Clownfish are popular fish to keep as pets, and you can also call them anemones. They are saltwater fish, and the good thing about them is that they are omnivores.
This means that they are not picky eaters, and their diet shouldn’t be a problem. You only need to combine a vegetarian diet and some meat in their feeding plan.
Even though feeding them is no biggie, the food you feed them should be of high quality, so they can grow well. You can get the best food for clownfish pretty easily, and once you have them, you can figure out a feeding plan that works for them.
Check out these best food for your clownfish.
Best Food For Clownfish
Since clownfishes are omnivores, you can feed them varieties of food. They can eat veggies, pellets, meat, frozen foods, and more.
Clownfish in their natural habitats eat food like fish eggs, algae, larvae, copepods, and more, so you can switch that up and/or incorporate it into their diet.
The following are the best food for clownfish:
1. Live meaty fish food
One thing you shouldn’t miss in your clownfish diet is live meaty food because they eat this in their natural habitat. And thankfully, these things are not so difficult to get for your clownfish.
You can feed them shrimps like krill, Mysis, and brine. This helps them familiarize themselves with their new habitat.
2. Frozen fish food
Another food you can feed your clownfish is frozen fish food. You can chop different foods into tiny bits and freeze them until you can feed your anemones.
Here are some nice frozen fish foods:
Bloodworms: Though they are mainly baitfish, you can feed bloodworms to clownfish. They give your fish a lot of protein; however, you should be careful not to overfeed your fish with them.
Shrimp: You can also feed your fish frozen shrimps. You need to cut the shrimp into smaller chunks before putting them in the tank.
Cooked mussels: Mussels are good protein sources for fish, and you can make them as a supplement in your clownfish diet. This food is ideal for adult anemones.
Squid: Squids are another bait food for fish, and you can add them to your clownfish diet. Ensure you clean them and cut them to biteable sizes before feeding your anemones.
Shredded octopus: You can also feed your fish some shredded octopus once in a while.
3. Vegetables
Clownfish can eat vegetables. Some of that in their diet will do their health a lot of good. You would be amazed to know that you can feed them some of the veggies you consume.
You would need to cut the vegetables properly and cook some so that your fish can chew easily. Some vegetables to feed clownfish are:
Nori: Clownfishes enjoy nori seaweed, even more in its natural state than in pellets. Instead of leaving nori floating in the tank, you can attach it to a clip outside the tank or tie it to a rock inside.
Spinach: Add cooked spinach to clownfish vegetable foods options. As long as you cook them well, your anemones will eat them.
Chard: Another vegetable you can feed clownfish is chard.
Spirulina: Spirulina is rich in protein, and if you feed it to your fish, you’ll notice a vibrancy increase in the anemone’s color.
4. Marine fish pellets
The Clownfish diet wouldn’t be complete without some pellets. Most fish will eat pellets well, and some aquarists make them their fish’s main food.
These are nice marine fish pellets are for clownfish:
Hikari Fish Food: Hikari is one of the popular fish food pellets, and the pellets will be a good addition to your anemone’s diet.
New Life Spectrum marine fish pellets: This pellet product contains many nutritional ingredients like seaweed, kelp, garlic, squid, omega-3 fish oil, and more. It is highly proteinous and good for your fish.
Ocean Nutrition Formula Two: This is a highly-proteinous slow-sinking pellet food for clownfish. It doesn’t cloud the water and contains fresh seafood, kelp, garlic spirulina, and more.
Live foods: You can feed your breeding clownfish some live foods and, of course, your other anemones as well. This can be tricky because some fish can run away from living foods while others consume them.
However, if you cut them into small bite-sized pieces, your fish should eat them. Some live food options for your clownfish are:
- Earthworms
Earthworms can be tasty to clownfish. While some will not eat them, others can, and you can make them more easily consumable. Wash them properly, cut them into small bits, and put them in your aquarium.
And if you notice your fish didn’t eat them, you need to remove them quickly before polluting the tank.
- Blackworms
Another live food to feed clownfish is blackworms. You can order some online and keep them in your fridge, or you can culture them. Ensure you clean them well before feeding your fish.
- Amphipods and copepods
You can feed clownfish amphipods and copepods. You can get them from local pet stores and feed them to your anemones once weekly. Try them out in the pond first and see if your fish will enjoy them.
- Mosquito larvae
Mosquito larvae are food in clown fish’s natural habitat, and feeding them to your fish makes them feel at home. You can breed mosquito larvae in stagnant water, and they thrive more during warmer temperatures.
They can’t survive for long in saltwater tanks, so you don’t have to worry about them breeding in your fish aquarium. More importantly, your fish will enjoy them.
Feeding Tips For Your Clownfish
You need to be cautious when feeding your clownfish. While you may feel like dumping the food in the aquarium and going your way, feeding anemones is more than that.
Regardless of how tiring it can be, ensure you:
- Watch the smaller clownfish in your aquarium and feed them near the safety zone (a small area in the tank) because they are usually there.
- Feed your anemone in specific spots in your aquarium where there isn’t much water flow. This makes feeding them easier for you.
- Add cleanup crews like starfishes, snails, or crabs in the aquarium to remove uneaten food in the tank to prevent algae and ensure that the water is clean.
When To Feed Clownfish?
Deciding when to feed your clownfish depends on the size of your fish. Adult anemones don’t need to eat so much, so you can feed them twice daily. You can also feed them once, but that can slow down their growth.
For younger clownfishes, you can feed them three to four times daily. Another thing is that you shouldn’t put too much food in the aquarium at once.
Only give them enough food that they can devour in three minutes or less. If you intend to feed them just once, then you can add enough for five minutes. Then, ensure you remove uneaten food quickly.
Conclusion:
Clownfishes are wonderful saltwater creatures, and growing them is easy, partly because they are omnivores and not picky eaters. Getting the best food for clownfish is even easier because they eat most fish food available.
What they eat ranges from vegetables, pellets, flakes, live foods, meat, frozen foods, and others. You should introduce the food to them early enough and watch how well they consume them.
If they don’t eat them, then you should stop feeding them. In addition, you should only feed them a quantity they can finish in three minutes, so leftovers don’t cloud the tank and mess it up.
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