Feeding Schedule

[Barry Tetra]

Before I join this forum (I don't even know it's an animal cruelty to buy this fish) I bought balloon mollies and balloon Rams and recently they died daily of bloated belly can anyone help me of the feeding schedule on this balloon fish never buy again. @Colin_T @Byron can you help me

 

[Byron]

Fish should be fed sparingly; they will always appear "hungry" (unless they are sick) but don't need as much food as some think. Once a day,missing a day or two each week, is adequate for mature fish; fry require more frequent feedings to develop properly.

The "balloon" fish frequently die of problems largely due to the internal issues this cruel practice causes.

 

[seangee]

I use the 15 second rule. Any food left after that means I fed too much. I also give them one day off food a week. Currently mine are on a 2 week break in feeding.

 

[Barry Tetra]

Fish should be fed sparingly; they will always appear "hungry" (unless they are sick) but don't need as much food as some think. Once a day,missing a day or two each week, is adequate for mature fish; fry require more frequent feedings to develop properly.

The "balloon" fish frequently die of problems largely due to the internal issues this cruel practice causes.

How to tell if fish have bloated, swollen stomach or swim bladder?

 

[Fishmanic]

I use the 15 second rule. Any food left after that means I fed too much. I also give them one day off food a week. Currently mine are on a 2 week break in feeding.

a two week break...methinks that's a bit too long to go without feeding

 

[seangee]

They usually get that 2-3 times per year, sometimes 3 weeks. Never had a problem yet.

 

[Barry Tetra]

They usually get that 2-3 times per year, sometimes 3 weeks. Never had a problem yet.

Why would you do that though?

 

[seangee]

This time : I'm in Sri Lanka and my fish are in the UK. Its a much better option than having someone come in to overfeed my fish. Have been doing this for years and never lost a single fish. In fact I usually gain a few because when I am not thinning the floating plants there are more places for the fry to hide.

 

[The Lumpfish Guy]

Fish really don't need feeding as much as people think they do. that's why it is really easy to overfeed, as Byron says as long as the light is on and they are healthy ( and sometimes if not) they will eat. It is how they grow fish for food really fast, they keep the light on 24hrs and feed constantly.

I am in the same boat as Seangee, I would rather not feed my fish for 2 weeks than have someone who doesn't know any better overfeeding and not water change or forget and kill everything

 

[utahfish]

In the wild fish are opportunity feeders, they feed when food is available and go periods of time without food. Ive never gone 2 weeks without feeding but i imagine it wouldnt harm the fish.
Having said that RAms and mollies shouldnt be in the same tank. Mollies are hard water fish and rams soft water fish that need temps of atleast 80 which is too warm for mollies

 

[FishGuest5123]

They usually get that 2-3 times per year, sometimes 3 weeks. Never had a problem yet.

What benefit do you find in that? I know in humans that the organs begin to shut down and re-introduction to food has to be done gradually. I do imagine the same for fish. Two weeks seems cruel.

 

[seangee]

What benefit do you find in that? I know in humans that the organs begin to shut down and re-introduction to food has to be done gradually. I do imagine the same for fish. Two weeks seems cruel.

Its not a strategy - I am on holiday.
The benefit is that my fish won't die because a well meaning friend gave them extra because they looked hungry and I wasn't there to change the water. In addition:

• Unlike mammals fish don't use energy to keep warm.
• Most of my fish are omnivores (those that aren't are true herbivores) so there is food, even if its not their favourite
• I know you keep goldfish outdoors (but I don't know what the winter climate is like where you are). I stop feeding my goldfish and koi sometime in October every year once the temp drops below 10C. I don't feed them again until April when the temp gets back above 10C. This is normal and recommended.

There really is no downside to not feeding these fish. After 3 weeks my nitrates are always <10 because the tanks have lots of plants - so I don't stress about the water changes I missed. They are never noticeably thinner when I return.

Carnivores are different - I don't keep any because I enjoy holidays too much

 

[Colin_T]

• Unlike mammals fish don't use energy to keep warm.

Just elaborating on this. Most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for movement and growth.

Whereas mammals use about 70% of the food they eat just to keep a stable body temperature. This means dogs, cats, people and other warm blooded creatures need to eat constantly otherwise their body stops working, gets cold and they die.

Most reptiles take their body temperature from the surrounding environment too and this allows many snakes and lizards to go for months without feeding, simply because any food they eat goes into growing and moving. They aren't wasting food on trying to keep warm.

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Most freshwater fishes in the wild regularly go without food for weeks or months and simply live off fat reserves in their body. Galaxias and a number of other native fishes from the south-west of WA can shut down their stomach when food is scarce but reactivate it so it's fully functional within a few minutes if food becomes plentiful. They can also eat a huge amount of food and their stomach can extend over half the length of their body. This is an evolutionary adaptation that lets them survive long periods of harsh conditions without food, and then a sudden influx of food.

 

[Sarah73]

I have a lot of fish, so I feed almost everyday, skipping a day during the weekend. I feed a pinch to two depending on what I'm feeding. I feed a big chuck of blood worms to my 60 gallon as I have angels, scissor rasboras(rasbora trilineata), angels(pterophyllum), corydoras(mix of albinos, emeralds, bronze orange lasers, blue spotted, etc.), black neon tetras, bristle nose pleco, etc! I got a lot of fish, but anyways you just get used to how much to feed your fish.