Striped Blenny Feeding

[abuch010]

Hey all, I have 2 clowns, a sailfin blenny, and a striped blenny in my tank. (25Gal) I'm trying to cut down on how much I'm feeding as my algae/nitrates are getting a little bit carried away. I read that striped blennies have a high metabolism and need to be fed 2-3x per day, which is counter-productive to what I'm trying to accomplish. Does anyone have more experience with these fish and if so know of a way I can keep this guy fed without overfeeding my tank?

Thanks

 

[minus9]

The key is nutrient export, not cutting feeding. The health of our fish is based on their food intake, so if you have fish with high metabolisms, then more frequent smaller feedings is the way to go. Only put in a small amount each time, wait until it's consumed, then add a little more. Doing this throughout the day (if you can) is so much better than feeding once a day and throwing a ton of food in and watching it go un-eaten.
Making sure you have an appropriately sized skimmer is paramount, plus, don't rule out using other means of nutrient export, gfo and other nutrient reduction media, etc.....
Btw, just picked up a CB striped blenny myself, very cool fish.
They will actively hunt for food as well, but feeding them throughout the day is best, as with most fish. I cringe when I hear people say they only feed their fish once a day or less. I get that certain fish don't require supplemental feeding, but for a large percentage of fish we keep, they actually do.
But that's just me.
I say, don't be afraid of feeding multiple times a day, just up your export methods and you'll have a happier reef.
Cheers!

 

[abuch010]

The key is nutrient export, not cutting feeding. The health of our fish is based on their food intake, so if you have fish with high metabolisms, then more frequent smaller feedings is the way to go. Only put in a small amount each time, wait until it's consumed, then add a little more. Doing this throughout the day (if you can) is so much better than feeding once a day and throwing a ton of food in and watching it go un-eaten.
Making sure you have an appropriately sized skimmer is paramount, plus, don't rule out using other means of nutrient export, gfo and other nutrient reduction media, etc.....
Btw, just picked up a CB striped blenny myself, very cool fish.
They will actively hunt for food as well, but feeding them throughout the day is best, as with most fish. I cringe when I hear people say they only feed their fish once a day or less. I get that certain fish don't require supplemental feeding, but for a large percentage of fish we keep, they actually do.
But that's just me.
I say, don't be afraid of feeding multiple times a day, just up your export methods and you'll have a happier reef.
Cheers!

I feel as if my nutrient export is pretty okay, I currently run a skimmer and grow Chaeto in my back chamber which fills up weekly, with 10% weekly water changes. I also turkey baste the rocks and sand 2-3x per week and then change out the filter floss. I'll try cutting the feeding sessions shorter as I usually feed for about 3 minutes per session. Maybe 1-2 minutes and see how I fare.

I also agree they are awesome fish

Thanks