Feeding Habits 2/5/04 
How often should I feed my inverts/corals? I don't have many. 1 - Rose Anemone, 1 Flame Scallop, Pumping Xenia, Brain, Bubble, Green Star Polyps. That is I also have a blue tang and cleaner shrimp, some hermits and two huge snails, and a sand sifting star. That's it at this point. I only feed the fish, shrimp, anemone every other day. 
<The fish should probably be fed daily. The anemone, open brain and bubble probably should be fed at least once a week. More is fine, but probably not necessary. Generally, shrimp will get by on missed fish food if you feed every day.> 
During this time I am also feeding the corals and inverts two teaspoons of marine snow or a pinch of Cyclop-eeze. I alternate between the two to give them a variety. 
<None of your corals is likely benefiting directly from the addition of Marine Snow or Cyclop-eeze. None of what you listed has the type of polyps to capture such food. The flame scallop may be getting some benefit from the small amount of phyto plankton in marine snow, but unfortunately it is probably not enough. Most flame scallops perish of starvation within a few weeks-months.> 
I have a 40 gallon breeder and have a slime problem. Trying to get to the root of it and overfeeding is a concern. Do you think I am feeding the corals/inverts too often? How often should I feed them and how much based on my current livestock. I would consider all to be small to medium sizes. Thanks, Rob 
<See above for feeding recommendations. Slime algae is often caused by lack of water movement and low alkalinity as much as high nutrients. Water movement equal to 10x the tank volume is a good rule of thumb. Alkalinity of 3-4.5 meq or 9-12 dKH along with good water movement will help prevent the slime from growing and favor the growth of coralline algae. Do directly address the issue of nutrients, you will have to write back and describe your filtration and water change routine as well as provide the results for as many of the following tests as you can: Salinity, temp, pH, Alkalinity, ammonia, nitrate and phosphate. Best Regards. Adam

Feeding intervals
here I am reading an article on reefs.org about hair algae and the author writes this..."Another thing to do is to check out your skimmer. It should first of all be big enough for the tank, and secondly, it should be pulling out a really dry foam.; This will help to get out some things before they can break down and cause problems. Also cut down on overfeeding. You should only feed about twice a week. Kalkwasser will help too. You should dose that stuff every other night, and mix it fresh every other time (actually, every time would be better).".....the part of question is the twice a week feeding bit, little generalized, in my ongoing battle with hair algae I assume I don't overfeed, marine flakes (HBH, Ocean Nutrition and "rich mix" for something diff.) a couple times a day (very small amounts that the fish immediately consume), as well as blood worms at the end of the day (or brine shrimp, I know of no value), some raw tiger shrimp every few days, few pieces of freeze dried krill here and there (lately), is this overfeeding?. with testing all else I'm still researching the solution, with my fish (if you remember, should I cut back as this article suggests?...thanks......Riot....
<Do agree with the overgeneralization of the quoted statement. My opinions on the topic can be read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/feeding.htm
Bob Fenner>

