is my clown picky [Archive] - Saltwater Aquariums

Suryc

10-31-2003, 05:45 PM

My clown has been in the tank for about a week now and finally eats when I feed him. Watching him eat however has me worried. He'll grab something from the surface like a flake or pelt and then spit it out. He'll repeat that process 3 or 4 times with the same piece before moving on to else. Is this normal?

steve1s

10-31-2003, 10:48 PM

The food is probabley too large and the clown is trying to break it up. Might try breaking up the food into smaller bits before feeding and see if that helps.

Cheers
Steve

hounddog

11-01-2003, 05:04 PM

Try feeding frozen Brine shrimp. I have always had good luck with clowns eating it. I also add selcon and garlic to it for better health. I have had clowns live 3-4 years with that combo.

nanoman123

11-01-2003, 07:04 PM

3-4 years is about 1 third of a clowns average lifespan. try feeding them a greater variety. brine shrimp for fish is like potato chips for humans. do u think u would live long eating garlic coated potato chips for the rest of ur life? :roll:

Suryc

11-01-2003, 11:04 PM

im feeding him, "brine shrimp plus" which is flake food supplemented with plankton, algae and vitamins and his main diet is new life spectrum pelts has main ingredients of krill meal and fish meal plus a bunch of other stuff.
I had to crush the pelts for him to actually eat on and not spit it out.

hounddog

11-02-2003, 12:10 PM

Nano,

What is your prefered food for your fish?

Suryc

11-03-2003, 09:42 PM

just an update, my clown is eating like a ravenous pig. I feel like I am starving him when I watch him eat. Right now i'm feeding him in the morning before work and at night after work. Is this normal? aside from water parameters rising from overfeeding is it possible to hurt him if I feed him to much?

RazerCorals

11-03-2003, 11:19 PM

I would feed it until it's full. It might just be hungry and needs to catch up. Once it's satisfied, and knows it will always get food, it should lay off.

steve1s

11-04-2003, 12:14 PM

Fish will continue to eat until you stop feeding them. They will not regulate when to stop on their own. Overfeeding the fish can actually lead to swim bladder problems but only in rare instances.

Best thing is to make note of it's belly before feeding. Once it gets a little roundness to it, then that would be plenty.

Cheers
Steve