percula clown food

[zensaiyan]

hi everyone. i have had my clowns for about a month now and i was wondering if anyone else had run into this issue. i have one clown, the bigger and presumably the female, who will eat about anything, even if it is in the other clowns mouth, and one clown who will viciously attack the first food that hits the water, then not eat anymore. this second one seems like he wants something else. i have tried to give them a pinch of one thing, then a pinch of another but no luck. the smaller one seems very interested in food, but not to the point of eating a lot of it. is this just him being a smaller male with a smaller appetite? thanks for the help.

[cheeks69]

Clownfish are omnivores so they need their meat and veggies. I know anything I put in the tank my present and past clownfish would devour it, they are quite the agressive eaters, unless they are unhealthy. It could possibly help if you mention what specific foods you're giving them, also what are your parameters ? Also is the larger clown a bully and beating up on the smaller one ? Or is ther agression by other fish in the tank ?

[Brucey]

Ummm, mine have Krill / Brine / Mysis / Artemia and seaweed selects. never had a problem feeding. The male and female eat as much as eat other ....... even their own eggs once they hatch.
Brucey

[zensaiyan]

well right now i have 2 percula clowns. the bigger one is not a bully, bc i never see them fight. i have been feeding them formula 2 flake and frozen, brine shrimp, and bloodworms so far. my clowns are pretty small so far, so i don't think they are big enough to feed krill to. all parameters in the tank checkout ok.

[cheeks69]

If they are true Perculas they aren't as hardy as other clowns and aren't a beginner fish. They require a Mature tank that is stable and doesn't have drastic fluctuations. What type of tank do you have FO, FOWLR or a reef ? Do you have other fish that may be causing him stress ? Could you give us numbers on those parameters ?

[Tarasco]

Your smaller clown may just have a smaller appetite. Do you see him spit out the food that it attempts to eat, or does the food get eaten, then he doesn't go after any more? How many times a day do you feed? It's hard to know without getting more info about your tank.

My clowns eat just about everything I throw in there, but the male definitely does not have the same appetite that the female does. If your smaller clown looks to be in poor condition I would probably worry more, but until then you may just want to try and vary up the food types.

[zensaiyan]

i am running a FOWLR tank right now, 30 gal tank that has been up and running since november. i have about 30-35 lbs of live rock. other inhabitants include 2 scooter blennys a chocolate chip starfish, and a dragonet. the smaller one will eat a couple bites of food then eat something and spit it out. he will seem interested in the food that is in the tank, but after the first couple of bites he won't eat anything else. i try to feed him once in the morning and once at night. he seems as active as the other one, if not a little more hyper. he is getting his darker spots too. do clownfish get favorite foods that they want a lot more than something else?if so i don't know what he wants. i am going to buy some mysis shrimp today. any other suggestions?

[docspyro]

i recently bought a pair of clowns; i feed them spirulina flakes and brine shrimp that my LFS recommeded and they couldt be happier.

[Tarasco]

If he seems fine, as he does according to your description, then he probably is fine. It sounds like you are worried that your guy isn't eating enough but if you don't notice any weight loss, I wouldn't worry too much about it. My guys get a combination of Formula 1/2, prime reef, mysis, brine, bloodworms, and they eat the dwarf angel and angel formula, as well as sweetwater zooplankton.