How to Fatten My Fish Up

[tcampbell23]

I've been reefing for a little over 3 years now and with just about every fish I have owned, they always seem to be really skinny. I can buy the fattest fish at my LFS but, within months of having it, they wind up skinny and almost malnourished looking. They live and some of the fish I've had for going on 2 years but I really want them to be thick like some others that I've seen.

I feed a mix of PE Mysis, Ocean Nutrition Mysis and Various types of Nori for my tangs. They're stomachs are nice and full after feeding but none of it seems to "stick."

Any advice?

 

[jvb89]

I feed reef frenzy and new life spectrum pellets. I have some fatties

 

[tcampbell23]

I feed reef frenzy and new life spectrum pellets. I have some fatties

They eat the pellets voraciously, it just seems like the bigger fish need a hundred pellets to get full. Is that the case? I would order the larger sized pellets but only one fish has a mouth big enough.

 

[jvb89]

I feed him the bigger pellets first them small. So I can see what he eats

 

[jvb89]

My big regal that is

 

[happyhourhero]

Go get some LRS Reef Frenzy. You will see results.

 

[tcampbell23]

Go get some LRS Reef Frenzy. You will see results.

I'll head to my LFS and pick some up in a few minutes.

Any other suggestions? Willing to feed a variety of foods, I just don't know what everyone else is feeding.

 

[jvb89]

Reef frenzy has a bit of everything in it.

 

[happyhourhero]

I'll head to my LFS and pick some up in a few minutes.

Any other suggestions? Willing to feed a variety of foods, I just don't know what everyone else is feeding.

I feed reef frenzy which is a blend of primo ingredients and I feed some NLS Pellets as treats.

 

[M&M]

All good advice above, but how often do you feed? Tangs are grazers in nature and eat througout a day, so i would feed couple of times a day, my fish get food 3-4 times and even hard to keep anthias are fat in my tank.

 

[happyhourhero]

All good advice above, but how often do you feed? Tangs are grazers in nature and eat througout a day, so i would feed couple of times a day, my fish get food 3-4 times and even hard to keep anthias are fat in my tank.

I feed in the am before work when only light from outside is coming in (everything eats and corals still have night time polyps out) and then I feed another chunk when home from work. Pellets here and there as I stare at tank.

 

[eatbreakfast]

Small frequent meals better replicate reef fish's natural behavior.

Internal parasites can affect nutrition received. Prazipro is reef safe and can treat parasites.

 

[Breadman03]

I have an auto feeder dropping pellets twice daily, feed nori about 2 times weekly, but the sheet lasts about a day and a half, plus LRS a few times a week. I was feeding it more, but I'm trying to discourage aptasia growth and encourage my filefish to eat more of it. LRS is arguably the most well rounded food we have access to and has been the food of choice for many recent captive breeding programs.

Small frequent meals better replicate reef fish's natural behavior.

Internal parasites can affect nutrition received. Prazipro is reef safe and can treat parasites.

Parasites are a possibility. Read up a bit on diagnosis and see if that might be part of your issue.

 

[AllAboutThatWrasse]

I use a mixture of PE mysis and Rods original once a night for my tangs,clowns,wrasses and anthias. Half a sheet of nori every other day. And my Green Mandarin gets Hikari spirulina bribe mix which the yellow tang wrasses and anthias get scraps of too. I would add that I have some porkers too.

 

[mtraylor]

I would feed Nori everyday and add some garlic to their diet. They will get fat and more colorful.

 

[TvanB1]

Try feeding LRS, nutramar ova, and bbs.
Fish that struggle gaining weight could have some sort of intestinal parasite/bacteria.

 

[Mark Gray]

I feed a variety of pellets but the best thing I feed is live Black worms fish love them

 

[Swoody]

Selcon....in addition to some of the above replies.

 

[tgp4274]

auto pellet feeder goes off three times a day
3 leaves of romain every morning before I leave work
4 sheets of nori about twice a week (which is gone in about 3 mins....)
4 cubes frozen bout 4 times a week when I get home from work

my naso is about 8" long but about 2" thick
everyone that sees my tank ALWAYS point out how fat my fish are

 

[rabbithazen]

Vote 3 on internal parasite or bacteria. Try NLS hex-sheild for a while and see what happens.