Anyone who's ever had a pet knows that one of the first things a responsible owner does is make sure their pet gets a balanced diet. He knows that the healthier his pet eats, the more likely he is to live a long and healthy life.
Fish raised in saltwater aquariums are exactly the same. The responsible owner of a saltwater aquarium knows exactly what types of food his fish need to survive and makes sure to always have it on hand.
The first thing you need to know about feeding tropical fish is how much food they should receive. As a general rule, when feeding your fish, use a stopwatch and count the time it takes for them to eat. It takes about two minutes for the fish to finish eating. If the fish in your aquarium finish eating in less than two minutes, they are probably not eating enough.
If after two minutes there is still food left, they are probably overfed and you will need to reduce the amount. A more accurate way to measure how much food fifty adult tropical fish should eat is about ten grams of food in a month, but this can vary depending on variety and growth.
A balanced fish food usually consists of ten percent fat and thirty to thirty-six percent protein. It must also contain amino acids.
The first step to feeding your fish responsibly is knowing what type of food they are consuming. Some fish cannot be kept in an aquarium containing coral because they like to eat the small invertebrates that house the coral. Predatory fish generally require frozen or live food.
Bottom-dwelling fish should be fed a type of food that is heavy enough to sink to the bottom of the aquarium. These fish do not like food that floats on the surface of the aquarium. Aquarists who wish to breed their tropical fish often feed their fish brine shrimp, which they raise in their own brine shrimp hatchery.
Many saltwater fish aquarium keepers like to use automatic fish food dispensers. Automatic fish feeders are dispensers that can be attached to the side of the aquarium. Once the fish owner fills the hopper with food, the feeder automatically dispenses food at regular intervals, allowing the fish owner more flexibility and not having to organize their schedules around feeding their fish.
The average automatic fish food dispenser is not capable of dispensing frozen or live food, which makes it convenient for predatory fish. Some absentee fish owners place food blocks in their tanks.
Owners of tropical fish should store their supplemental food in a cool, dry place, in containers that do not allow moisture to enter. Frozen foods should be discarded after three months.
One of the dangers of overfeeding fish is that the wasted food can have a devastating effect on the pH of your aquarium water. If too much-discarded food contaminates the water, it can contribute to the death of your fish.