[swinginbeef]

I've been setup for nearly 6 weeks and everything has been good since week 2 (water quality, etc). I decided it's time to take the plunge and add a couple fish. I got two tiny ~1" false perculas and a long tentacle anemone.

I know nothing about feeding. I've got 'Prime Reef' flakes and frozen mysis shrimp. Should I feed a small amount of each at every feeding or should I go back and forth every other feeding? Or would you guys recommend something different all together?

Also, HOW is the best way to deliver these food to the fish? I haven't tried the mysis yet, only the flakes last night. I tried putting some flake food in a small cup with a little bit of tank water and then shaking it really well to break the flakes up as much as they would. Then I poured the flake/water concoction slowly into the tank above where the clowns were hanging out. They went 'feeding time nuts' but didn't actually eat any of it that I saw. So what is the best delivery method for these types of food?

One more, how soon should they be eating after being in the tank. They seem to be doing well and are finally exploring the entire tank instead of stay right by eachother in one corner as they did the first several hours. I'm kinda banking on that if they are hungry enough, they will eat whatever I give them.

And should I feed the LT anemone some mysis or flake food with a baster until the clowns figure out what 'that big squishy thing with the arms' is? The LFS guy warned me that since the clown were tank bred, they've probably never seen one before and have no idea what to do with it and that it's possible that they won't figure it out for a while if ever.

so any help would be great. Thanks.

[CyberJester]

One thing I have found out is to add the food small amounts at a time. From my experience most of the fish I have really enjoy the frozen Brine Shrimp cubes.

1. I usually take the cube cut it into four pieces.
2. Cut off pumps and overflow.
3. Put one piece in at a time and wait for them to get through that before adding another piece.
4. Only add as much food as they can eat in approx. 3 minutes.

One thing you should note is that there are different types of feeders. There are top, middle, and bottom feeders. Flakes work well for top feeders since they float. Clowns will eat from the top, but from what I have seen they prefer to be middle tank feeders. So something that drops slowly seems to be the way to go. Frozen cubes work well because they float and melt, releasing small amounts that slowly float to the bottom giving them plenty of time to eat. Smaller pellets seem to work OK as well especially if I break them up with my finger a bit.

The fish in my tank like the Mysis OK, but the brine is their favorite. The LT anemone should be feed about once a week from what I have heard. Using a turkey baster, even once every two weeks.

This is only what I have read in regards to the anemone. I do not have one yet as I don't have the lighting system yet to keep anything other then fish at the moment.

[DoLceNBeLLa]

If you have an upscale supermarket near you, you can go once a week and ask for a single scallop/shrimp/squid etc. I usually get one scallop, and since it would be only 35cents or something, I tend to get it free. That gives you fresh seafood that you can cut up and freeze till you need it.

This is for the anemone, for the fish I'd say brine shrimp, tiny bits of squid/shrimp etc and so on.

[swinginbeef]

Originally Posted by DoLceNBeLLa

If you have an upscale supermarket near you, you can go once a week and ask for a single scallop/shrimp/squid etc. I usually get one scallop, and since it would be only 35cents or something, I tend to get it free. That gives you fresh seafood that you can cut up and freeze till you need it.

This is for the anemone, for the fish I'd say brine shrimp, tiny bits of squid/shrimp etc and so on.

that's not a bad idea. My wife tends bar in an italian restaurant and they have shrimp, calamari, prawns, scallops, etc. I can have her get a bag of several of each next time she works.

[DoLceNBeLLa]

perfect! A nice mixture is great. You can search online for DIY reef food and you should get some ideas about how to mix everything together. It's basically just throwing stuff together in a blender, but depending on what animals you have you can add the food in certain intervals so you have some minced pieces, liquid pieces, chunky pieces etc.

[swinginbeef]

at lunch I bought two packs of frozen brine, one Hikari brand and one SF Bay brand. I dropped a 1/4 cube in and they ate it right up. Thanks for the help.

I'll let you know how it goes when I try to spot feed the anemone.