two quick questions

[KidNano]

just stopped by my trusty LFS to get some water and food. He jokingly told me that he was going to turn me in for abuse because I only feed my fish a few times a week. "Fish are like people, would you like to only be fed a few times a week?" What are all your thoughts on this. Sold me silver sides "because it's the only way they can get there omega 3" and Krill " because they're extremely nutrient." "I feed my fish 3 times a day at home". I don't understand how he can do that when he's at work all day, but I left it alone.

So how often do you all feed your fish and what is best to feed?

2nd question. my Monti cap has a small area on the bottom of it that has turned white. Has me nervous that it is deteriorating. It also has very small blackish type dots on the back of it. What kills monti caps? should I worry about the small black spots? This little piece has been growing so well I don't want to lose it.

Thanks.

 

[NanoReefaholic]

I feed twice a day personally. Once a day is 'fine' but twice is better. Feeding them only once every few days will slow down their metabolism and perhaps stress the fish. There may also be nipping at corals from fish that have the predisposition to do so. By feeding them daily with a variety of foods you will ensure that they will get their nutrients and not be stressed out. This is the exact reason why breeders feed their mating stock atleast twice a day, they have full bellies and aren't worried about their next meal.

There is the issue of a properly rated skimmer for the task. This is why we say to take the skimmers rating and cut that in half. This is the general bioload level of a reef tank on a good quality skimmer. Note the word quality. Your lfs was right in being a bit upset, in home aquaria fish need to be fed more than that but they need a varied diet.

Your lfs was also wrong about the omega 3. You can get it via some flake food and some frozen foods. There is also an additive but it makes more sense to use food that has been enriched so it all gets in the fish.

edit; forgot to mention I feed mainly New Life Spectrum Marine (NLS) for flake but I also feed a variety of frozen foods and live BBS.

 

[NanoReefaholic]

2nd question. my Monti cap has a small area on the bottom of it that has turned white. Has me nervous that it is deteriorating. It also has very small blackish type dots on the back of it. What kills monti caps? should I worry about the small black spots? This little piece has been growing so well I don't want to lose it.

Thanks.

Are the black dots moving? What are your levels, including Mg? There are some monti eating nudis and some fish will nip at them but I'd need a better description to give an ID 100%

 

[drty811]

i feed once a day but sometimes i go every other, but then theres the weekends that i go away so they dont get fed for three days. never had them nip at my corals or start looking unhealthy. i suppliment garlic gaurd with all feedings. i feed frozen food, brine, mysis, and brine with a algae additive.

the nudis that eat monti's are really tiny and white. as for the dots, i dont know. one of the guys i know from my LFS has told me if it happens, just scrap the infected area, rinse outside your tank with tank water and put back in tank. hes a huge monti fan, he said it almost always works unless its a huge spot. catch it early makes for an easy fix but letting it go will only speed up the decay. HTH

 

[johnanddawn]

feeding fish hmmmm.... really a hard question to answer in generalities because all fish are different and each system is. i feed mine every morning and they like it. about once a week i give my tangs some clip algae.
but.... now here are some for instances.
-if you have a very small bioload of plankton eating fish the tank will feed them some so you can feed less - my 6 line rarely eats when i feed
-some fish prefer not to eat processed foods at all and must meet there needs in tank - manderines and some algae blennies
-large carnivores like big meals less often as they have to have time to digest their food - lions, frogs, morays
-some fish have very quick digestive systems and eat very little very often - anthias
-my clowns at school get feed during the week but never on weekends
-large skimmers and heavy feeding is a "new" trend in reef keeping that has many benifits such as second hand feeding of the corals - but it is a fine line to be kept as; if feeding causes excess nutrient build up that could be worse then underfeeding

i would say research the specific fishes in question and then try to develop a feeding regiment for them


as for the monti - take it out and inspect the damaged area closely. monti eating nudis seem to be everywhere these days. they are about 1/16 inch long and will be obvious to the naked eye though they tend to hide underside during the day. if you find them then we will talk more

 

[NanoReefaholic]

I didn't mean to imply that it was nudis, just that they are one thing off the top of my head that are known to eat montis. The nudis are a whiteish grey so it probably isn't the black dots but look around as they may be the cause of the decline.

The dots could be anything but check if they move, are receded into the skeleton, and if they move at night (red lens on flashlight).

With the overrated skimmer you don't really have to worry about accumulation as much because the intent is to feed heavy then clean the water as fast as you can so you have perfect water again. There is a fine line between feeding your livestock and feeding your skimmer. Too much food and your just putting it in your skimmer and wasting money.

 

[KidNano]

Thanks everyone....... I guess I'll start feeding a little more often.

As for my monti. I scratched off the part that was dying yesterday and I can't really tell yet what's going to happen. The little black specs won't come off. don't know what they are. I might have found a nudi on it. Not really sure as I couldn't get a good visual on what I thought might have been one. Is it possible to have a nudi just show up out of the blue like that. I haven't put anything new in my tank for a while and I've had these two frags for about 2 months. I'll post another pic of it in a few days when I see if it's helped or not.

 

[johnanddawn]

2 months is about right if you are not looking for them - i got them about 18 months ago and had never read anything about them or even heard of them at that time - noone really had. i had gotten some frags at a swap and started noticing some damage, by the time i knew what was going on i had lost one small frag and had them on other montis as well.
start looking at the SPS forum at the RC there are a lot of pics and experiences posted there. unfortunitly they have become all to common it seems. there are some new methods out now but simply scraping the monti will not work. most dips are also ineffective against the eggs. i got rid of them but it took a very long time, dipping and QTing and now i keep a 6 line just in case, but haven't seen any damage in months

 

[KidNano]

I read RK mag they have an article on this little infestation this month. They had pics of the nudis and the eggs. really interesting. The pics looked nothing like what I saw going on with mine. so I don't know if maybe there was something that I couldn't see or what. I'll probably do a little more research and see what else I can do. And I'll be keeping a very close eye on both my little frags.

I've heard that wrasses help, but can't really resolve the issue on their own. Just keep the pop from getting bigger.

 

[KidNano]

I figured out what was killing that monti cap..... my elephant ear. during the day when I'm at work it gets a lot bigger then it is at night when I get home. It was rubbing it the wrong way I guess. And I think I'm convinced those black dots are the polyps on the dark side of the moon.