Feeding a clownfish

[leafyseadragon]

I was feeding some tubifex to my rainbows and decided to toss a couple in my marine tank. The clown sucked it down greedily. In fact, this is the only food which elicits such a vigorous feeding response from him. I've tried frozen marine cuisine, mysis shrimp, and he seems to show little interest in it. But he also eats flakes and freeze dried brine shrimp.

I remembered reading that marine fish should be fed marine-based foods. But then I remembered reading with a new fish (mine's spent less than a month in the tank), you find out what it likes and feed him a lot of it.

So you can see my dilemma. Is it okay to continue feeding him tubifex?

 

[reefrunner69]

For now, but if it will eat other marine based foods...it is better for the health of the clown. For instance, I like m & ms, and I will eat them more greedily than all things that are good for me. But, I am not better off eat strictly m & ms instead of nutritious food, simply cause I'm eating alot of them

 

[leafyseadragon]

I would prefer that my clown eat marine-based foods, but I just can't get him to eat mysis or marine cuisine. I tried some tiny bits of mysis shrimp soaked in garlic again this morning. He watched the pieces of food sink to the bottom of the tank. The hermits will eat it.

So what should I do?

P.S. Nice clownfish pic, reefrunner!

 

[reefrunner69]

I would continue to offer the marine based foods, and use a marine flake and the freeze dried brine (maybe try some marine pellets) and the tubifex...just enough to keep it from starving. You might consider trying the cyclop-eeze (I have read fish seem to go nuts for it) or making your own blender mush >>ReefLady's blender mush recipe<<.