barb feeding

[myfriendpeter]

i used to have 2 tiger barbs in a small tank, and i always fed them at the same time every day, and they always saw the food and ate it up quickly.

now i have 6 barbs in a 20gal. tank and every time i feed them, none of them really notice that theres food up top, unless some of it gets pushed down by the filter's current.
i also put a chunk of freeze dried worms in and none of them noticed that either...
im hoping my fish arent anorexic, and i dont want them to die from starvation!

*now and then i notice them eating old food from the rocks, but its not a feeding frenzy like in my friend's tank...*

any help would be great, my fish are fun to watch, but im worried for them!

 

[Discomafia]

i used to have 2 tiger barbs in a small tank, and i always fed them at the same time every day, and they always saw the food and ate it up quickly.

now i have 6 barbs in a 20gal. tank and every time i feed them, none of them really notice that theres food up top, unless some of it gets pushed down by the filter's current.
i also put a chunk of freeze dried worms in and none of them noticed that either...
im hoping my fish arent anorexic, and i dont want them to die from starvation!

*now and then i notice them eating old food from the rocks, but its not a feeding frenzy like in my friend's tank...*

any help would be great, my fish are fun to watch, but im worried for them!

what was the size of the other tank? the one with the 2 barbs?

 

[pahansen]

We have two cherry barbs in our tank of five fish (total), and they could really care less about food as well. They've never eaten it off the top of the tank. and I used to take special care to push the flakes into the water near them, hoping they would see it. Now, with more fish, that isn't practical.

They've always eaten the food that was laying on the "floor" (plants, driftwood, whatever), and they seem to be quite healthy and happy. Obviously they must be getting enough food. As long as your barbs are acting normal, I wouldn't worry about it.

-- Pamela

 

[cometcattle]

How often are you feeding them, and how much?

What brand flake?

Do you vary their diet?

If you want to see a feeding frenzy, buy some frozen or live bloodworms and stand back. It will also bring out their colors more.

If you buy frozen, be sure to thaw it first in some tank water. I only buy the Hilkari brand because it is loaded with vitamins and seems to be cleaner than the other brands I've tried.

You should only feed the worms 1-2 feeding a week. They need a balanced diet.

 

[myfriendpeter]

the other tank was only 1.5 gallons, sadly thats why i quickly made this tank upgrade.

ive tried varying their diet with freeze dried tubifex worms, but they havent cared about that either. i try feeding them not too much in the morning and then later in the afternoon about the same amount (im not sure, about a good sized pinch of small food flakes)

ill definately look into the bloodworms, we used to feed those to our newts as well and they loved them, so hopefully these little guys will go crazy over them too.

man i love these forums,

 

[cometcattle]

I would cut their feeding down to once a day.

Be sure to get the frozen or live, the freeze-dried will still float just like your tubi-worms.


Good luck.