Flake food

[lightcycler]

After 6 months I now have two clowns in my tank. Ya I put them as a pair......working out great though. The tank is really coming along nicely. I have some frozen formula one coming in tomorrow but have been feeding flake formula one, flake brine and flake cyclopeeze. They are eating well. My question is that when I feed the flakes they stay on the surface for the most part (and if I use an auto feeder when I'm gone for a couple days they certainly will). The fish will go up and feed of the surface but there is a fair amount that moves to the sump return.......the HOB filter etc. I have quite a nassarius crew (8 regular and 12 stocky), a couple of pepermint shrimp, etc that will be happy with any leftover. I'm just wondering if there is a better way to feed flakes or any tricks of the trade? Got the every 10 day clam going in tommorrow so I can make sure the inverts are happy too.

I really feel following the guidance here the tank has become so stable. pH is solid as a rock. Still have some algae on the sand but the Ciriths you recommended Lee are making that go away day by day. I figure there always needs to be some algae around or else I will feeding those boys too.

[leebca]

Glad to hear your tank is coming along. I'm not a supporter of using flake foods. Foods that float can allow marine fishes to swallow air, which is not normal to their system. There, it can cause problems.

Flake foods also are advertised quite often as 'non-polluting.' Ever wonder why? Take a close read of the ingredient list.

Some additional reading you may want to review:
How to Feed Your Fish Throughout the Day

In the very long post: Feeding Marine Fish and Fish Nutrition I discuss some different forms that fish food come in. There you'll see some of my opinions about live, frozen, pellet, flake, etc. foods.

[lightcycler]

How is the auto feeder working for the frozen food lee? I will get one of the "cages". Sounds like a great thing not only to feed the fish but keep things fairly contained. Certainly more going to the fish and less to the sand. At least in raw form lol.

[leebca]

The first aquarist auto feeders were based upon aquaculture's and the fish farming industry's need for an automated feeding system. They were designed, as are most hobby auto feeders, to feed dry foods only (pellets, flake, etc.). Some of the (more or less) sophisticated auto feeders incorporate a drying mechanism to keep the flake and dry food from caking.

They don't do well for frozen or wet foods at all. Some ingenious people have come up with a do-it-yourself feeder for frozen foods. You might explore those if you are the kind of person who does home projects like that. Check out the DIY forum here on Reefland and other sites.

There is a commercial feeder available for frozen foods. Not meant to be used while you are on vacation, but a means to slowly allow frozen food to thaw and spread out the feeding in the day. I tried one and it works. The problem is that many frozen foods that are not gelled, require rinsing to remove liquids that would otherwise just go to feeding the aquarium bacteria population. Such foods are not, in my opinion, to be used in such feeders.