Feeding Question

lemond68 · Oct 25, 2005

I have been told by my wife to feed my fish once a day, by a one book two times a day and by another three times a day (in small amounts).
Who is correct?
I have a 55 gallon (208.2 L) tank with:

3 clown loaches
1 orange chromide (I think)
1 pleco

THnaks

kimbowee · Oct 25, 2005

I only feed my fish once a day what they can eat in 2-3 minutes. Only when I have fry do I feed more than once a day.

dwarfgourami · Oct 25, 2005

It depends on the species of fish: some big predators may only eat once a week, fish with small stomachs (like guppies) may need twice a day, fry 3-4 times a day.

For most fish, the number of times is probably less important than the overall amount.

With your fish, once a day should be fine. Up to you, really, if you want to give them the whole feed at once or split it up into two helpings. I tried feeding my guppies 3 times a day but gave it up when I realised it made me give them more; I just found myself incapable of handing out such small portions.

One fasting day a week is often a good idea, to give their stomachs a rest.

Clairel · Oct 25, 2005

I feed mine twice a day, once in the morning, and again around tea time....

C x

xander_chookeypud · Oct 25, 2005

Out of all the fish ive had, ive always fed them once a day. I learnt from on here that certain instructions on the back of packs etc can be misleading you to buy more food. Cant more food lead to more toxins e.g. more waste in an unestablished tank? Or is this me trying to think too logically?! -prob reading too far into things again! Anways, I used to have clown loaches n i fed them once a day- enough for them to consume in a couple of mins as has already been suggested. Just increase the amount when they get bigger as im sure you know.

Pidgecbr600rr · Oct 26, 2005

I feed twice a day as per instructions on food,

I'd guess if Food manufacturers want to sell more and once a day was best then they would just say that on the tub and reduce the amount of food u get in a tub or increase the price so they would sell as much anyway.

But i also guess all fish differ and whats good for one isnt so good for another

Besides fish in the wild dont just get one feed a day at a set time

Just my opinion

Paul

dwarfgourami · Oct 26, 2005

xander_chookeypud said:
Out of all the fish ive had, ive always fed them once a day. I learnt from on here that certain instructions on the back of packs etc can be misleading you to buy more food. Cant more food lead to more toxins e.g. more waste in an unestablished tank? Or is this me trying to think too logically?! -prob reading too far into things again! Anways, I used to have clown loaches n i fed them once a day- enough for them to consume in a couple of mins as has already been suggested. Just increase the amount when they get bigger as im sure you know.

Note that feeding more often does not necessarily mean feeding more. You can split it up into smaller portions.

Dubby · Oct 26, 2005

lemond68 said:
I have been told by my wife to feed my fish once a day, by a one book two times a day and by another three times a day (in small amounts).
Who is correct?
I have a 55 gallon (208.2 L) tank with:

3 clown loaches
1 orange chromide (I think)
1 pleco

THnaks

I feed them once a day or once every two days depending on what I have fed them. If they have been fed bloodworms they get a day off to digest it

If its flakes then its once a day. You can imagine that in the wild they would probably go without food for several days.

And feeding them less has its advantages as well - the tank remains clean, the fish eat some of the algae and my nitrates are lower.

consp · Oct 26, 2005

I only feed my fish once a day but on occasions leading up to & just after breeding time I feed them more frequently.

Some people feed their fish more... if you would like to be one of those people make sure you definatly keep on top of water changes, that you have a big filter, and that your tank isn't stocked to the max. The reason I mention tank stocking is because if you already have filled it to maximum capacity and your filter can cope with that waste... It might not be able to cope with the added waste that will be produced from extra feeding.

If you feed your fish more they will grow bigger faster. Lots of people "overfeed" so their fish grow bigger faster.

freddyk · Oct 26, 2005

Note that feeding more often does not necessarily mean feeding more. You can split it up into smaller portions.

You can feed your typical community fish 10 times per day and it would be very healthy for most of them, as long as the portions are suitably small. If you go by, say, 2 minutes per day, then you would do twice for one minute, or 4 times for 30 seconds. It's generally healthiest not to let fish gorge on prepared foods in one sitting, because of how dry and condensed they are.