Thoughts on Heavy Feeding

[Steve...]

What does everyone think of heavy feeding for our fish? I have slowly increased the amount of feeding in my tank and noticed my fish are happier and of course fatter. Are there any possible issues with heavy feeding if proper filtration is in place? How much feedings would you guys consider heavy?

[kien]

I have no idea what "heavy feeding" would be, but I feed my fish 3 times a day.

[Aquattro]

I feed appropriately, I think, with 3 to 5 feedings per day.

[Steve...]

I guess Im in line with you guys then.. Im doing about 4 to 5 feedings a day with a variety of food. I guess this isn't considered heavy feeding then

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

WoW you guys are wack or maybe I am wack.
I feed my fish ounce maybe a treat and make it twice a day,I suppose thats low feeding,yes before anyone starts to bombard me my fish are healthy and fat all 100+ of them.
I believe as long as you have enough bacteria to break down the food or by-product from the leftover food or fish then you are ok.

[The Guy]

I feed my tanks twice a day, morning some pellets & garlic enhanced flake. In the evening they get frozen brine & Pacifica Plankton.
And of course nori every day or two for the tangs.

[Proteus]

I use to feed once a day but found coral was suffering. I increase feeding to twice a day plus doubled up on amino acid and still have undetectable po4

[mikellini]

Originally Posted by Steve...

I guess Im in line with you guys then.. Im doing about 4 to 5 feedings a day with a variety of food. I guess this isn't considered heavy feeding then

I think you can't quantify heavy feeding by how often you are feeding, but rather how much (total) you are feeding.

If you are feeding more than your fish can eat in a 5 minute span at any one time, then you're probably feeding too much. However, that might not be enough if it's only once every two days, or even once a day. I think it would be better to split the amount your fish can eat in 5 minutes into two, and feed twice daily.

Easier said than done sometimes when it comes to frozen foods. I feed pellets every day in the morning (only as much as is eaten in a 5 minute span), and add to that a cube of frozen every second day (most of it gets eaten). I would say that this is 'moderate' feeding; I've been thinking of adding pellets to the afternoons I don't feed frozen, but on the other hand, there really is no need at this point. What I'll probably do instead is add an algae grazer ring or some nori on a clip on those days, once I get my Kole tang and foxface in there.

[Aquattro]

I feed, each feeding, enough to saturate the water column. No way the fish can get it all, so that leaves scraps for the shrimps and crabs and other critters.

[reef-keeper]

I feed mine twice a day with newly hatched brine shrimp.