Feeding Saltwater Aquarium Fish

Some saltwater aquarium fish are gluttons, whereas others stop when they’re full.  
It’s better to underfeed than to overfeed because it's stresses your fish and degrade water quality.

You’ll find a lot of exceptions when feeding your wet pets. For example, some invertebrates, such as sea anemones and corals, house photosynthetic bacteria that provide them with nutrients, so you don’t need to feed them every day. Their diet, however, should be augmented once or twice a week with fresh, frozen, or live foods.

Also, large carnivorous fish typically consume one large meal at a time, so you don’t need to feed them more than once every day or two.

 

Offer as much food as your fish will eat in five minutes. Flakes should sink no deeper than one-third the height of the tank. Provide tablets, pellets, or sinking food for bottom fish and invertebrates.
Feed your fish in very small portions over the five-minute period. If any food is left over after this time, you’re an overfeeder.  

Some foods can be attached to the side of the tank with a food clip such lettuce or spinach . 

Feed them twice a day at the same times in the morning and the evening.
Feed your fish at the same spot in the tank. Doing so lets you sneak food down to bottom-dwellers while the surface fish are distracted.

If you’re home during the daytime, feed your fish and invertebrates very small portions over the course of the day. In this case, reduce feeding time to about a minute or two per session.  

 

Rehydrate or thaw food beforehand. Use a separate container, such as a glass.

Thaw frozen food before adding it to your tank.

 
Watch all your fishes during feeding. During this time, you can also assess your fishes’ health and take a head count. Try to make sure that each gets its share of food, but that’s not always possible.

Keep an eye out for fish that seem to refusal to eat because it is one of the first signs of illness

 
Fish have different mouth shapes, which allow them to feed at different levels in the tank. Some species don’t move to the surface to eat; they wait for food to disperse throughout the tank. Don’t rely on surface feedings and the leftovers of others to feed bottom fish. Pellets or other foods that sink to the bottom should be provided to these fish.  

Remove food from the tank that hasn’t been consumed. Allow nibblers time to eat, an hour or two  before removing leftovers.

Offer a variety

Freshwater fish and saltwater fish aren’t the same — you know that. If you’ve ever had a freshwater aquarium, more than likely you sprinkled just dry flake food in your tank every day. You need to break that habit. Although you can offer a daily staple, variety is the spice of life for marine organisms.

 Make sure you match the size of the food with the size of the fishes’ mouths. You may need to crush or mulch the food for fish with small mouths. But don’t grind the food too small. Doing so adds fine particles to the water that aren’t ingested and that degrade water quality.
You can try flake food and frozen brine shrimp as your staples, but mix in different foods as your fish acclimate to your aquarium. 

If you’re going to be away from your aquarium for one or two days, the fish will be fine without food. In the wild, most fish feed sporadically and can go days without food, so a little fasting doesn’t hurt them. When you return, don’t feel that you have to feed your fish twice as much because they missed a meal.

If you plan to travel for longer periods, you have a couple of options:
You can arrange for someone to feed your fish. Prepare portions ahead of time and give detailed instructions. Don’t let they do own discretion unless if that's not an experienced aquarist.

You can purchase an automatic feeder. This specialized piece of equipment dispenses dry food for you while you’re away. You wouldn’t want to load it with fresh seafood, but many processed foods work well. A feeder that is set up improperly or malfunctions can be deadly to your aquarium, so testing carefully before going away.