how much to feed?

[tekknow]

I am new to the hobby. I have a 200 gal tank with 2 fish - a 2" clown and a 1.5" damsel. I don't want to buy a lot of expensive fish, only to see them die due to my newbie mistakes. I'm using "Omega One whole Seafood Protein Marine mini pellets", as recommended by petco fish persion. The jar says "feed up to 3 times daily, using only enough food as your pet fish can consume in two minutes". Well this is a huge aquarium for 2 fish and they don't even see the pellets. They sink to the bottom pretty quickly. I fear they are not getting enough, but don't want to overfeed either to prevent nitrates. The damsel hides all day but comes out at night, so I drop about a dozen pellets in front of his nose and he eats a couple before the rest sink to the bottom. Same for the Clownfish. Advise?

 

[DED65]

If the pellets are just sinking and not being eaten, you are just feeding the tank. I use LRS Reef Frenzy, PE Mysis, both frozen food and Reef Nutrition roe to feed mine. I never thought about feeding the really processed foods and the few times I have tried pellets, the fish didn’t bother with them. You should be able to get away with feeding twice a day. Others will have more ideas on what to feed. If you can, spot feed the fish. That’s a big tank for two fish and for the small amount of food that they need will be hard to find in the size of tank

 

[betareef]

I think the best idea is to use food that will stay suspended in the water flow for a longer time. They will then chase it as it flows by. I thaw a frozen cube of food, and mix it with a nip or two of water. I then use a syringe to add a few millitres of the mixture. This is enough for one feeding for my three small fish in my nano. I only feed once a day a lot of the time. I am watching the algae, and the fishes waistline

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

Why are the pellets sinking to the bottom? Do you turn off your flow?
If food is sinking to the bottom and not being eaten, then its too much food.

I feed my fish 3-4 times per day, I prefer to feed smaller amounts more often.
I would suggest to get more foods, so many types of foods available. I feed mainly frozen foods, supplemented with pellets once in a while.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

I am new to the hobby. I have a 200 gal tank with 2 fish - a 2" clown and a 1.5" damsel. I don't want to buy a lot of expensive fish, only to see them die due to my newbie mistakes. I'm using "Omega One whole Seafood Protein Marine mini pellets", as recommended by petco fish persion. The jar says "feed up to 3 times daily, using only enough food as your pet fish can consume in two minutes". Well this is a huge aquarium for 2 fish and they don't even see the pellets. They sink to the bottom pretty quickly. I fear they are not getting enough, but don't want to overfeed either to prevent nitrates. The damsel hides all day but comes out at night, so I drop about a dozen pellets in front of his nose and he eats a couple before the rest sink to the bottom. Same for the Clownfish. Advise?

You will do much better to use frozen food, like my sis, spirlina, brine shrimp. It is better for the fish too. Just soak in some tank water to thank. For 2 fish, I block of frozen should get you thru a day feeding 3 times

 

[Waters]

I agree with others....pellets are very nutrient rich and can alter water chemistry pretty quickly if they are left uneaten. I would switch to something that you can monitor since you only have a couple of fish (like frozen mysis or even flake). Regarding the amount of food....I base that on water chemistry (assuming the fish are getting enough obviously).

 

[doubleshot00]

I would stop using pellets all together and just use a small amount of mysis shrimp. Literally a pinch of mysis is all you need for those two fish.

 

[G&B Reefing]

Small amount of mysis or brine. I get the frozen cubes. Cut into 1/8 pieces. Get a small container or measuring cup to thaw a piece in. Us a 19in icecap coral feeder to spot feed, I remove the nozzle off it to make things easier. My blenny will swim up to it and eat out of the tube. Feed twice a day.