You've decided what aquarium you want, you've picked out your equipment and decided on how you're going to manage and maintain your system. Finally, you can add your livestock but what do you feed them? Can you just throw in some flake or pellet and be done with it? Why are there so many options out there? Let's have a look at the food options you have at your disposal.
There are a lot of food choices out there and what's best for you and your aquarium will likely depend on two things, what livestock you're keeping and how much time you have on your hands to prepare and feed. So firstly I'll start off by saying, know your fish! Research what it is you're keeping because certain fish and critters will have very specific dietary requirements. Out and out predators such as eels, lionfish, grouper and some triggers for example will need large meaty food items to keep them happy, some even benefit from live food whilst others are just downright finicky. The Mandarin fish, Copperband Butterfly and Moorish Idol are three classic examples of finicky eaters that spring to mind. I'm, not going to delve into all of these specific requirements because, well, there are a lot of these sorts of fish out there and its down to you, the reefkeeper to understand these requirements so research, research, research! And if in doubt, ask!
But anyway, that aside lets look at the two main groups of fish that you're going to be feeding in your reef. Herbivores and Carnivores.
Herbivores:
Often referred to as 'grazers' these are the fish that cruise the reef picking at sea weed and algae. When I think of herbivore reef fish I instantly think of schools of tangs skimming over the rocks going after algae but there are quite a few other fish out there that are partial to a bit of the green stuff. I have a dusky wrasse that is the first to go after sea weed on a clip but funnily enough, never seems to graze the rock work, I think he's just greedy to be honest but he falls into the larger category of Omnivores on the reef. That is, fish that will eat both meat and algae. It's important to provide herbivores and omnivores with good green options to give them the balanced diet they need. So what are the options?
1. Seaweed
There are a couple of variations to seaweed out there. Firstly there's colour; green, red and purple are the three that are on offer. Secondly, there's a nori type seaweed which has been pulverised, formed into thin sheets and then dried out, and then there's the more natural looking seaweed which has been cut and dried as it is. The colour difference is just different types of seaweed, I've found my herbivores prefer green seaweed but it there's not much more to it other than the fish's personal preference, they will have a bit of red or purple if it's all that is available but they definitely prefer the green seaweed. They also prefer the nori type seaweed, again I think it's just personal preference or that it tears off easier for them. If you're going to any of the seaweed though you'll need a seaweed clip. I recommend this TMC one. It's a decent size, prize and doesn't look too intrusive. Another option that some people use is tying seaweed to a loose bit of rubble and sitting it on the sand bed or using a magnet clip. The choice is yours!
2. Algae Pellets
These are pellets made up of algae, small crustacean, amino acids and vitamins. They are designed to sink and be easily digested by the fish. I'll be honest, I've not tried these before on my home reef but I'm going to because since reading up on them, they look quite good I think. Once I've given them a go, I'll let you know what I think. In the shop though, pellets are used a supplementary feed of sorts. A small amount of pellets are chucked in for the fish every now and throughout the day to give them some variation which is a good way to use them I think and will be how I use them.
3. Seaweed/Pellet crossover
This is something I'm using at the moment is the Vitalis Marine Grazer. It's a compressed seaweed ring that holds its shape and structure when in the tank but is soft enough for the grazing fish to nip away at it. So far, I have to say I'm pretty impressed with it. Initially I was worried that my fish wouldn't want to switch from natural/nori seaweed to the grazers but they did and now they're quite happy pecking away at it. The best bit is, there are no annoying bits of seaweed floating around the tank now which used to happen a lot with the nori. There is a great video here of the grazer in action.
4. Press-ons
These are the same as the pellets on offer but are designed to be stuck onto the glass so that the fish can come along and peck at the food rather than chase down pellets. The aim here is to stop pellets being missed by the fish and sinking to the floor just to be swept under the rocks to break down and pollute the tank.
