Am i overfeeding? fishes are getting fat.

[Diveks]

so im at a point where im a bit concerned with my fishes health, not from starving but the opposite. My newest addition, a regal and a majestic angel are getting along well with the previous inhabitants. because of the added inhabitants, i have added the ammount of feedings i do and they are now looking rather wide? not sure what to call it. The regal is a pretty slow eater compared to the others. Eats well and chases all kinds of food but nothing compared to the older inhabitants that just zoom around the tank. well to compensate for the regal eating slower, so it gets enough to eat i add more than it eats as some will of course be eaten by the others. so my question is are fatter fish healthy? unlike obese mammals?

What i feed right now:
- 4x daily pellets (nls, hikari, ocean nutrition mix)
- 1x daily diy frozen mix
- every 2 days nori
- brine shrimp (treat)
- occasional ON flakes
- blackworms (treats)

Here they are:
New additions

Old inhabitants:

 

[blaxsun]

I don't think your fish are necessarily "obese". They seem pleasantly plump. I also feed my 30 fish a similar diet (6x daily; 2x frozen and 4x pellet). Only a half dozen are 3" or more in length; the rest are under 2".

 

[Reef AquaCult]

Fish look healthy

 

[Diveks]

Fish look healthy

I don't think your fish are necessarily "obese". They seem pleasantly plump. I also feed my 30 fish a similar diet (6x daily; 2x frozen and 4x pellet). Only a half dozen are 3" or more in length; the rest are under 2".

great seeing they are healthy then, can fishes actually get obese? because i have a few fish in qt and when i add them i will probably add feedings.

 

[EMeyer]

I'm constantly surprised by the amount people feed their fish. I feed mine once every day, or if I'm being honest, every other day cause I often forget.

I can't speak to whether obesity is unhealthy for fish, but I can say for sure you could cut your feeding by about 4-5 fold and your fish would be fine.

I'd be more concerned about the consequences of all those excess nutrients in the tank and the need to export nutrients constantly.

 

[Miami Reef]

@Lasse

Should obese fish be encouraged? I always read posts saying “my fish is fat” in a positive way.

Are we feeding our fish too much? What do you do when some fish are obese while others are skinny?

 

[G Santana]

My fish are NOT fat, they are pleasantly PLUMP

 

[GARRIGA]

I'm of the school of thought that you can over feed a tank's filtration but not the fish.

 

[Diveks]

I'm constantly surprised by the amount people feed their fish. I feed mine once every day, or if I'm being honest, every other day cause I often forget.

I can't speak to whether obesity is unhealthy for fish, but I can say for sure you could cut your feeding by about 4-5 fold and your fish would be fine.

I'd be more concerned about the consequences of all those excess nutrients in the tank and the need to export nutrients constantly.

I do only feed once a day in my 50 gallon as it is not even a year old yet and still iffy on the nutrient controls. but for my 210 i don't see any excess nutrients and i am feeding active fish like anthias (with a moorish in qt right now). the anthias eating this much they don't get that plump but my tangs do. not sure if reducing the feedings will fare well with the more active fish.

@Lasse

Should obese fish be encouraged? I always read posts saying “my fish is fat” in a positive way.

Are we feeding our fish too much? What do you do when some fish are obese while others are skinny?

That is what i always wondered. if fat fishes are bad or good. ive always seen sick fish be skinny but would them being too fat help out with keeping off illnesses or just cause them shorter lifespans.

Always my thought, some fish need more food than others and they become thin while others just turn into a marble.

 

[G Santana]

I too only feed once a day but it is generous and nori is available as long as lights are on

 

[Diveks]

I too only feed once a day but it is generous and nori is available as long as lights are on

may i know your stocking? i also feed once a day in the smaller tank since its stocked with clowns and wrasses, im not sure if the high energy fishes can take only one feeding a day.

 

[Karen00]

I think we'll always run into the problem of balancing food requirements unless it's a species specific tank. There's always going to be the high energy fish that probably need a lot of food or the smaller ones that seem to be able to eat only one piece during a feeding which might mean they feed all day and then there are probably ones that only need food a few times a week (slow metabolisms... I think the frogfish are like this). I'm sure obese to the point they can't swim properly is just as bad as too thin but pleasantly plump is probably a good tradeoff to ensure everyone is getting food. My hi fin goby is pleasantly plump.

