Fast days

[The Kapenta Kid]

In keeping FW fish it is usually regarded as good practice to have one, or even two, fast days per week. Does this apply to SW fish too?

[zemuron114]

fast days?

[t5Nitro]

?

[travdixon]

I assume you mean not feeding the fish right? "fasting"

[t5Nitro]

I feed mine twice a day and an algae clip every day for the tangs.

[The Kapenta Kid]

Yep, not feeding 'em, making 'em fast, that's what I mean. Like Lent and all that old fashioned stuff. The thing that happens after Carnival.

[t5Nitro]

I would feed them everyday.

[spoiledcats]

I would not do that to fish. I wouldn't do it to my cats, or my chinchilla, and I won't do it to fish. In the wild they eat everyday. If you are worried about overfeeding, follow the instructions-if you put in enough food that the fish can eat it all in a couple minutes and none of it settles on the bottom, you aren't overfeeding. Even if some gets to the bottom and you have a good cleanup crew like crabs, shrimp, bottom dwellers, etc... you are alright. That is my opinion.

[The Kapenta Kid]

Originally posted by spoiledcats
I would not do that to fish. I wouldn't do it to my cats, or my chinchilla, and I won't do it to fish. In the wild they eat everyday.

That's really what I was asking about. Do they eat every day. It is well known that FW fish in the wild do not get a square meal every day of the week and that adults can easily keep going for a week or even two without food. It is considered beneficial to make them fast for a day or two a week. I just want to know if SW fish are the same, or different.

[fishman78]

I do my best to feed everyday. however I have missed a day here and there and the fish seem to be fine. I know the tangs graze constantly in the wild so daily feedings of algae is good. Nori on a clip works great!

Kurt

[zemuron114]

You will never see a skinny fish in the wild. they literally eat and swim eat and swim.. and eat... lol you see them graze all day long...

[Dave Cox]

I can see the theory in not feeding predator fish every single day, as there would be days on a reef where a predator is 'out of luck'.

However, grazer species such as tangs would always have access to seaweed on a reef, so I'd at the very least feed nori every day...

[ralphie16]

Originally posted by The Kapenta Kid
It is well known that FW fish in the wild do not get a square meal every day of the week and that adults can easily keep going for a week or even two without food. It is considered beneficial to make them fast for a day or two a week.

It is not well known. It is an incorrect assumption. I really wish people would not pass on made-up information. Yes they can go a week or two without food but what makes you think easily? Just because they can SURVIVE two weeks does not make it (a) easy for them and (b) something you should replicate in your captive aquarium for them.

How is it a well known fact that freshwater fish don't eat everyday? That's all that fish do besides reproduce. They hunt/graze/eat all day long.

[techigirl78]

I agree with Dave. You could apply this concept to some predator fish. Adult Scorpionfish, lionfish, frogfish, anglers come to mind. I feed my scorpionfish about every other day. However, grazers/planktivores should be fed daily.

[J. Montgomery]

I wouldn't recommend intentionally not feeding your fish as part of your routine. I'd also reiterate what the others have said, that your feeding schedule depends on the type of fish.

When I occassionally go out of town over the weekend, I don't feed. I use my automatic feeder when I'm out of town for more than a few day. Otherwise, I think my fish can find enough food in the reef to stay content for two days.

I do leave plenty of food and water out for my cat

[The Kapenta Kid]

Originally posted by ralphie16


How is it a well known fact that freshwater fish don't eat everyday? That's all that fish do besides reproduce. They hunt/graze/eat all day long.

If you had taken time to read my post carefully instead of rushing to abuse me you would know that I did not state that FW fish don't eat every day. I wrote that they don't get a square meal every day, which is a colloquial way of stating the obvious fact that food supply in the wild, other than for grazers, is variable.
Similarly it is well known that fish, like people, can easily go for a week without food. Easily, again speaking colloquially, means that there are no long-term serious consequences from such a fast. It doesn't mean that it may not be unpleasant or uncomfortable.
I am not seeking to deprive my fish. I know from my own experience and from that of others that FW fish actually benefit from having one or even two fast days a week since it encourages them to clean up any edible material that may have been overlooked in the tank. I am just trying to find out if this is the case also for marine fish.
Response like yours are not very helpful.

