to feed the fish.... or not to feed the fish...?

[R-balljunkie]

how do you contend to feed them, fish food?

i've tried in vain to "feed" fish with store purchased dried pellets.....to no avail. when i was new to diving.

i took a small bag down with me on a dive. opened the bag and all the food floated away, no interest from the fish

last time i tried this. im afraid you wont have much success if you go this route

 

[The Kraken]

Do not feed the fish, unless it's a great white, and in that matter, you may not have much of a choice.

Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents !

the K

 

[willfscubamadeira]

how do you contend to feed them, fish food?

i've tried in vain to "feed" fish with store purchased dried pellets.....to no avail. when i was new to diving.

i took a small bag down with me on a dive. opened the bag and all the food floated away, no interest from the fish

last time i tried this. im afraid you wont have much success if you go this route

Basically, using a big drum and using the fish and parts that the huge fish market here discards and goes to land fill.

Simple version is, A big sealed drum with small holes in for the small fish to go in and out of, mince the food mix and freeze in smaller containers, put containers in the big drum. the big drum would be submerged on a line with a buoy so that way the drum was suspended approx 3m of the sea floor.

My house reef is not a natural formation and has been created by accident with wave breakers and boulders. It is in temperate waters and does not have abundant coral (there is some but it is the colder water type and only makes us less than 1% of the substrate.)

---------- Post added July 6th, 2014 at 01:58 PM ----------

Do not feed the fish, unless it's a great white, and in that matter, you may not have much of a choice.

Safe dives . . . . . .
. . . safer ascents !

the K

Hi Kraken, I know the general consensus will be don't feed the fish... but I want to know more of the why and the why nots....

 

[Kharon]

I wouldn't feed. As a trained biologist I'm really adverse to messing with nature (especially given mankind's record so far). Unintended consequences that can't be reversed abound. There is the problem of increased bacterial growth, drawing species that put the ecosystem out of balance, and other consequences that are less apparent.

Instead of feeding I would try to enhance the physical environment for prey species. You would have to talk to a marine biologist familiar with your ecosystem. I would try using Google Scholar to find papers written about your area and then contact the author's directly. I'm sure they would be willing to help.

 

[shoredivr]

It's a good thing that you are working on protecting the marine habitat.
Dr Bill here on Scubaboard lives on Catalina Island, I think somewhat similar in temperature and topography to where you are, or at least not a coral reef lol.

He may have some suggestions if you PM him.

---------- Post added July 6th, 2014 at 08:25 AM ----------

(Dr Bill is a marine scientist)

 

[willfscubamadeira]

Hi Kharon,

One of my friends on the island is a marine biologist with the marine station out here, so far he's asking the other biologists there to come up with a survey schedule of what to keep an eye on if we do end up feeding the fish. Everything here takes a lot of time, the initial responses from him is that in moderation it could be a good idea.

My reef here is a bit of an experiment zone, we have been able to encourage more predator fish to come and visit the reef and the local very friendly monk seal is spending more time here than anywhere else.

Thanks very much shoredivr for the info about dr. Bill.

 

[beanojones]

how do you contend to feed them, fish food?

i've tried in vain to "feed" fish with store purchased dried pellets.....to no avail. when i was new to diving.

i took a small bag down with me on a dive. opened the bag and all the food floated away, no interest from the fish

last time i tried this. im afraid you wont have much success if you go this route

Fish have to be conditioned to eat any food brought in. Once conditioned, their behavior (and the fish population) gets warped by the introduced food. ANd then when weather, or change in business, means they are not fed what happens then?

Hanauma Bay in Oahu, Hawaii is a place where ongoing fish feeding was/is basically a huge longitudinal experiment. Here's how conditioned the parrotfish got to those little tubes of fish pellets: They could spot the shape in a pocket and would bite through bathing suits to take the whole tube of fish food.

Since there are other tube shaped things in bathing suits you can imagine there could be less pleasant interactions with the wildlife.

On the other hand, go out deeper in Hanauma Bay, or dive just outside by boat and it is a wonderland of fish population. An artifically supported wonderland to be sure but still...

 

[R-balljunkie]

this was a "one off" newbie thing i tried. foolish in hindsight.

 

[ccx2]

I think the only way you should feed fish on the reef is by puking through your reg.

Or an emergency Warhammer Manuver. Some fish seem to love the Meatloaf.:tmi2:

 

[drbill]

I'm a marine biologist. In answering your question it may be difficult to give a truly appropriate response. Although you state that there are fishermen in the area but they fish the outer reef, I do not know if there was any fkshing history on the inshore reef you refer to. If so, the fish population may be slightly depressed. If not, the reef may be at its carrying capacity already and providing more food artificially may actually shift things so the fish eventually over populate the natural capacity of the reef. If so, what happens when the artificial feeding stops?

Also, I've seen situations here on my island where artificial feeding has enhanced certain species only (ones that accept the artificial food being offered) and create unbalanced fish communities. That could also be an unwise result of artificial feeding.