Managing A Busy System
Hey guys,
<Scott F. your guy today!>
Hamish here from the U.K. You've given me invaluable advice in the past, and I'm back for more! Got a 70 (U.K.) gallon system, tank & sump, biological filters, fish only system, 4 of them: red-tooth trigger, lipstick tang, rock beauty & maroon clown. Had the system for a year now, lost only a couple of fish to stress initially, do 10% water changes every 10 days, and pretty much do all the necessary work on a daily basis.
<Sounds like a formula for success...Glad the Rock Beauty is doing well! Not to harp- but I'm sure you know that a larger system is gonna be required down the line for these fishes...They do grow to substantial sizes!>
My Dad, who lives in Florida, called the other day to say that he'd met a guy with a huge system, invertebrates and small fish, who said that regular water changes were a thing of the past, he merely topped up each day to replace evaporation; not sure when he does any water changes. So what's with that?
<I have to quote Anthony on this one: "Even a blind squirrel finds a nut sometimes..." Basically, just because this guy seems to have his system working without following one of the basic aspects of aquarium husbandry. So what if he has a light bioload...Sure, that helps keep nutrient accumulation down somewhat, but we're talking about a closed system here. Even with some forms of nutrient export (i.e.; protein skimming and mechanical filtration), water exchanges will be required to maintain a viable system for the long term. Trace elements get depleted, organics accumulate, etc. I really think that this guy is luckier than good...I certainly wouldn't follow his lead.>
Also, the trigger and tang are about 6 inches long, the other two a bit smaller. I feed them: 3 1/2 cubes of  omega+ brine shrimp each day (3 sep. feedings), the tang gets a leaf of lettuce, then in the afternoon some dried seaweed, the trigger and the other two get half a cube of squid, and half a cube of mussel. For a treat, the trigger occasionally gets a prawn to wolf down. This all happens on a day when I'm around to do all this, it's
usually a little less, but is it still too much? The reason I'm asking is because I've just noticed a coating of what appears to be white dust-like spores over some of the rocks, with tiny little thread-like worms climbing around. Phoned my dealer, he said it wasn't immediately serious because they weren't on the fish, it was just a result of excess food in the tank. I do monitor their feeding, they finish everything I put in there, little and
often is my policy. But are leftovers inevitable, and are these worms going to jeopardize the health of the fish? My dealer also suggested just giving the rocks a scrub to remove the bulk of the parasite, but some are easier to move than others. The rock isn't live. Any advice here would be much appreciated.
Yours, Hamish.
<Well, Hamish- I agree with the "small and often" feeding regimen. So important to keep heavy eaters fed well. However, the equal obligation is to engage in strict husbandry procedures. Keep up those regular water changes (perhaps you might want to consider my semi-obsessive rule of two 5% water changes per week?), clean all mechanical filter media regularly, and make liberal use of aggressive protein skimming. As far as the "worms" are concerned, it's hard to be 100% certain what these are without a photo. However, I agree with the dealer, in that these (probably harmless) creatures are multiplying rapidly as a result of increasing nutrients in the system. You certainly can remove them manually if they get to be annoying. However, I'd like to solve the "root problem", which is nutrient accumulation. Simply continue or enhance your good husbandry techniques, and you'll see an improvement...Good luck! Regards, Scott F>

55 gal with an eel and 2 triggers <Way overcrowded... Ian!>
I looked through the FAQ's first and didn't find my specific question.
So my question is:
I have a Predatory tank.
55 gal. <this aquarium is too small for the two triggers and the eel in the long run. year or so)>
(2) Triggers. 2" Picasso. 4' Blue Throat.
(1) Eel 18.5" Zebra.
(5) Large Trigger proof hermits.<these hermits will be consumed in time>
Fluval 204 Canister.
W/D SUMP W/Skimmer.
How often to feed them?<once a day...sparingly>
This is such a subjective question, with each LFS, Blog and BBS offering a WIDE variety of suggestions.
They would eat all day if I let them.<yes they would>
I feed lightly daily for the Triggers and every other day for the eel!?!<that sounds about right>
Please advise.<good luck, IanB>
Thanks, as always.
-Jake

How often should I feed and fish recommendation - 7/24/03
Thank you, I have a timer set to come on at 4 p.m. and go off at 10:30 P.M., but wanted to make sure that was enough for the fish. <Up to you, but I like 8 hours myself>
A couple more questions please. <Sure>  Tell me your recommendation on how many times a day I should feed my fish.  The owner of a local fish store told me once a day was sufficient.  (clowns, dwarf angel, Dottyback) <I would recommend small feedings of a few to three times a day which means enough food in each feeding for each fish to get a bit of food. This may take some time to identify who is getting enough and who isn't without trashing your biological filtration by overfeeding. My reasoning for the multiple times a day is two fold, natural to the fish (these fish are very active and constantly exerting energy) and is more natural to the environment where they come from. They constantly scavenge for food on the reef. So my methodology is just a natural progression to a more "realistic" (used loosely) fish regime. Plus, it gives fish, who may be a little shy about eating, a few chances to grab a bite.>
Also, I have been considering getting a pair of pajama Cardinalfish, but have read that they won't show themselves much with the light on and will not accept flake food. <Well, I think compatibility is more the issue here than the feeding and viewing of your fish. The fish you have are quite active and excitable. Cardinals in general are typically slow moving, shy, docile fish. In the right tank these are great fish to have, fairly hardy once established, and are being commercially farmed (no environmental impact). It doesn't get any better than that! So I personally would hold off on putting these in a tank with your current inhabitants if you can. -Paul>   Please advise.  Thank you, James

