Feeding FW fish

[jhenslee4]

Ok someone mentioned over feeding fish to me--so i thought i would start a thread to hear what more of you think..
This makes me feel like a DA for asking--
How much should 6-7 FW fish be fed?
And where do you turn the filter down...:hillbilly:

[ponderbc]

Wel lI feed my fish 3 times a day and they say you shouldnt feed them anymore than what they can eat within 2 or 3 minutes. Whatever they dont finish you hsould scoop out of the tank

[ElijahTurtle]

I would feed them what they can consume in about 3-4 minutes once a day, then the same amount 2 times a day every other day, then once a week skip a day completely. Feed a little bit then wait then feed a bit more, watch them & stop feeding when they start slowing down on chasing the food. You'll get the hang of it in a couple of days, when you figure out how much they will completely consume. It's also a good time to observe your fish for any signs of weakness or illness, since they should all be out chasing food around.

This is how I feed my fish:
Schedule:
Day 1 - 1x
Day 2 - 2X morning/evening
Day 3 - 1X
Day 4 - 2X morning/evening
Day 5 - 1X
Day 6 - 2X morning/evening
Day 7 - Skip Day

[Good Wolf]

I actually only feed every other day. Everyone has their own schedule based on what they want out of their fish. I'm a bit over stocked so I'm not looking for rapid growth. Also the more you feed the more they poo.

Fish can go a couple of weeks without food and typically in the wild they will go days without it and the stuff their bellies when a meal presents itself.

As long as you don't have a lot of food rotting on your substrate you aren't feeding them too much and in my opinion as long as you feed them every few days you aren't feeding them too little.

I also recommend a variety of food from the start. If you only feed them one food they may get picky and not want other foods. Just like us they need a blanced diet in order to be healthy.

I feed a mix of fresh vegies, flakes, several differnt types of pellets, frozen brine shrimp, dried brine shrimp, live brine shrimp, frozen store bought shrimp, frozen blood worms and every once in a while I'll throw in a couple dozen ghost shrimp for the serpaes and loaches.

[jhenslee4]

Ok so I saw today my 9 year old feeding the fish.((sigh))
I have been feeding them too. Would this kill fish> and would it show up in the water when tested?What I feed is hardly anything--maybe -1/2 tsp of granules (total guesstimate)

We have the granules for food--we used to feed the flakes but they would float around and stick flat to a deco and the fish would not get it--the pleco did at some point i guess.

I dont feed them and watch them eat---if I do they hide. I am thinking I need more fish that hang out around the top or middle. I just have the 2 black skirted mollies and a neon towards the top/middle section of the tank. Then 2 tiny catfish--1 pleco 'tiny'--then the huge pleco that poos up the whole tank. Should he eat the granules and the algae things I put in there for him too? Could both of them make him poo too much?

**I really feel like I should scrap the whole tank and have some of ya'll over to help me start from scratch. My brain feels od'ed with info which is great--but geez I feel so inadequate.:(

jhenslee4 added 1 Minutes and 4 Seconds later...

Ok what veggies do you feed?
Do you just let the veggie float around??

[guppyfreak2]

:(i would a least a water change and yes it can kill them

guppyfreak2 added 3 Minutes and 46 Seconds later...

what is a black skirted mollies:confused:

[xtc]

over feeding will throw your tank out of balance and kill fish. Feed them less than you are now- by half. The "wad" of food should not be larger than your smallest fish- hopefully, you have something small like a neon in there.

I feed mine twice- and often fail to do the evening feeding.

Don't worry about turning down your filter- it's fine to be left on.

Veggies- cucumber rubber banded to a rock for a pleco or a wide variety of other fish. you can do lettuce microwaved for 10-13 seconds also. There are others, start there with your tired head.

slow down the process by window shopping- not buying. Listen and make mental notes at every chance.

