How often should I feed my saltwater aquarium fish?
In the wild, looking for food is one of the three things that saltwater fish do (the other 2 are reproducing and staying alive or not being eaten by a bigger fish). The argument could be made that being caught by a collector is the same as being eaten. If you watch saltwater fish for a while, especially in the wild, you will notice that the herbivores are constantly looking for food or “grazing” as some people say, the carnivores pretty much just cruise around, passing up easy meals. Herbivores, such as Tangs, have a longer digestive track than carnivores. This is because it takes longer to digest algae in order to extract the protein required for the fish to survive. Carnivores have a shorter digestive track because it doesn’t take as long to extract the protein from the flesh of another critter (snail, fish, shrimp, etc.). Herbivores, ideally, should have a constant food source available to them.
Owners should feed their saltwater fish about twice a day. Make sure that the fish are eating the food within a couple of minutes. You don’t have to feed them all of the food at once, instead spread out the length of feeding time. Also, make sure that all of the fish are finding food to eat including bottom dwellers. Stop feeding if the food is reaching the bottom and is not being eaten. Fish in the wild look for food almost constantly, especially herbivores. They constantly look like they are grazing. Carnivores pretty much just cruise around, passing up easy meals. Herbivores have a longer digestive track than carnivores so it takes longer to digest algae in order to extract the protein required for the fish to survive. Carnivores have a shorter digestive track because it doesn’t take as long to extract the protein from the flesh of another animal. Algae that grow in your tank will provide a certain amount of a constant food source for herbivores. By spreading out the length of time