- Feeding Schedule -
I'm trying to get my tank mates on the same feeding schedule; I have a 11 inch Goldentail moray, 8 inch snowflake, and a 4 - 5 inch miniata grouper... I use to feed them every other 2 days (ex. if I fed Monday, they'd get fed again Thursday); Now I moved to 3 days (ex. if I fed Monday, they'd get fed again Friday)... In your opinion knowing they are still pretty small, which feeding habit would you recommend? <Once a day... a little less for the grouper, perhaps every other day.> Also should the grouper be fed more often, or is he alright with the same schedule? <Think all would be better off with smaller portions, more often... just be careful with the grouper, it will grow as quickly as you feed it.> Thank for your time..
<Cheers, J -- >

The skinny on skinny fish
Hello WWM crew! The last time that I wrote Anthony replied to my questions, THANKS AGAIN!! Hopefully whoever reads this can help me equally as well.
<the rest of the WWM gang is pre-occupied... they are getting a group bikini-line wax (separately, but paid for on the same check). Anthony Calfo here... AKA Salty Sasquatch>
So here are the questions. FIRST: The Kole Tang and the Coral Beauty were just taken from QT and introduced to the tank an hour ago. As soon as I put them in there my Yellow Tang started chasing both of them around pretty viciously.
<Zebrasoma tangs are funny that way>
I know that the Yellows can be very territorial and I should expect this to happen initially but should I be worried or planning to take him out of the tank in the future?
<may just be establishing the pecking order. If it persists after 3 days, do consider removing the tang. Unless, of course, the tang hires a pufferfish to carry out the hit for him>
About 20 min. after they were introduced the Yellow seemed to be going to the other side of the tank and minding his business a little more. He would still chase them if they came into sight. Opinions and suggestions?
<sounds expected... no worries>
SECOND: My Lyretail Anthias has been doing great since I got him about a month ago. His colors have been changing nicely and he gets along with everyone in the tank. Lately I've noticed that he seems to be losing weight and getting really skinny.
<ahhh... one month later and he's skinny. We may need to redefine "doing great" in your household <G>. This Anthias has been starving from Go as most do. They need at least three feedings per day of very high protein food. Please tell me that brine shrimp was nowhere near its lips and I won't tell you brine shrimp kills fishes. Just read the nutritional assays of various plankton substitutes... mysids and Pacifica plankton top the list. Sweetwater plankton is a good secondary food (vitamins not protein here)>
I feed my fish twice a day and sometimes when I'm at home during the whole day I add a midday feeding.
<very good my friend... for the Anthias it may just be that it needs denser fare>
I have read different places that this Anthias tends to eat a lot and needs to be fed at least three times daily.
<agreed>
How can I plump him back up and not trash my tank at the same time?
<Oreo cookies fatten me up pretty quick. Oh, ya... and 1/2 bottle of homemade wine daily and sausage helps too.>
Opinions and suggestions?
<yes... don't eat the Oreos, wine and sausage at the same time>
Do you recommend a certain vitamin supplement for my fish (especially tangs!!!-HLLE-) that you can just add to the water?
<none to the water... weakly effective and lazy. Do add Selcon to the food, though>
Any and all help that you can give would be most appreciated. I look forward to your reply. Happy Holidays to you guys!  Stephen Baker
<Happy holidays, my friend. Anthony>

Beginner Feeding Question
I've had my tank going for about one month now...my question is regarding feeding...in the article on www.wetwebmedia.com it says to feed the fish 2 or 3 times a day and to feed them what they can
eat in five minutes....I've also been told to feed them once a day what they can eat in 2 minutes...as well as many times in between. How do I decide which advice to follow?
<Really it depends on the fish. Groupers and Lionfish should be fed several times per week. If you have fish that would naturally forage all day for food, several small feedings each day would be more appropriate. If the food hits the bottom or gets sucked up into the filters, you gave them too much.> 
Thanks for your time, James
<You are quite welcome. -Steven Pro>

