Are they starving?

[seattlefrenchie]

I have a 55gal with 10 fish in it, couple of crabs and a scotter bleny
I feed my tank once in the am (dry food) and once in the pm (one block of frozen food)
But...when I am home during the day, all my fish are begging for more food! :?:
They do their little dance of "feed me feed me"
Are they starving or are they just beggers?
How can I tell?
I heard that overfeeding is not good eventhough I have a cleaner crew.
What do you think?
Margot

 

[Jim]

Thats quite a few fish for a 55.Sounds like enough food to me.

What do you use for filtration on your tank?

 

[seattlefrenchie]

Are they starving

THanks for your answer.
I have am eclipse system. The filtration comes with it.

 

[aquariumdebacle]

The overfeeding that your worried about is the kind where all of the food is not eaten and rots, fouling the tank. It would happen very quickly over a few days at most. Most everything in the tank would die. Your definitely not overfeeding. Just make sure that the food gets eaten by something. It's OK to feed as many times as you want, just feed a little less. Fish are looking for food continually throughout the day. They have come to associate you with food, therefore the "begging."
The two schools of thought on feeding are feeding just enough to keep the animals healthy and feeding as much as they will consume. Feeding less may prolong the animals life. Feeding as much as they will consume is more taxing on the system as a whole and water changes need to be diligent.

 

[Arkman]

just my opinion

but 10 fish (depending on type) may be a bit much for a 55 w/an eclipse. I don't have any experience with an eclipse on SW, but I do currently use one on a FW, and although they are good, they have enough circulation power to "turn" the tank as much as you may need.