Fish Feeding: Slow and Steady Wins the RACE or does it matter?

[Brew12]

I've had some algae issues but I don't attribute it to my style of feeding. Whether the food is eaten and converted to waste or not eaten and "rots", I would expect to have the same effect on the nutrient levels in the tank.

And, I think almost all the food is eaten by either the fish, the corals, or the cleanup crew, anyway.

Completely agree with this.

I also feel strongly that a healthy reef will grow algae and that it is up to the CuC and fish to keep that algae in check. We can help them out by encouraging the algae to grow in a refugium or a turf scrubber. The only algae I worry about are ones I cannot find a CuC member to consume.

 

[Quietman]

Edited: Read that wrong the first time I answered

Yeah, just dump it in all at once (or in my case, grate the frozen cube over the tank all at once).

When my pumps come on after feed delay it all gets churned up for a "second" feeding.

No algae issues due to feeding here.

 

[sarcophytonIndy]

aint nobody got time for that especially when I feed them 6 times a day!

Thats exactly what I was thinking. I have to feed heavily just to keep phosphates and nitrates above zero.

 

[Bleigh]

I’ve not thought about this. Though one thing I’ve been wondering lately is whether there are better times of the day to feed and add amino acids for corals.

 

[SeaDweller]

Completely agree with this.

I also feel strongly that a healthy reef will grow algae and that it is up to the CuC and fish to keep that algae in check. We can help them out by encouraging the algae to grow in a refugium or a turf scrubber. The only algae I worry about are ones I cannot find a CuC member to consume.

You've been on this forum as long as I have. I feel people worry about algae too much. I'd rather have algae than dead coral, especially tank being 100% acros.

 

[Crotalus]

I turn off the return pumps to keep the food out of the overflow and just toss it in. The gyres keep most of it suspended until it is eaten. I do the same with kelp. I cut it up into small strips and toss it in. The whole sheet gets eaten in about a minute and with it scattered around the fish don't have to fight over it.

 

[Quietman]

I’ve not thought about this. Though one thing I’ve been wondering lately is whether there are better times of the day to feed and add amino acids for corals.

I've heard aminos are best added during day (which in my case means before I go to work in the mornings) so they can be taken up. Now I'm not sure if that's because they'll get skimmed out, removed by charcoal, or if that's complete gobble-dy gook.

 

[DEWreefing]

I feed twice a day once at 5pm and once at 10pm due to work. Usually I break off a 2X2 square of mysis out of the 16oz bulk pack. I will hand feed my aggressive eaters then let the power head blow the rest around. My fish are super fat and healthy. At 10pm I will drop some pellets in the tank for a night snack. Never had algae in my tank nitrates hang around 20ppm phosphate .10 to .15.

 

[DEWreefing]

I've heard aminos are best added during day (which in my case means before I go to work in the mornings) so they can be taken up. Now I'm not sure if that's because they'll get skimmed out, removed by charcoal, or if that's complete gobble-dy gook.

I have always fed aminos when the lights go off and I'll shut the skimmer down for 1 hour.

 

[Borg]

Ever since my Stars and Stripes puffer lost his job at the mill he’s been eating 5-6 little neck clams a day

 

[Quietman]

I have always fed aminos when the lights go off and I'll shut the skimmer down for 1 hour.

Well, if that just ain't the complete opposite practice. Guess it's time to start googling Amino Acids and Reef tanks.

 

[Silverfish]

I feed twice a day and have many fish which all have different feeding approaches. If I feed slowly the more aggressive fish will take the lions share so I purposefully drop defrosted LRS and defrosted cubed food pretty much everywhere. I also lv power heads on. This ensures all fish get fed as well as corals and inverts.

 

[ca1ore]

Depends a lot on the fish you keep. If I were to turn off my pumps and add food slowly the more aggressive feeders would get it all. So, I keep all pumps on and actually pour food into one of my vortechs so that it is rapidly distributed around the tank. BTW, all food added to the tank ends up as nitrate/phosphate regardless of how much is cycled through the fish, so that argument for slower feeding thus lower ‘waste’ seems flawed to me.

 

[Scott97062]

My tank has all aggressive eaters so i just dump it 3-4 cubes of frozen and it is gone in a matter of seconds. No algae problems. everyone is happy.

 

[Auquanut]

I only feed once a day. I work some pretty long hours. I turn off all pumps and disperse thawed frozen food in several spots in the tank. When that's eaten, I target feed pellets for the bottom feeders. So far, everyone seem to get fed and there's very little waste. Once or twice a week, I target feed my corals and nems. I don't know if this is the most effective way, but when the pumps go off, I'm the most popular guy in town.

EDIT: Very little problem with algae, but I attribute that to the tangs and a very aggressive nutrient export system.

 

[DxMarinefish]

I feed using a doser that sits in a cooler.
My feeding quantity and frequency is predetermined so it doesn’t matter to fish and corals.
for me it’s about Quality, Quantity and Frequency.

also I don’t skim so the food circulateuntil eaten.

I feel our fish and corals have evolved in turbulent waters and can deal with most flow.

 

[SMB]

I spot feed twice a day. My Mandarin has her eating spot, the Shrimp Goby (who I see about once a month) gets room service, and three of my five Dartfish are very shy as the other two are a dominant pair.
All the other fish are diverted by broadcasting some food.
Frozen food mix in the AM and ATO Chromo Boost/ Hikari pellets in the PM.
I have three Anthias that do just fine on two feedings a day.

 

[Billldg]

Anyone who has multiple Tangs will know that they are vacuum cleaners and will knock any other fish out of the way to get what they want, so I leave my gyre on and slowly add food to tank to allow it to spread throughout the tank, and then I turn off the gyre after the food has spread to give all the fish a chance to eat.

 

[eea60123]

I turn my power heads off to feed. It keeps it in a more concentrated location and I don’t get food sitting in places that go unnoticed and uneaten, but I don’t have what I consider shy fish that are unwilling to get their share.

 

[CindyKz]

Return pumps off and powerheads slow down on feed mode, but I just chuck the food in, which is frozen nightly. I have autofeeders and wonder if I should use them for a second feeding mid-day, but fish are all fat so I don't see the point. No significant algae.