Imperator Anglefish diet

[Scoot]

After looking for months, I finally found a beautiful imperator this week. He's just starting the color change, and looks perfect.

So far I've tried samples of almost everything in my food stores - frozen mysis, spirolina (sp?), flakes, krill, the Ocean Nutrition gel-foods (for Angelfish), and a couple other things. He shows no interest whatsoever (while the rest of the fishes just go crazy - I tend to underfeed slightly). I haven't tried any garlic flavoring yet (but I do have some).

So far, he's just interested in foraging off the LR (which is quite mature), which he's doing non-stop. He seems quite content, no stress at all, and he goes about his business without being bothered and without bothering anyone else.

I'm concerned that picking critters and algae off the LR won't be enough.

First, I'm sure I need to be patient. But does anyone with large angelfish have any specific food recommendations? Or is foraging off the LR going to be enough to meet his nutritional needs, and help the change to adult coloring?

 

[clowninround]

Well, mine loves algae based foods. It's what he started on, then he started going for the other stuff. He still always goes for the formula two first (I mash up the frozen cubes), then he'll go for the angel formula after the formula two is all gone. Don't know why, its always been that way. He eats more for the seaweed clip than both my other tangs combined. Try formula 2 cubes all mashed up and keeping seaweed/nori in constant supply, he may do like mine did at first before he dives into the other stuff.

 

[Scoot]

Formula 2 is exactly what I tried (mashed up and thawed). No interest in that, or Nori.

I'll be patient. As long as he's foraging, I know he's getting nutrition.

 

[clowninround]

Yep, he'll get tired of it sooner or later and go for something with a little more meat in it lol. Mine is full grown and eats like a horse. Just let him acclimate for a while, he'll go for when he's hungry enough.

 

[melosu58]

LA says"It should be fed a diet of Spirulina, marine algae, high-quality angelfish preparations, mysis or frozen shrimp, and other meaty items."

 

[Scoot]

Yep - tried all those (did my research before buying him), and he's not (yet) interested. Just being a concerned parent

I'll just be patient and see what he's eating a week for now.

Think I'm also going to whip up my first batch of home-brewed frozen food, and get some shrimp and clams at the store.

 

[melosu58]

One thing that concerns me is in the future you need to see the fish eat at the LFS so you can make sure he is eating. That way you can be sure your fish is eating and know what to feed it. Maybe you can go back to the LFS and ask him what he was feeding and was it eating. JMO

 

[pinkie]

This is the tough thing about emperor angelfish. If you get them very young, they are pretty easy to feed, however you run into the problem with them not fully changing, or having dull coloration. If you get them when they are maturing or an adult, they can be VERY difficult to feed, some starving to death because they won't adapt to captive foods.

I got mine quite young, and the things that he eats the most are:

Several different types of pellet foods
Mysis shrimp
Krill
Cyclop-eeze
Diced Clam
Diced Shrimp
Diced Squid
Most Angelfish preparations with sponge
LOVES Marine Cuisine

My majestic angelfish eats the same food. Neither of them like seaweed or nori sheets. They do however spend most of their day grazing on algae when they aren't being fed by me.

Mine doesn't really seem to care about garlic either way. But you also might want to play around with vitamins a little, some fish love the flavor, and others hate it, and others, like mine, don't really care either way.

Good luck with getting him to eat, now is kind of a critical time, as the better variety and quality food he gets now will be reflected in how he looks as an adult after the change.

 

[Scoot]

Mine's now eating about everything I feed the tank. I have a mix of herbivores (tangs) and omnivores (triggers), so there's a variety.

He's going after mysis, pellets (can't think of the brand, the big white jars with 2 clowns on the label, supposedly good for color, and all the fish love it), and even nipped at some krill. I tried some silversides (which the triggers go after, but I usually keep that for the anemone's), but he didn't go after that.

I'll look for something with sponge in it, and marine Cuisine, which I think I might just have in the freezer.

He continues to graze pretty much non-stop, and seems to be adjusting well - very well. Nobody's bothering him, and he's not bothering anyone. Even though I have a number of potentially agressive fishes, right now they're all getting along.

I'm pretty sure someday my clown trigger will be a problem, but right now he's the smallest I have (aside from my chromis I tested out the new tank with).