I'm sure this will sound like a really dumb question, but I'm just a couple months into this (we've had little freshwater for our kids forever though). Is it possible for your fish to gorge themselves and die? I bought some of the Rod's Food for my fish (no corals yet) as they've always just eaten brine shrimp. They went absolutely insane for it! It's fishie crack! BUT, there are some rather large chunks in there compared to what we've had in the past, and I'm looking at my little basslet and my scooter blenny (!) and they've stuffed themselves silly. Their little bellies are soooo bloated. Should I avoid feeding this stuff anymore?
A newbie question about feeding
- Thread starter Joybird
- Start date
- Tagged users None
slipknotgrrl83
Well-Known Member
It's alright to feed rods ...fish will eat and eat and eat lol. Just give them enough to consume in 2 or 3 minutes. One thing to remember about Frozen (I think that's what rods is) is its very nutrient dense so they don't need alot. Also remember more food=more poop. I feed my fish once a day and they always beg every time I'm near the tank lol
DLJTWO
Community Member
I've heard great things about Rod's, I think I'm going to pick some up this weekend and try it out. I've seen some people use it in their DIY Food mixture and thought about using it as well.
themcnertney
Valuable Member
What kind of fish and how many do you have? How big of tank? I tend to stick with red and green algae sheets as my fish are mostly herbivores. I only feed Rods once weekly. BTW I have about 20 fish and couple urchins in my 220.
themcnertney
Valuable Member
Would this be from feeding to much or would a disease cause bloated bellies? #reefsquad
Hi welcome to reef2reef!
@Humblefish @eatbreakfast
I do fwiw have a new blenny that gorges too. we keep an eye on him a dinner time. id def walk the feedings back personally.
The only dumb question is the ones that are not asked.
@Humblefish @eatbreakfast
I do fwiw have a new blenny that gorges too. we keep an eye on him a dinner time. id def walk the feedings back personally.
bairdimusprime
Bill
I feed 3-5 times daily a mixture of @ReefFrenzy and dry foods. a fat fish is a happy fish... no need to worry just make sure you have a good CUC and do your water changes regularly and you will be fine.
@Joybird no strange behavior out of the fish right?
@Joybird no strange behavior out of the fish right?
spidercrab
Active Member
Never hear of one dying from over eating. Lol they will start spitting out once they are at capacity
melypr1985
totally addicted
Fish will just keep on eating until the food is gone. I agree with feeding only enough for them to consume in 2-3 minutes. This is important for their health and from a nutrient standpoint. I used to have a wrasse that would eat so much he would look pregnant. The next morning he would be back to normal. As long as your fish's stomachs are going back to normal by morning, then I wouldn't worry too much about the bloated tummies. There's no reason not to feed Rod's every day, just be careful how much you feed or you'll end up with algae taking over in no time. 
^^ Agree with Meredith. Also, you don't want to overfeed as that causes excess nutrients to build up, which leads to high nitrates & phosphates. The former will become a problem for your corals while the latter will cause nuisance algae to grow.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Overfeeding a fish causes issues such as fatty liver disease.
spidercrab
Active Member
Is that true? It is in people who are sedentary with a high fat diet, but fish are very active and have high metabolisms. Just curious
Lionfish Lair
Renee
Yes, it's 100% proven in fish. I have a lot of research articles on the topic. I dove into it, because is a very common disease with predatory fish.
spidercrab
Active Member
Predatory fish are more sedentary than the grazers. Im sure there is some variation in species.
spidercrab
Active Member
Not trying to argue or anything just curious myself.
IMO, not compared to how they live in the wild. also the diet in the wild is much different.
spidercrab
Active Member
Im guessing the wild has a much lower fat diet lol. Couldnt we just feed our fish a leaner diet. Maybe keep them on the atkins.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
It's not only found in predatory fish... it's just why I went looking into the topic. There is a HUGE variation in species with everything, even their basic requirements.
Fats are largely the problem, yet they also found it in lower fat yet high calorie diets. The wrong kinds of fat is also a factor they're investigating/attributing to the disease. There's more than one cause.
I don't consider your comments/questions argumentative. This is how good conversations go and I welcome it.
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bingo! and consider what species your feeding. We do all need fat, or we would all die. too much too little is bad. sugars too.
Lionfish Lair
Renee
All fish in our tanks expend much less energy than they do in the wild. The difference in the nutritional requirements of all the different species fish is CRAZY. Those requirements even change depending on the environment of a single species. THEN there's changes that occur with age. We will never be able to hit every single fish with the perfect diet, as these prepared foods are developed for the general population.
