How much of a cube for 2x 1.5 inch clownfish?

[Altohombre]

I have been feeding Ocean Nutrition Formula two pellets with results in one of the fish and little results (spitting it back out) with the other. I have recently gotten some frozen food. One being Marine Cuisine and I think the other is Emerald Entree. One is for Omnivores and the other for Carnivores, but I heard clowns will eat them both. Anyway I was wondering if I should feed a full cube or if i should somehow break it up for these somewhat small fish. I don't want to overfeed.

 

[UnderwaterWorld]

don't feed a full cube, I would give a third of it if you can cut it, just use a knife and chop it

 

[fishbait]

I would cut off a small sliver, thaw it out and feed them. judge by how long it takes for them to eat it all. I would say in no longer than two minutes all the food should be gone. then adjust feeding accordingly.

 

[Piggy]

What I do is place a frozen cubes in a little jar and let them defrost in the fridge. Seeing you only have the two clowns i would defrost a half cube and feed them a sliver at a time if they eat that give another sliver. It'll last a week or so in the fridge.

 

[Alexander]

or just cut off a small piece put it in a shot glass and dip it in the tank to get a little water in it and dump it in shortly after

 

[Matti]

I make 1 cube last 4 days, according to Frank of Frank's Tanks for my two clown fish.

Here's how:
1. Allow the cube to unthaw. Does it still look like a cube or is it a melty mess?
2. If it still looks like a cube, add 1-2 tablespoons of tank water
3. If it is a watery mess add 1 tablespoon of tank water
4. If you can, add Kent Fresh/Marine Garlic Xtreme per the directions (for their immune system; infections, ect. (I paid $16.99 for a 1 oz. bottle with dropper (but little is used per cube)
5. If you feel like your fish potion is still a bit thick, add one more tablespoon of tank water and stir around.
6. What I have not perfected is finding the itsy bitsy ice cube trays--maybe Michael's or Hobby Lobby has them. Then divide the potion into 4 ways; you can pour it into the corners of 4 Ziploc bags and freeze them
7. Each feed, run the frozen bit under hot water, which dethaws it, and you are ready to feed.

**Warning to myself and to all newbies: As a neonatal nurse, I can share with you that a newborn's tummy on day 1 of life is as big as a marble. Compare even a 500g baby's tummy (a micro-preemie's) to the size of your small fish's and realize that their tummies are nano-tummies!! We want to overfeed because we see their zeal to eat; but, they don't have all the neurons and hormones to say, "I have had enough". Okay, that's too much!

 

[Altohombre]

I took about 1/3 of the cube and put it in salt water. It turned into a "watery mess", then I dumped it in the tank and it just scattered everywhere. I prob should have turned off the powerhead, but I heard that turning it on and off can ruin the motor. The fish ate a little bit of it, but only for about 30 secs worth of time. I tried to take as much of the rest out with my fish net. Next time I am gonna try to use less (I think I need a doctors scalpel) and just do a little water to thaw and dump it in so it hopefully stays together mostly.

 

[Bifferwine]

It's okay if it scatters, if they are hungry, they will chase the food down. I think Matti gave good advice. Just because your fish act hungry, doesn't mean you should feed them. It's so easy to overfeed your tank. Probably the main cause of algae problems in this hobby (that and using tap water or bad water). I also agree with Piggy, put a cube in a bit of tank water and keep it in the fridge. Then just use what you need until you run out.

 

[yote]

Matti and Piggy took the words right outta my finger tips.
With all the fish I got,I still dont feed a full cube at once.Besides that,I only feed every other to every 3rd day.

 

[Matti]

Oh, a guy I talked to from a place from where I bought a nano-chiller, said that he always presses all the watery stuff (we were talking about garlic juice at the time) out of the food just before he feeds his fishlets.

Happy Feeding!

Matti

 

[Altohombre]

my LFS also said to use a brine shrimp net and press the water out, that he did tests and there is a lot of crap in the watery part.

 

[Altohombre]

do you all leave your powerhead and skimmer on when adding the frozen food. At first when I left them on the stuff scattered everywhere, but after reading a lot I am seeing that this isn't such a bad idea because the fish in the wild like to chase down their food and that the powerhead will keep the food in suspension longer instead of just falling to the bottom.

 

[yote]

I cut my return pump off when I feed,but leave the power heads running.It helps scatters the food and gives everybody in the tank a chance to get a bite.

 

[Bifferwine]

I don't turn anything off when I feed. I have around 30 fish in my tank, and I feed 4 to 8 cubes a day, if that helps any.