How much should I be feeding my fish?

[Reef_Frank]

Hi,

My tank is currently stocked with 9 longfin anthias, 2 small clowns and a saffron goby (or lemon goby).

I feed mysis shrimp cubes 3 to 4 times a day but don't really know how much to put in the tank - usually I add small amounts for 2 minutes or so and go through around a cube a day. Does anyone have a rough guide to how much to feed?
Currently have a bit of a cyano outbreak so I am worried about overfeeding.

Thanks in advance

 

[blaxsun]

I have 30 or so odd fish and I currently feed:

* 1.5-2 cubes mysis daily
* 1 cube brine daily
* 1 cube calanus daily
* 1 sheet of TLF SeaVeggiea green (split up into 4 quarters)

I also have an AFS setup to dispense a small amount of Vitalis Algae pellets and Nyos Aloe 3x daily.

 

[DivingTheWorld]

IMO cyano is caused less by over feeding and more by lack of flow and low nutrients. But regarding feeding, I generally like to feed small amounts several times over a few minutes, making sure my fish eat all the food. When it appears they're lacking interest, they've had enough. After some feedings, you should get an idea of how much your fish will consume. I prefer not to overfeed and waste food.

I feed frozen each morning and NLS pellets each evening.

 

[Reef_Frank]

IMO cyano is caused less by over feeding and more by lack of flow and low nutrients. But regarding feeding, I generally like to feed small amounts several times over a few minutes, making sure my fish eat all the food. When it appears they're lacking interest, they've had enough. After some feedings, you should get an idea of how much your fish will consume. I prefer not to overfeed and waste food.

I feed frozen each morning and NLS pellets each evening.

Hi, thanks for this.
Do you know which nutrients (or lack of, I guess) are likely to cause the cyano? I have very low nitrate and basically no phosphate.. is it worth trying to get these up a bit to combat the cyano?

 

[DivingTheWorld]

Hi, thanks for this.
Do you know which nutrients (or lack of, I guess) are likely to cause the cyano? I have very low nitrate and basically no phosphate.. is it worth trying to get these up a bit to combat the cyano?

Sorry, I use “nutrients” to describe Nitrate & Phosphate, but that’s more of reefer slang since those aren’t really nutrients.

Yes, once I was able to keep my Nitrate/Phosphate at more normal levels (5/0.05), I’ve no longer had any cyano issues. That’s difficult with newer tanks and may require some dosing. Flow is also an important factor though because cyano loves low flow tanks. In my tank I run 100x not including my return pump.

 

[Reef_Frank]

Sorry, I use “nutrients” to describe Nitrate & Phosphate, but that’s more of reefer slang since those aren’t really nutrients.

Yes, once I was able to keep my Nitrate/Phosphate at more normal levels (5/0.05), I’ve no longer had any cyano issues. That’s difficult with newer tanks and may require some dosing. Flow is also an important factor though because cyano loves low flow tanks. In my tank I run 100x not including my return pump.

ah brilliant thank you - I bet these low nutrients are one of the reasons in my tank. Are there any particular brands/products I should look for when dosing nitrate & phosphate?
It is definitely more prevalent in the low flow areas of my tank.. just tricky finding a flow that will be sufficient but not blow the sand everywhere haha

 

[DivingTheWorld]

ah brilliant thank you - I bet these low nutrients are one of the reasons in my tank. Are there any particular brands/products I should look for when dosing nitrate & phosphate?
It is definitely more prevalent in the low flow areas of my tank.. just tricky finding a flow that will be sufficient but not blow the sand everywhere haha

Yeah, that’s the main reason I removed all my sand, so I could run super high flow. As far as dosing for Nitrate/Phosphate, hopefully others can chime in. I don’t dose them. I’ve heard of products from SeaChem and NeoPhos. Some people also use non aquarium products like stump remover.

 

[Reef_Frank]

Yeah, that’s the main reason I removed all my sand, so I could run super high flow. As far as dosing for Nitrate/Phosphate, hopefully others can chime in. I don’t dose them. I’ve heard of products from SeaChem and NeoPhos. Some people also use non aquarium products like stump remover.

nice one - thanks for the replies!

 

[fish farmer]

ah brilliant thank you - I bet these low nutrients are one of the reasons in my tank. Are there any particular brands/products I should look for when dosing nitrate & phosphate?
It is definitely more prevalent in the low flow areas of my tank.. just tricky finding a flow that will be sufficient but not blow the sand everywhere haha

Here's a link to cyanobacteria https://www.liveaquaria.com/article/2/?aid=2

Excessive buildup of wastes and low flow usually can contribute to cyanobacteria issues, plus the tank not having enough consumers of wastes/nutrients.

 

[X-37B]

Imo, it really depends on your export system. I feed 8+ cubes a day in my 120 with 15 fish.
In my 45 frag system with 3 fish I feed around 1-1.5 cubes a day.
Frag system can not support heavy in heavy out like the 120.