will fish eat until they explode?

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srossnz

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Aug 28, 2007
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Currently 4 fish in my tank FOWLR, they are always hanging out by my feeding ring now anytime i get remotely close to the tank. I feel like i feed them a heck of a lot when i do feed (once a day) but these guys act like they are starving. Is this normal or am I not providing them with enough food?
 

Reefscape

I shoot people with a Canon
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Nov 8, 2006
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You should be feeding them all they can eat in a about a 5 minute period...that is more than enough once per day or every other day...the old saying does stick.." A hungry fish is a happy fish "...

Niko
 

schigara

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Jan 2, 2005
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No, your fish will not explode. Overfeeding your fish will only do harm to your tank, unless you have enough flow, skimmer and nutrient export to handle it.

There is a RC TOTM member that has fed his fish 8-12 times a day for years, "to keep them plump and healthy". Heh, I wouldn't do it but it's hard to argue with a tank of the month member on reef central. This guys skimmer has more water volume than most of our tanks so please don't feed like he does.

I replace nori on the clip whenever I see it is empty, usually 3-4 times per day and feed frozen or pellet once per day.
 
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TropicalNorth

Bligh..The Demander Of Attention..
Jun 9, 2006
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Fish are always hungry, well at least they act like it, because of survival instincts and all that. They never know when their next meal is so they want to eat all they can when they can, but they will stop when they're full.

I feed my fish 2 to 3 small meals a day, basically whatever they can eat in about 2 mins. I make sure every fish gets some and that little or none is left over.
 

SHK_ATK

Clam Chowda
Nov 4, 2006
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its also a well known fact that peoples fish die from overfeeding than they do underfeeding, fish can go a long while without being fed, Im always amazed at the people who go away for a weekend and get worried that their fish are going to die, and run out and get weekend feeders, I personally feed my tanks everyother day (to include fw) corals 3 times a week and algea everyday. So far everyone is happy.
 

kcress

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Apr 9, 2005
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No exploding fish!!

Notice my corpulent YTang. He lives in a 150g 12 foot long refugium. He has about 20 kinds of algae to select from. When we feed twice a day in one end he doesn't even show up. Hence, he must not be hungry. When I look at most Yellow Tangs they appear to be starving as they are very narrow below the pectoral fins. This guy is wider there than anywhere else, notice the bulge. He's very active moving thru three separate tanks to maneuver the 12 foot range.

He spent most the time I was trying to snap shots of him threatening me, (charging) and posturing.

He's 10 years old.

DSC_0063.JPG
 

mandy21

THE REEFER GODDESS
May 16, 2006
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a yellow tang is in my restocking list. After seeing what healthy yellow tangs look like, I love them. All I was exposed to were poorly fed and dying PetCo tang all shoved into one tank prior to seeing this forum.
 
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