I sometimes feed 10x's a day, just enough that it is gone in less than a minute. I think that even the best of the dry foods would cause some problems with as much as I feed.

As for the bad dry foods I couldn't really name any product off the top of my head. I read the label before I buy and if it lists non marine products in the first few ingrediants I put it down.

I have not had to do it yet but on long extended trips flake will have to do until someone designs a auto feeder that can feed frozen.

Carl

 

[HBtank]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10005647#post10005647 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by waterfaller1

To me, variety and good solid fresh and frozen foods are superior to any flake out there.

Or course, I never said that. Variety will always be better.

To me, this approach plus some pellets and flake is even better. I must have over 20 types of food for fish alone, 4 being flake or pellet.

I would never advocate feeding any single type of food, frozen or dry. Anyways, I was only commenting on your first post, and I stick by my assertion that good flake and pellet are far from worthless and more "complete" than almost any other single frozen (such as mysis) food besides the formula 1 and 2 frozen versions. If I had to choose just one food, they would be on the top of my list.

And as I said in my first post, feed them carefully to avoid adding nutrients.