Jay, and other fish keepers, is variety in diet the best option?? I have tangs, Lemonpeel and Chromis, I try to give “high” end variety everyday. Probiotics pellets, seaweed extreme, ocean nutrition 2, nori etc. even the frozen are 4 or 5 different cubes, brine, mysis, emerald, etc. I thought they were at a good healthy weight until I saw absolutely awesome dive videos on YouTube that showed Sailfin, my length but much more filled out, same with Hippo. I think this is maybe more muscle mass? Better variety of course? Any suggestions for better diets? I’m concerned about fatty liver disease.
Thanks, Debra
It's complicated. What you are doing is called the shotgun approach. The idea with it is if any one food is deficient in a nutrient, chances are, another food will cover what is missing. However, if any one food provides too MUCH of a nutrient, adding others won't help - this can be seen if a fish gets too many fat calories for example. Eating a salad doesn't do any good if you've already eaten gallon of ice cream (grin).
Fisheries scientists have developed single foods that meet all of certain fish's needs, so no variety is used at all. I have a clownfish that I have been feeding a single brand of pellets for 2 1/2 years and it looks better than any clown I've ever had. That said, some variety may be important for behavioral enrichment.
Fatty liver disease is tough to combat in captivity with predatory fish. Common wisdom indicates that lower calories would help limit it, but there seems to be other components as well - levels of various HUFAs for example. Feeding frequency may also play a role - predators fed every day often develop this faster.
Jay