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FAQs on Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
Vacation
Related Articles: Automatic
Feeder Impressions By Steven Pro, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition By Bob Fenner &
Marine
Nutrition, Probably the most overlooked component of proper fish
keeping By Aaron Loboda, Feeding a
Reef Tank: A Progressive Recipe by Adam Blundell, Culturing Food
Organisms,
Related FAQs: Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 1, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 2, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 3, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 4, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 5, Foods/Feeding/Nutrition 6, & FAQs on
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition: Kinds,
Amounts, Frequency, Feeding
Methods/Techniques/Tools, Automated Feeding, Medicated/Augmented Foods/Feeding, Feeding/Food Problems, Products by Brand Names/Manufacturers...
& Brine Shrimp, Algae as Food, Vitamins, Nutritional Disease, Frozen Foods, Coral
Feeding, Anemone Feeding,
Growing Reef Corals,
Culturing Food Organisms,
Butterflyfish
Foods/Feeding/Nutrition,
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Beware of chalky, dried, "block"
"foods"... these are junk... nutritionally and worse in
terms of dissolving, clogging your substrate. Better to use
battery-powered feeders, trust a neighbour, fellow fish-friend,
with pre-measured foods (hide the rest)...
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Hi there Bob,
I have kept my first reef tank for the
past 6 months and up to now everything is going very well. The
only thing which is concerning me is when it comes to me going on
holiday, which I plan on doing late August. I will be gone for 2
weeks in total and although I'm on good terms with my
neighbours I don't want them to feel too responsible for my
new pride and joy. Have you much experience with automatic fish
feeders? I was thinking this could be a possible solution. I
would still like to get my neighbours round a couple of times
just to check up on everything, but I also don't want to
impose on them. I have an R.O top-up system in place already and
I will leave them contact details of my LFS in case of any
emergencies.
I would also be interested to hear if
there is anything specific and basic I should be telling them to
be looking out for, as they know nothing of marine fish, and also
what type of preparations are advisable for me to take before
going on holiday (water testing/changing etc).
With much
appreciation,
Clive
Hello Clive, and allow me to help ease
your mind lest you over-worry during your upcoming holiday. Yes,
I am very familiar with some makes of auto-feeders; have used
them for many years. In particular, the Eheim range, though there
are other manufacturers of reliable units. I would get/use one of
these, practice setting it up, portioning food/s'¦ I use
Spectrum brand pellets in mine exclusively. I encourage you to
have whatever device you employ set to feed sparingly, perhaps
twice a day. Do ask you neighbours in addition to feed a small
bit (pre-measured and labeled by date by you) and to simply
'count up' your fish livestock when proffering this food.
Other than obviously stressed animals or water on the floor, I
would not ask the folks next door to test for water quality, nor
adjust. Your idea re the local fish store name and address (taped
to the front of the tank) is best, with someone there identified
specifically (who is familiar with your system if possible) even
better.
Do know that little actually goes wrong with up and going reef
systems even almost unfed during such an interval as two weeks,
and enjoy your trip.
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- Going Out of Town & Puffer Feeding - I have a 125
gallon fish tank with a large Naso Tang. I wanted to get a
Yellow Dog Face Puffer and a Porcupine Puffer. I go away
usually 1 week to 10 day at a time. Is there any processed
food such as pellets they will eat or can they be left for a week at a
time without food and without attacking each other or other fish.
<Puffers wouldn't willingly go that long without food - but
I'd be more worried about the Naso. There are pellet foods around
that the puffers would eat, but again... the Naso might not take to
there. You'll need to get them used to these foods before you leave
town.> How often must they be fed? <At least once a day - the
Naso probably twice to three times with small portions.> Any
suggestions. <Perhaps look for a maintenance service to care for the
fish in your absence.> Are these 2 fish compatible? <Yes.>
Michael <Cheers, J -- >
Holidays and Feeding and things! Hi
Anthony and Crew, <Steven in this morning.> Hope you are well, I
have been reading the WWM pages practically daily since our last
chat(s) but have not needed to ask you anything else until now. I am
going away for two weeks on Holiday (Italy, I cannot wait!). <It is
lovely! I have been there twice and want to take my wife for a third
trip.> As a quick recap I have two 5 foot tanks, one FOWLR
containing 1 Lipstick tang (7"), 1 yellow tang (3 1/2"), 1
pyjama tang (3"), 1 green wrasse (7"), and 2 clowns 2"
each. The other tank is a reef with Various Mushrooms, Pulsing Xenia,
Leather Coral, Colt Coral, a blue Carpet Anemone (the rehousing into a
species tank as you suggested is planned for after my return from
holiday) a cleaner shrimp, scallop (not my choice, an unexpected
present, I have since found this is not good but I have to try now!)
and 5 small fish (2 clowns, 1 red hawk, 1 Firefish and 1 Gramma). Also
3 Sally Lightfoots plus red legs and turbo snails. I plan to do my
routine 10% water changes the day before I leave. I have made
arrangements with a friend to mind the tanks for me and have shown them
how to feed the Carpet Anemone and everyone else as best I can, but how
often is the least the Anemone, the fish, and the other inhabitants of
both tanks can be fed. <I would feel comfortable with a schedule of
every other day. Please leave for tank watcher premeasured portions and
literally hide the rest of the food. The film cans for 35 mm rolls work
well as do the pill boxes with each day of the week marked (my
favorite).> I normally feed the FOWLR tank twice a day (dried in the
morning, frozen at night, and bits of fish for the wrasse plus algae
strips for the tangs). The invert tank is as you know more involved
with the different foods needed (i.e. small bits of fish for the
Carpet, Sally's, Cleaner Shrimp, and Red Hawk, dried and frozen for
the Firefish and clowns and Marine Snow for the Corals and Scallop
etc.). This sounds a lot when I read it but all params are o.k. except
for Phosphate and Nitrate which is in my source water until I get my RO
unit as discussed with you already. <It also could be coming from
your feeding as it sounds like a lot to me, too.> All planned for
when I get back! I want to avoid the risk of over feeding and polluting
the tank by cutting down on this while someone else is doing the
feeding. Can you suggest a reasonable minimum that will keep everything
alive and sort of happy until I return? <See notes above.> Your
help is much appreciated - many thanks. Jenny <You are welcome.
-Steven Pro>
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