Carnivores:
1. Pellets
Similar to algae pellets there are more general pellets that are applicable to carnivores/omnivores. The out and out carnivores as discussed earlier may not take pellets and will still need more specific feeding. These pellets are best used a supplement and are a great stop gap seeing as they are easy to store and don't need to be defrosted etc etc before being fed.
2. Mysis Shrimp
There are two main forms of Mysis shrimp on offer, Live and Frozen. Frozen is a bit cheaper and you can easily store more in a smaller space whilst Live will ultimately be more nutritious because, well, they're alive and fresh! Live is the A* option for feeding but not always an option for everyone (me included!) whereas frozen is a very respectable 'A grade' option. Mysis itself is a great option to feed to your reef. They have a good nutrition content and are readily accepted by pretty much everything, even the finicky eaters plus some coral!
3. Brine Shrimp
These are also readily available and are very similar to Mysis shrimp. The thing with Brine Shrimp however is that they don't have as high a nutrition content. This is why most if not all of the Brine Shrimp you'll see on offer is called 'Enriched Brine Shrimp'. This means that before the Brine Shrimp were culled and frozen they were fed with a nutritious food, often spirulina. So, when you defrost them and feed them to your fish, you'll be feeding them the Brine Shrimp and the enriched food in the Shrimp's stomach.
4. Miscellaneous Frozen foods
In this group I'm including the likes of Razor Clam, Mussels, and Krill Pacifica. If you have a large mixed reef with a diverse range of fish then perhaps have a look at including some of the above mentioned foods. There's a useful blister pack provided by Gamma foods that includes all of these. I have limited experience of using them because the fish in my reef just aren't that fond of them which I put down to them just being a bit finicky.
5. Small frozen foods.
This includes smaller foods such as Copepods, Lobster eggs, fish eggs, Rotifers and Calanus. These foods are highly nutritious and great for finicky eaters. The only trouble is once you add them to the water they will defrost and separate. Being small, they'll spread to the four corners of the tank which is great if you're trying to flood feed the system but inevitably some will be missed and it'll be down to your filtration system to get them out else they'll breakdown in the tank releasing nutrients into the water column, a bit of a double edged sword. The best option is to not feed these on a regular basis but to use them as part of a weekly flood feed or as a treat for your fish every now and then.
All in one options:
Recently there have been two all in one options released by First Bite. Reef Feast for the Omnivores and Veggie Feast for the Herbivores. Both of these come as a slab of frozen food made up of many different individual food items. All you do is break a bit off and chuck it in to your tank, nice and easy! I used this up until a short while ago and would highly recommend it. The only reason I don't use it as much now is because my Copperband Butterfly is a bit finicky and won't take to it which is deeply frustrating believe me.
Flood feeding:
Flood feeding is a term for when we make a mix of different foods designed to feed everything in the reef tank from the invertebrates, filter feeders, fish and coral. It'll include liquid foods, powders, small frozen foods and larger items. Flood feeding deserves a dedicated blog post which I will write up and share below, watch this space!
What's the best option?
In summary, we're aiming to provide our reef inhabitants with a healthy balanced diet. That means we need to provide them with a blend of different foods with different nutrients whilst, in my opinion, providing them with some feeding options similar to their natural environment such as when herbivores graze the reef for algae. Always consider what fish you have as well, there's no point in feeding sea weed on a clip if you have no grazing fish.
A good starting point for a feeding regime though is to provide seaweed on a clip or algae pellets daily for grazing and frozen shrimp daily (either Mysis, Brine or even alternate these options daily). You can then perhaps offer Live food once a week or dump some Copepods and/or Calanus as a treat. If you're stuck for choice and not sure what to use then pop into the store, use this blog as a guide and have a look at what's on the shelf. You can get a feel for what's what and how to use it. Plus, the team can show you the fish feeding in store and run through what they do.
Most importantly, don't stress, there is a lot of choice but you can't go too wrong. The fish will ultimately tell you what they will and won't eat. Mine certainly do!