 

[Lasse]

@Lasse

Should obese fish be encouraged? I always read posts saying “my fish is fat” in a positive way.

IMO - not - you should try to have them in the shape they have in nature

Are we feeding our fish too much? What do you do when some fish are obese while others are skinny?

That´s a tricky question. In my case with very different type of fishes I feed mostly with two types of feed - frozen adult artemia and freshwater cyclops. The cyclops is for my "pickers" and zooplancton feeders and I feed with around 5 cubes of that every day - during 8 hours - a small feed every hour. The other fish try to eat this too but the cyclops are so small that they have to eat a lot and that´s no time for that. In the evening I feed with artemia - nearly the same amount as the cyclops but I feed in one large feed. It works rather well but some of my fishes seems to get a little to large belly - but I can live with that

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Nemo&Friends]

I feed my fish once a day, 5 frozen cubes of mysis/brime shrimp and 1 nori sheet a day. There are 14 fish in the tank. My hippo is very healthy and active, but much thinner than the OP. I was afraid I was over feeding, but now I know that I am not really and I am happy about it. 7 of my fish are green Chromis who are not only very active, but also spaying constantly.... probably feeding the other fish that way.

 

[Diveks]

IMO - not - you should try to have them in the shape they have in nature

That´s a tricky question. In my case with very different type of fishes I feed mostly with two types of feed - frozen adult artemia and freshwater cyclops. The cyclops is for my "pickers" and zooplancton feeders and I feed with around 5 cubes of that every day - during 8 hours - a small feed every hour. The other fish try to eat this too but the cyclops are so small that they have to eat a lot and that´s no time for that. In the evening I feed with artemia - nearly the same amount as the cyclops but I feed in one large feed. It works rather well but some of my fishes seems to get a little to large belly - but I can live with that

Sincerely Lasse

I think we'll always run into the problem of balancing food requirements unless it's a species specific tank. There's always going to be the high energy fish that probably need a lot of food or the smaller ones that seem to be able to eat only one piece during a feeding which might mean they feed all day and then there are probably ones that only need food a few times a week (slow metabolisms... I think the frogfish are like this). I'm sure obese to the point they can't swim properly is just as bad as too thin but pleasantly plump is probably a good tradeoff to ensure everyone is getting food. My hi fin goby is pleasantly plump.

i mean id rather have plump fishes than my high energy fish/smaller fish starving of course so i guess its a pretty fair trade off. the slow eating regal had a hard time in qt and won't eat much so he came in the DT a bit thin. I think once he get a bit of girth ill decrease the feedings a bit.

I feed my fish once a day, 5 frozen cubes of mysis/brime shrimp and 1 nori sheet a day. There are 14 fish in the tank. My hippo is very healthy and active, but much thinner than the OP. I was afraid I was over feeding, but now I know that I am not really and I am happy about it. 7 of my fish are green Chromis who are not only very active, but also spaying constantly.... probably feeding the other fish that way.

Wanted to keep chromis but they keep picking each other off for me.

 

[Phlynamjax]

I feed my fish much as I can with out making my tank dirty. I feed pellets about 3 to 4 time per day (Heavily) and I feed frozen maybe couple times a month. I have fat fishes and have minimal algae growth.

 

[Nemo&Friends]

My Chromis have a pecking order and do fight some, but they each have a good hiding spot and use it often. Male are quite aggressive when guarding their eggs and chase everyone away. I read that you should have at least 6 to prevent fight to the death, so I have 7 and it seems to work well, as I have them for at least 4 years.

 

[Diveks]

My Chromis have a pecking order and do fight some, but they each have a good hiding spot and use it often. Male are quite aggressive when guarding their eggs and chase everyone away. I read that you should have at least 6 to prevent fight to the death, so I have 7 and it seems to work well, as I have them for at least 4 years.

i had around 10 i think when my tank was still somewhat empty and they just pick eachother off not sure why. lots of food and space, might or might not try another group of them.

 

[HuneyBear]

oh man.. if you think your fish are fat then I’m in trouble. Mine chase me around wanting more. Even steals food from corals when I spot feed.

 

[Jubei2006]

oh man.. if you think your fish are fat then I’m in trouble. Mine chase me around wanting more. Even steals food from corals when I spot feed.

He's a happy looking chunk! Mines getting there quickly