Feeding Advice

[ellebelle]

I'm currently having some trouble feeding my spotfin butterflies. They are all eating mysis, cyclopeez and flake. However they seem to prefer to pick it up off of the bottom of the tank and off of the rocks. This would be fine but my other fish are very aggressive feeders. I've even seen my wrasse steal mysis practically out of the mouth of my largest spotfin butterfly.

Suggestions on how to make sure the butterflies get their food too?

 

[ZANYMASTER]

Anyway to separate the tank in half maybe?Also,increase the feeding so they all eat.Others may chime in.

 

[h20 freak]

Have you tried a food clip?Some kind of sinking food?

 

[House of Laughter]

Lissa,

Spotfins are known to eat from barnacles and rubble fields so their natural eating habits are as "pickers" they also like coral polyps.

I would personally try to separate them from the other fish and feed them accordingly or feed your tank enough so the other fish won't compete - - I try feeding less on multiple occasions so they get a bite at each feeding interval. least this way they get a little food a few times a day rather than less once a day.

JMO

House

 

[ellebelle]

That is the problem. I spray the mysis into the sand and they immediately go for it and start picking it. But as they pick it up off of the sand and break it up the other fish grab it. My fish are greedy.

 

[jhale]

Feed more is my suggestion. the spotfins in my tank are eating from the top of the water as well. so far there is nothing I've put in the tank that they have not eaten. I'm putting quite a bit of food into the tank to make sure everyone is getting fed. whatever food is left over on the bottom the large butterflies graze at during the day.

 

[House of Laughter]

Lissa,

have you tried someting smaller that they don't have to compete for or lose in a battle like brine or cyclo?

House

 

[Bob 1000]

If you overfed to get a fish to eat more aggressively please remember to do more water changes... That's all..

 

[ellebelle]

Lissa,

have you tried someting smaller that they don't have to compete for or lose in a battle like brine or cyclo?

House

Yes, and they eat the cyclopeez eagerly. I've been putting it into my tank every day - I just don't think that's enough for them to thrive. Of the three, two of them look skinny. One actually looks fine so he must be doing a little better at stealing food from the rest of my greedy fish.

 

[Paul B]

Lissa I feed them live black worms from a baster. I squirt the worms all the way across the tank so the fish disperse all over the place, then I squirt some more near the butterfly. The little butterfly eats about 4 worms, that fills him up. The only problem is that he likes them so much now that he won't eat anything else. I am going to have to talk to him.