Feeding
Hello, just heard from the LFS that I should feed my fish only once every three days. They say because the live rock provides a lot of the food already. Is this true?
<it depends on the fish, quality of the rock, health and maturity of the tank and more. If you tank is less than one year old it is not accurate to apply to your setup. Best regards, Anthony>

Feeding
I understand that overfeeding is a common problem in aquariums. We feed our damsels half a cube of brine shrimp a night and flakes in the morning. We heard that they should spend three minutes eating their flakes and when I timed them it only took 56 seconds. We don't have our reef going yet, so they can't eat off of that. Should we be feeding them more?
>>
Not necessarily... rather than more, I would encourage you to make the feedings more frequent... and maybe add a piece or two of live rock for them to pick at in-between meals... Smaller amounts more frequently is the route to go with these constant foragers.
Bob Fenner

Overfeeding fish
Hi Bob! I've written before and have a new question regarding feeding saltwater fish. Is feeding once a day, enough food to fill the fish, considered to be overfeeding? I recently lost a bi-color blenny and a flame angelfish to no other apparent cause. The blenny looked rather fat before he died. I have been feeding nugget, frozen and flake food.
My current fish in a reef setting are 3 Chromis, Lemonpeel angel, mimic tang, and 2 ocellaris clownfish. I put Nori in the tank every day for the angel and tang (they love the Nori). Should I switch feeding to once every other day, or even twice a week? I need to know, as I don't want to kill any more fish out of "kindness."
Thanks for your advice, and informative column. Jenny Turco 
>>
Thank you for writing... and I sense that you know the answer to your query... It depends: On the species for instance... Some predators only eat occasionally... every few days to weeks... and so can easily get by on once, twice weekly feedings... But the fishes you list are almost continuous browsers in the wild... and will do much better on being offered something to eat (like the Nori sheet algae) on an almost continuous basis... hence my suggestion to place some healthy live rock for them to sample at leisure and for you to feed them otherwise, at regular intervals, the prepared foods you list... twice a day.
Bob Fenner, who's getting the munchies come to think of it

250 gallon aquarium foods/feeding
Good Morning Robert, How's Everything ,? 
<Fine, but do have the upper-respiratory involvement that's going about... wowzah, am operating in the 20-40% range...>
I just wanted to thank you for your advice on my tomato clownfish and my angelfish? 
<Oh>
I got one more question for you, how often should I feed the inhabitants of my aquarium? as you know I have an adult red Volitans lionfish, an adult longhorn cowfish, a French angel and a Koran angel, a small harlequin tusk, a clown trigger and a juvenile Emperor angel , I've got them eating frozen formula cubes by ocean nutrition?
<Okay>
I give them the variety cubes in the two pound bags, how often is enough?
<Some, twice a day>
can I feed every Monday, Wednesday, Friday? or should they be fed everyday if so how much should I feed them? my lionfish also swallows the cubes whole he's humongous? is that sufficient for them or do they need other food to eat? I appreciate your time and consideration in this matter thanks again rob.
<Would seek other, perhaps less expensive fare to augment what you have... Silversides, human-consumption intended shrimp, mollusks... perhaps even make my own... as these fishes get larger they will eat you into a/the proverbial poor house. Bob Fenner>

Re: help please... not feeding a non-cycled setting
Bob,
Can you please clarify something for me? 
<Perhaps>
You said not to feed...even possibly for a few weeks. Don't feed the fish or anything else? They won't starve?
<Much less likely in your scenario than that they might well be killed by the present situation of incomplete nutrient cycling... Please read over the section on "Biological Filtration" on the WWM site... and do look into a standard "marine aquarium reference book"... simply asking questions here will not give you enough timely information>
I had a scarlet shrimp die today. The ammonia level was up again. Can I change the water too much?
<Yes. Too much, too soon will forestall nitrification and its establishment>
When I pour water in. the Banggai Cardinal fish thinks the bubbles are food and tries to eat them...so I know he's hungry.
Thanks again,
Sara
<If you deem it necessary or "worth the risk" do feed sparingly... but do understand what you're doing here... and augment the biological filtration in this system... with old filter media, cured live rock, old/established substrate... Do you have a livestock-carrying fish store near you? Other aquarists? Seek their counsel as well. Bob Fenner>