[spoiledcats]

I am not seeking to deprive my fish. I know from my own experience and from that of others that FW fish actually benefit from having one or even two fast days a week since it encourages them to clean up any edible material that may have been overlooked in the tank. I am just trying to find out if this is the case also for marine fish.

This may be of less benefit to the fish than the tank owner. A reef tank should include a cleanup crew so that any food reaching the bottom of the tank is cleaned up that day. I don't know how beneficial it is to a fish to eat 'overlooked' material. In any case, although it may not hurt a fish long term to miss a day of food, I wouldn't make a practice of it.

[The Kapenta Kid]

Originally posted by spoiledcats
This may be of less benefit to the fish than the tank owner. A reef tank should include a cleanup crew so that any food reaching the bottom of the tank is cleaned up that day. I don't know how beneficial it is to a fish to eat 'overlooked' material. In any case, although it may not hurt a fish long term to miss a day of food, I wouldn't make a practice of it.

This is all interesting stuff. May I repeat that I am not trying to make things easier for myself at the expense of my fish. I am trying to find out what is best for them. My past experience is with FW species.

If you are prepared to believe me it is widely accepted amongst FW fishkeepers that FW fish benefit from a weekly fast day.

The consensus here appears to be that Reef/Marine fish, apart from major predators like lion fish, do not benefit from such a regime. That is all that I am trying to find out.

[spoiledcats]

Please understand that I am in no way implying that you are trying to make things easier on yourself. You were simply asking a question, and I see that you are trying to find out what is best for the fish. While it may be accepted practice to have a fast day in FW tanks, I would have to see research data to convince me that it is actually beneficial to the fish. I don't know much about FW fish though.

[The Kapenta Kid]

Originally posted by spoiledcats
P While it may be accepted practice to have a fast day in FW tanks, I would have to see research data to convince me that it is actually beneficial to the fish.

Whether it has been researched in a controlled scientific test I know not. But most FW aquarists will report that a fast day a week will result in fish that appear more active and healthy. All subjective stuff of course, but people who have the wellbeing of their fish at heart believe this to be so. They are not trying to cut corners for a cent's worth of fish food.

[spoiledcats]

Originally posted by The Kapenta Kid
Whether it has been researched in a controlled scientific test I know not. But most FW aquarists will report that a fast day a week will result in fish that appear more active and healthy. All subjective stuff of course, but people who have the wellbeing of their fish at heart believe this to be so. They are not trying to cut corners for a cent's worth of fish food.

I hope you don't think I'm suggesting that people are trying to save money by doing this. I just know how certain practices, although in place for a long time in a hobby, are not always right. It may very well be the best thing for the fish-I don't know anything about FW fish like I said. All I'm saying is that if some research existed on it, I would be more convinced that it is the correct thing to do.

[The Kapenta Kid]

Originally posted by spoiledcats
I I just know how certain practices, although in place for a long time in a hobby, are not always right. .

You are certainly correct in that observation. A good site which examines a lot of fishkeeping practices and beliefs critically is
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/
Although it deals only with FW species, there is interesting reading there for any aquarist. The following is what it has to say on natural feeding behavior.

In their natural habitats, fish can survive seasonal variations in the availability of any food at all. "After one dry-season fishing trip on the Rio Madeira [in Brazil, biologist Michael] Goulding analyzed 167 fish and found that not one had significant amounts of food in its stomach," wrote Catherine Caulfield in In the Rainforest, 1985 (paperback 1991, p 244). Of course the dry season does not coincide with the breeding season for most Neotropical fish, partly for this very reason. D. Albrey Arrington of the University of Alabama and his team tallied 38,000 specimens, representing 254 species in North America, Africa and the Neotropics, and noted their stomach contents. Though grazers eat all the time and generally had full stomachs, the predators tended to have empty stomachs-- up to 16% of the total inspected-- especially the fish-eaters. Intensive brood-carers like Cichlids also tend to dine less frequently. (This was in the August 2002 issue of Ecology, reported later in Science News.) Feast and famine is the natural rhythm of predators. All fully-grown fishes thrive on what German fishkeepers call a "starve-day" once a week or so. You may notice, however, after a "starve-day" --or even a "starve-weekend"-- the fishes are noticeably less active, conserving energy, though perfectly healthy.