Clown fish and copepods

hopperjl16 · Jan 28, 2016

Do clown fish eat copepods? I've recently put 2 clown fish in my tank and first tried giving them pellets which they would chase but spit out. I was a little concerned they weren't going to eat but then I put in my frozen mysis (feeding my shrimp) and they readily went after that. I've tried the pellets a couple times and they still won't eat them, but on top of eating the mysis they seem to be pecking off the copepods that keep blooming on my glass. Is this enough for them? Once/day mysis and copepods?

cloak · Jan 28, 2016

Clownfish will eat copepods, but these along with the frozen Mysis is not enough IMO. I would definitely try some flakes or perhaps a couple other frozen foods as well. As far as those pellets go, I'm not exactly sure how big they are, (2mm?) but you might want to let them soak in a cup of water for a few minutes beforehand. This will soften them up a little and make it a lot easier for the clownfish to eat. GL.

hopperjl16 · Jan 28, 2016

Hmmm, they're only 1mm. I will def try the soaking first. If that doesn't work I'll get flakes. They also go after the seaweed sheet pieces I put in (for my emerald crab) once they soften up and break off into pieces.

DeniseAndy · Jan 28, 2016

Fish have different preferences. Some of mine like pellets, some only eat flakes of the dried foods. Most will eat frozen.

cloak · Jan 28, 2016

hopperjl16 said:
Hmmm, they're only 1mm. I will def try the soaking first. If that doesn't work I'll get flakes. They also go after the seaweed sheet pieces I put in (for my emerald crab) once they soften up and break off into pieces.

Eating Nori is definitely a plus, especially for fish other than Tangs and Angelfish IME.

hopperjl16 · Jan 28, 2016

cloak said:
Eating Nori is definitely a plus, especially for fish other than Tangs and Angelfish IME.

Ok good to know, as they started grabbing floating pieces and eating them I realized I wasn't sure if they should even have it!

Tahoe61 · Jan 28, 2016

New clown fish can go days without you witnessing them actually eating. I would try Cyclops-eez or mysis shrimp if they continue to spit out the pellets.

human · Jan 28, 2016

If you have other fish that eat pellets just give it some time, they'll eventually get the idea. Have you tried Spectrum Thera-A garlic pellets? My hawkfish refused to eat anything but frozen mysis until I acquired a yellow-tailed damsel and the Spectrum pellets, it took a couple weeks, then one day he tried one, now he'll eat just about anything I drop in the tank.

hopperjl16 · Jan 28, 2016

human said:
If you have other fish that eat pellets just give it some time, they'll eventually get the idea. Have you tried Spectrum Thera-A garlic pellets? My hawkfish refused to eat anything but frozen mysis until I acquired a yellow-tailed damsel and the Spectrum pellets, it took a couple weeks, then one day he tried one, now he'll eat just about anything I drop in the tank.

I have the regular spectrum 1mm pellets, I could try the Thera-A ones.

Only other fish is a yellow watchman goby who I now wonder if I'm under feeding as well...... He readily eats the mysis or nori as it floats by his cave. In fact he's quite assertive about making sure he grabs food! Lol

bairdimusprime · Jan 29, 2016

I try to give my clowns a varied diet. they get New Spectrum pellets and LRS reef frenzy daily as well as whatever pods i catch them picking off in the tank
best of luck to you

Lionfish Lair · Jan 29, 2016

cloak said:
Clownfish will eat copepods, but these along with the frozen Mysis is not enough IMO. I would definitely try some flakes or perhaps a couple other frozen foods as well

x a million kajillion

Bunnee911 · Jan 29, 2016

My clownfish love Tetra Crisps. No accounting for taste.

Lionfish Lair · Jan 29, 2016

Chrisfish · Jan 29, 2016

My clown fish love reef frenzy, frozen mysis shrimp, live brine shrimp and even live black worms but will not touch pellets or flake foods. Lots of variety your getting from everyone.

aliciaelledge777 · Feb 28, 2021

Mine eat mysis, brine and flakes. I have thousands and thousands of copepods and o haven't seen them pick at them. Copepods absolutely fight over the mysis shrimp tho

Nhjmc · Aug 16, 2021

hopperjl16 said:
Do clown fish eat copepods? I've recently put 2 clown fish in my tank and first tried giving them pellets which they would chase but spit out. I was a little concerned they weren't going to eat but then I put in my frozen mysis (feeding my shrimp) and they readily went after that. I've tried the pellets a couple times and they still won't eat them, but on top of eating the mysis they seem to be pecking off the copepods that keep blooming on my glass. Is this enough for them? Once/day mysis and copepods?

my pair of clowns (ocellaris snowflake and one ocellaris) LOVE Tigger pods!

D-Nak · Aug 17, 2021

I feed all of my clownfish TDO Chroma Boost and they love it. Not only does it brighten up their colors, but I haven't had a single fish that won't eat it.