Feed less-

[spxsk]

Do you have a gravel vacuum for water changes? if not, go get one now and clean up your gravel really well. do this until you have 1/3 - 1/2 of the water out of the tank, replace with new dechlorinated water, and then feed as XTC recommends. I skip a day, usually more than one day per week. The fish thrive on this. The suggestion to skip a day every week, and cut what you are feeding them by half are both great. The other suggestion I would make is to have one person alone responsible for feeding. This will eliminate overfeeding 9 times out of 10. I know when I was growing up, feeding the fish was a reward.

[tsunderl]

Good rule of thumb that I've always followed is that their tummies are about the size of their eyes. Dunno if that's true, but I was told that a few moons ago and it's worked for me... So far.

[budwick weiser]

wow... this is news to my ears too... glad someone started this thread.

[jhenslee4]

Hey thanks everyone.
We also have found someone to take our pleco.
So thats a good thing for our tank...and us.
I already told the guy about this forum...lol
Just met him on the phone--blabbed about the forum.
Anyway thanks for the info---I am writing it down
in my "fish spiral book" so I can always go back and
reference.
:cool:

[ElijahTurtle]

...I am writing it down in my "fish spiral book" so I can always go back and reference.:cool:
WTG! You've already gained a valuable concept that alot of aquarist use. I know many serious fish breeders keep meticulous logs to trak & maintain breeding integrity & alot of Reef keepers have meticulous tank logs, some even have controlers that log the data onto their computers for them & are accesible from anywhere on the internet.
Personally I'm not that orgainized.

[jhenslee4]

So..I'm smart!!???:hillbilly:

[radioaktiv]

there are a lot of different methods of feeding, but you just have to find the one that best suits you, your fish, and your tank space.

like was said, the more you feed, the more they poo.

i personally am in a 'power-feeding' stage with my fish trying to get maximum growth. but that also means i have to clean up the tank every day.

for a little better 'beginner' low-maintenence setup, you might only feed every 2-3 days (if you're not concerned with growing out). as was said fish can go weeks without eating in most cases, so dont be afraid that you're starving them by making them wait a couple of days.

i know a lot of beginner keepers (and especially the young'ns) that ive been around are afraid the fish are going to go hungry, so they just continually feed them.

[Haiven]

I'm a sucker for "the look" so I have fat dogs. Fish not only give me the look, they also do the "feed me" dance. You can well imagine that my YoYo loaches are so fat that their tummies swing.

[guppyfreak2]

we need pics of the yoyo's

[kSpieler]

Hee, my fish go ape-chit crazy whenever I stop and look in their tank ... they all suck in their tummies and shake around like they haven't seen food in months! ... so I just HAVE to drop a pinch of spirulina flake in for them ... I have even caught the hub tossing them a treat!

I had an issue with folks feeding my Crazy Khulis at work ... almost half a jar of shrimp pellets in a little over two weeks ... I eventually had to lock up all the fish food so they couldn't get to it ... the Khulis try to show them where I hide the keys ... but luckily no one else here speaks fish :eek:

[EAST_TX_RN]

I stab a slice of zucchini on a fork and put it in my tank. Makes it easier to to pick up the next day and the weight of the fork holds it down at the bottom. I feed mine a variety of foods twice a day, just enough that it disappears in a couple of minutes.

[jhenslee4]

I'm a sucker for "the look" so I have fat dogs. Fish not only give me the look, they also do the "feed me" dance. You can well imagine that my YoYo loaches are so fat that their tummies swing.
__________________

LOL! I am too.
We used to have NPGA reg. pygmy goats--we took them to a couple shows and everytime they told me "Your goats are a little too round" I challenged the judge once and said "How do you figure he is too fat??" She had someone hold our buck at a side view--she said "See that poking out behind him?--Thats his stomach pushing his balls back" I just stood there with a :wha:..:confuzeld:.LMAO We do not have them anymore--since I was on pregnancy bedrest--but I do have a fat 14 year old Rottie.

[bra8ndy8]

I had a PHAT Pygmy!! He would go to the pantry....and get a bag of ANYTHING with Cheese...(cheetos, Cheese nips)!! I also have pics of him Easter Egg hunting with my son when he was 4, he would would pick up the plastic eggs and drop them and eat the candy out!! LOL