When is a fish overweight?

[Bling]

I often read "Don't overfeed". Is that just because it fouls water or are fat fish unhealthy? How can you tell if your fish is too fat? I have 2 fish, but one always gets more than her share because she's tamer. So I feel I have to feed more, just so the other can get some. Mostly it's live food, so the water doesn't get dirty, but I'm afraid one of them is getting pretty plump. Any guidelines? Thanks!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

What kind of fish is she? She is probably pregnant...How many fish do you have and how much food do you feed them on a general basis and how often? What kinds of food do you feed your fish?

 

[Def]

It depends what they're overfed on. Overfeeding flake food is the worst of all, because of all the junk it contains. The high protein causes fatty something (and I can't remember what, but I'm thinking liver) which can lead to shortened lifespan. Despite what a lot of people say about fish not having a concept of "hungry" and "eaten enough", I see a behaviour change in all my fish between when they first start eating (hungry) and when they've been eating for a couple of minutes ("eaten enough")

Variety, and in moderation.

 

[Bling]

The fish I'm a little worried about is a female pearl gourami. (I have 5 gobies in a separate tank. They keep eating until they're tummies are round, then I stop feeding, assuming I have extra food, which is rare, since they only eat live things like mosquito larvae)--- but that's off the track. The male gourami has been really shy, and generally doesn't come out until most of the good stuff is gone. So then I put in some flakes --- which I was told was the BEST food (I didn't know it had any junk in it) and of course Miss Mizzy starts sucking that up as well. I don't think she's old enough to have eggs yet, maybe she's 4-5 months old, but then again, I never had a gourami before.