Question re: food for my clowns

[dmolavi]

Right now, in my 20g tank, I have just 2 clowns (soon to be augmented by a goby/pistol shrimp pair and a skunk cleaner) with live rock.

I'm feeding them Dainichi Marine FX food (the LFS feeds them this in their tanks), but I'm wondering if I should be supplementing with other food during the week. I'm on an every-other-day regimen (which I kinda feel bad about...I hope they're not hungry), but they don't appear stressed. Should I alternate between the pellets one day and live food the next?

 

[Mebbid]

It's always best to give them a variety of foods. I usually alternate between frozen mysis, frozen brine shrimp, and a high quality flake food just to keep things mixed up. Feeding your fish every other day is fine, it won't bother them much.

 

[dmolavi]

I'm guessing a whole cube of the frozen shrimp is waaaaaaaay too much. Should I just start with half (or a quarter) of the cube, thawed and rinsed till the water is clear?

 

[Mebbid]

Yeah that should work. I usually cut half a cube off and thaw it out in tank water. It will last me 3 days with my 2 clowns and firefish. Any longer than that and I will throw the rest out and start fresh. Personally, I don't bother rinsing my frozen food out; but I rarely have any issues with nitrates.

 

[dmolavi]

Do you dump the whole thing in at once or space it out over 3 days?

 

[Mebbid]

Do you dump the whole thing in at once or space it out over 3 days?

I space it out and target feed everything. Gives me a chance to make sure all my inverts get food as well as my Ocellaris Pigfish. Be sure to keep the rest of the thawed out food in the fridge.