Clowns on pellet food

[canadianeh]

Is it normal behaviour for clownfish to prefer newly dropped pellet vs pellet that have been circulating around in the tank or even the ones settled on the bottom?

my clownfish seems to ignore pellet that they missed but prefer the one that just entered theQT tank.

 

[01xp]

Mine do the exact same I wouldn't worry

 

[andrewey]

I've never had a clownfish that wanted any pellets once it hit the sandbed/QT tankfloor. It's hit or miss if the clowns will go after pellets floating at the surface. I usually end up "throwing" my pellets at the water surface so they'll sink instantly and the clowns will grab them up. It also allows me not to overfeed as once they're not interested in the new pellets I can stop and there aren't anymore in the tank.

 

[Angelwolf21203]

Yes. They are soaked in garlic, so the new pellet will always smell more appetizing than the floater.

 

[Sebastiancrab]

Yes. They are soaked in garlic, so the new pellet will always smell more appetizing than the floater.

I have new clowns and am training them to "listen" for the automatic feeder. At first, I handheld the hatchery pellets and let a few slowly sink. Now they have gotten the hang of looking for them on the top of the water. They never went after any that landed on the sand. It sounds like soaking them in garlic makes them more appetizing? Do you use the garlic that comes in a small jar? Do all fish react to the garlic?

 

[Angelwolf21203]

I have new clowns and am training them to "listen" for the automatic feeder. At first, I handheld the hatchery pellets and let a few slowly sink. Now they have gotten the hang of looking for them on the top of the water. They never went after any that landed on the sand. It sounds like soaking them in garlic makes them more appetizing? Do you use the garlic that comes in a small jar? Do all fish react to the garlic?

Garlic is commonly used as an appetite stimulant and is already in many commercial foods. It's also supportive to their immune systems, so if a fish has a wound or something, dosing the tank or the food can be helpful. I use the Kent Marine GarlicX. It's extremely concentrated, so you literally use a drop it two at a time.

 

[Tahoe61]

Actually I believe my clowns and other fish eat what pellets end up in the sand over the course of the day. I feed 3 different types of pellet 2 to 3 times a day and I tend to over feed. All gets eaten eventually by the end of photoperiod.

 

[Peace River]

I have several pairs of clowns and they typically eat new pellets in the water column first but some of them will also eat the pellets off the sand. I have found that my fish have preferences for different brands so I tend toward feeding them healthy food that they like, specifically @Reef Nutrition's TDO Boost pellets (a standard for clownfish) and ME Corals (@marke) fish food (this is softer and great for picky eaters or fish that don't like the hard pellets).

 

[canadianeh]

Oh wow everyone is experiencing the same. Glad that it is normal behaviour.

yeah I drop mine as high as possible so that they sink. My orange Storm clownfish are about 1.5” and they only eat one granule it two max for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. So I drop two granules at a time.

 

[Kikoboy]

I think fish by nature just like to chase after their food. New pellets will travel within tank with flow, so fish are more likely to go after them. Once the pellets settle on sand bed, only the scavenger fish will pick them up. My clowns are lazy and only hang around their Goniopora all day, so definitely not scavengers.