Understand the Feeding Habits of Your New Salt Water Aquarium Fish - Home

If you have a beginner salt water fish tank and are wondering what you should learn first to prepare for owning these exotic tropical creatures, it would be wise to first read up on the feeding structures of any fish you have considered buying. All salt water aquarium fish are different, they all have different ways of eating and they also have different foods they prefer. And due to the feeding and territorial behaviors of some fish, these habits might even determine whether you can house certain fish in the same aquarium together. This is why you must learn how a fish feeds before you add it to your fleet of salt water sea creatures.

Many of the species typically found in salt water fish aquariums have evolved highly specialized jaws, mouths and teeth suited to particular kinds of prey. This is one of the first things you might notice when you look at a new type of fish. Some salt water aquarium fish, such as the Butterfly Fish, have evolved protruding mouths that are basically like forceps with fine teeth to nip the coral polyps they eat. Parrot Fish have also evolved an efficient beak-like mouth that is ideal for scraping algae from the surface of hard coral. If you know this fact, you will know that you can have one of these in the tank to keep the algae under control.

Not all of the fish that you will likely have in your beginner salt water fish tank have such evolved feeding structures, but feeding habits should always be a big concern when buying new fish to put in your tank. You should understand what they eat, how much they eat, how often they eat, how territorial they get about their food and what you can give them that they would eat in nature. There is still much to learn about this fascinating group of fishes and the adaptations that have collectively made them such a diverse and successful part of the reef fauna, but their eating habits have pretty much been figured out.

When you know how your new fish eat, you can create a better environment for them in your new aquarium. It is one of the most important parts of this beautiful hobby.

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