[pistorius4]

I was determined to not overfeed my new Clown. I only have 1 clown and 2 cleaner shrimp. My tank is 2 months old and fully cycled. So I bought some pellets and dropped 4 or 5 of those babies in there. I am feeding every other day.
After doing this 3 times I had a huge spike in Nitrates. 10ppm. Obviously I put way to much in there. How much does a clown typically eat? I also bought cubes of blood worms. Would using a half of cube every other day be enough food?
It seems like most of the food sinks of gets sucked up by the filter. He takes his time and nibbles a bit but is missing most of the food. It is impossible to remove leftover food.

Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks.

[eldalote2]

Hi there, I do not use pellets but i use frozen food called Prime Reef for my clowns. for you, I think about 1/3 of the frozen square every two days will be enough. you have to remember they are eating some of the bugs that are in your tank for little snacks while you are gone. I also feed Cyclop-eeze to my female who isnt very fond of the Prime Reef. Half a cube of bloodworms would be too much. If you get a chance, I would try the Prime Reef. Its easier for them to eat and the cleaner shrimp will eat what your clown does not!

[WILLIAM1]

I really try to feed an amount the fish can consume within 2 minutes. Usually frozen I honestly have never used dried food before. Mine love the crazy mix of frozen foods I try to change it every time I make a new batch.

[pistorius4]

I appreciate the help. I already found the frozen food you mentioned online. I guess I really need to cut down on the amount.

How do you administer the food? Do you soak it in RO water for a minute? Do you hold it in the tank water until it breaks up?

Thanks.

[WILLIAM1]

I just soak the cubes in RO water for 5 minutes. You can just shave off some into a cup soak and feed. I started out feeding just brine shrimp dont really know why but.

[pistorius4]

Thanks. Hopefully I can keep those nitrates in check.

[WILLIAM1]

A good filtration system and good skimmer are always top priority.

[SECRETREEF]

I feed my clowns by hand this way i make sure they are eating everything. I feed pellets to the others and they always get to eat almost everything the rest is food for my hermits and crabs. you should get some hermit crabs to eat all that gets away from the clown. try turning off the filter when feeding to give them time to eat all they can and clean the filter pad after feeding.

[pistorius4]

I have about 6 hermit crabs right now. I will probably get a few more. I also have 2 cleaner shrimp that seem to enjoy the scraps. When you say hand feed what do you mean? Hold the food until the clown takes it out of your hand? Sometimes my clown eats a pellet then spits it out. Im not sure why. Maybe it is two hard and needs to soak a bit.

[michelle's ocean fantasy]

Do you have pictures to share? Feeding a clown by hand is so eay, because they are so gentle. My friends husband just lays his hand in the tank- and the clowns just lay in the palm of his hand for a few moments. Nothing to do with the topic, I just think its adorable.
The spitting out of the pellets: if anyone is reading this maybe they can correct me- but is it because that is how they feed the anenome - my clown gets the food, goes back to the BTA and spits the food out, sucks it up if it starts to float away then spits it back out again to the BTA.
Maybe it's just nature.

[michelle's ocean fantasy]

(meant to type: feeding a clown is so easy) sorry- LONG day!

[pistorius4]

I don't have any pictures yet. I guess I have to get on that. I'm not even sure how to down load them here. I'll have to research that.

[SECRETREEF]

they do spit their food at their anemones maybe thats why he does it maybe its to hard for his taste. try soaking it for a minute or two or see if he does it with softer food like brine or misis shrimp. and yes my clowns see my hand and they eat out of it. they learn to do it quickly