Why Live Food Is Better Than Frozen for Reef Tanks

Feeding your reef is about more than just nutrition — it’s about behavior, absorption, and balance. While frozen foods have their place, live food offers unique advantages that can’t be replicated by defrosted cubes.

Here’s why more reef keepers are switching to live feeds — and what it means for the health of your tank.

1. Natural Feeding Response

Live food moves — and that movement triggers instinctual feeding behavior in fish, coral, and inverts. Picky eaters like mandarins and pipefish often ignore frozen food entirely, but will eagerly chase live copepods or mysid shrimp.

Corals also benefit from suspended zooplankton, extending their polyps more actively during live feedings.

2. No Nutrient Loss

Frozen food starts degrading as soon as it’s processed. Vitamins, enzymes, and fatty acids (like DHA and EPA) oxidize or leach out during freezing and thawing.

Live food maintains its full nutritional profile until the moment it’s consumed — making it more bioavailable and effective.

3. Cleaner Feeding

Frozen foods often include binders and can cloud your water if not rinsed thoroughly. Live plankton is suspended naturally in the water column and gets consumed efficiently, especially by filter feeders.

Well-fed live foods (like rotifers or copepods raised on phytoplankton) also help clean the water by consuming excess nutrients before they're eaten.

4. Improved Tank Stability

Live microfauna like copepods and amphipods can establish populations in your tank, creating a self-sustaining food source. This increases biodiversity and supports the food web long-term.

Frozen food? It’s gone in minutes — and what’s not eaten just rots.

5. Live Food Supports Coral Spawning and Fry

During spawning events or fry development, live food isn’t just better — it’s essential.
Rotifers, enriched phyto-fed copepods, and live mysids match the size, softness, and movement needed for survival at early life stages.

In Summary

Frozen food is convenient, but live food is biologically superior. It’s fresher, more natural, and more effective — especially for sensitive species and coral-dominant tanks.

Whether you’re maintaining a balanced ecosystem or targeting finicky feeders, live food gives your reef the edge.