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"You are over feeding"; Really? Got fat fish?
Topic Started: Apr 4 2010, 04:44:53 AM (201 Views)
Post #1 Apr 4 2010, 04:44:53 AM	Suzy
Pet Peeve: Getting on the soapbox here! Every time I see the word "overfeeding", I can't hellp but think of this: Posted Image If a person is over feeding, he gets to be a very big person. If a tank is being over fed, does it get to be too big? Nope, stays he same size. If a fish is being over fed, does it get to be obese? I have never seen an obese fish myself. I have heard of necropsies done on fish who have been fed the wrong food, and have fatty livers. But, I think this is rare in our tanks. My fish are always moving, even at night they are cruising in the moonlights. They seem to be high energy, high metabolism creatures. So, really, can they be overfed in a system like ours? Back in my guppy in a goldfish bowl days, overfeeding meant an ammonia spike that could kill a guppy. Is this what people are taking about when they say "over feeding"? I don't think so, not with our elaborate systems, compared to fish bowl days anyway. I think they are talking about getting nuisance algae. So, to prevent any cyanobacteria, hair algae , or bryopsis, they run their tanks void of any plant life. Then they add herbivore fish, and inverts! And, to avoid getting any algae, they under feed. And, the fish look like this: Posted Image So, they actually are under feeding the fish, right? Is it possible they are under filtering the tank instead?	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #2 Apr 5 2010, 11:10:45 AM	Amie
Great topic, because my mom is having this issue in her tank and I don't know how to solve it for her. I actually think she IS over and under feeding both at the same time. I know... She would not let me put a refugium on her tank, so it's a 55 gallon system with 2 hob filters and 2 powerheads. So yes, the tank is under filtered. She feeds 2-3 times a day, and she feeds so much that the tank looks like it's snowing food. She now has green hair algae everywhere, and I can't control it because it's so bad. I bought 4 large turbo snails that were supposed to eat the hairalgae, but they all died within 2 weeks. I also got an urchin, which seems to be making a little headway, but it only comes out at night. The powerheads get so clogged up with hairalgae that if they are not cleaned everyday, they don't function well, so I question the amount of aeration in the tank. About the underfeeding, she's got a banggai dying from starvation. She feeds it brineshrimp, but that's all it will eat. I've tried to get her to enrich it, but she thinks it take too much time. So that fish has lived on unenriched frozen brineshrimp for a year now. I assume that is why it's starving to death. I'd move it to one of my tanks but I think the move would kill it. She has a sailfin tank that actually does look fat. It's huge in a 55 gallon tank, I need to find a new home for it really soon. I have heard that you can feed a goldfish to death because it won't stop eating.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
Post #3 Apr 5 2010, 01:44:12 PM	Suzy
There is already enriched brine shrimp. It is a Sallys brand, enriched with omega fats (like Selco) and another one enriched with spirulina. Could you change one of the HOB filters to a HOB refugium? Add a clip on light, (unless the tank light lights it) and some caulerpa?	Seahorse Whisperer Posts: 3,047 Group: Admin Member #1 Joined: June 28, 2008
"i was informed of some dolphin related testing going on up there" Too Funny!
Post #4 Apr 21 2010, 02:01:29 PM	Amie
That's a great idea, thanks! I'm not sure the HOB refugium will work because of how the tank is situated so close to the wall. But I'll see if I can get something else to work that is similar. I have a skimmer that hangs off the side that will help. I'm pretty sure the BSD has some enriched brine shrimp as well, I'll go up there and check. One of the issues is that my mom really shouldn't even have a tank, she can't keep up with it. I put an urchin in the tank over a month ago and now her anemones look bad. I asked her if she was feeding them and she said that she stopped feeding them because she was scared of the urchin. Whatever... I wish I could take everything out and just start over, but I know she wouldn't go for that. She loves her tulip anemones too much. Yes...you read that right.	stormy, stormy nights Posts: 2,362 Group: Admin Member #4 Joined: June 29, 2008
http://www.spawar.navy.mil/sandiego/technology/mammals/interns.html Tell them Adam sent you.
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