We can learn from ourselves when it comes to fish feeding, I think. We're warm blooded, so our nutritional needs are different from those of a cold blooded fish. They don't have to keep an internal fire burning.
But we're generally hard wired to over eat, in anticipation of that incoming famine. Biologically, we're scavengers and hunter gatherers, and we're always ready to over scavenge, over hunt and over gather in case of hard times ahead. Our fish will pig out on an entire bug, or a newly found cache of algae or plant matter if they can, because they can go days without finding a steady supply. If you're a wild Betta, mosquitoes don't arrive on a schedule.
I intentionally vary my feeding times, and try to feed with stealth. I have no tanks with fish that beg at the glass. The food is delivered in different places in the tank at different times. I try not to train my fish.
If I'm bored, I eat badly compared to when I'm doing things I like. I project that on to my fish. I talk to people who've been in prison and when they're in, they seem to enjoy eating and drama. If I see my fish hovering for food and aimlessly fighting, I need to make changes. A larger tank. More water flow. A larger group of their species in some cases. I have to improve their set up, not feed them more. If they reward me by ignoring me and going about their lives, I feel I'm on the right track.
Prepared foods can be rich, and low in fiber. Live food is usually very full of fiber, and can take hours to catch to eat. I use it as much as I can. If I were a zoo animal and my keeper threw me big macs every day, I would be sluggish and miserable pretty quickly. So even without live food, some flake, some frozen, some freeze dried...
If I get out doing a project, in the garden, the fishroom, the community, whatever, I don't eat like I do cooped up in the house in the dead of winter. I'll forget to eat for an entire day. I'm too busy enjoying other things to notice. If you show up with a plate of food, I'll stop and enjoy it, but I won't plan for it, or wait. I'm engaged and busy and I only eat to live at those times. So I like to think fish live something similar. If food presents itself, it's gone. If it doesn't, they're busy. No regular meal times, varied offerings, as little association of seeing their keeper meaning food as possible (wander by many times without food to check them out), varied amounts. With a big tank, appropriate tankmates and a decor set up for their needs, they won't spend all day watching for the arrival of The Great Shadow and for the scattering of ultra fattening, ultra processed Costco lasagnas on the surface.
Over feeding shortens our lives and reduces the range of what we can do. It's the same for fish. I don't eat as well as
@gwand, but probably about as often. I'm going out across the savannah later where I expect to find the still warm carcass of a freshly baked cheese bread loaf, baked by a small lion lady with an odd mane, in a seaside village. Don't worry, I'll save some for the rest of my pack.
