Fish Fasting?

[highfire]

I keep thinking about my feeding regime, and was wondering if some kind person on here could clarify whether I am doing things right, or if I could improve things in any way.
I feed twice a day at the moment, about 9.15am and then again at about 5.00pm. I give flake food, pleco wafers, Tetra Min crisps, sinking catfish pellets, and about twice a weekend they have bloodworm. I also give cucumber and peas as a treat occasionally.
I have read alot about just feeding once a day, and also about fasting them for perhaps 2 days every once in a while.
Am I doing things right with two feeds a day? How about cutting down to once a day, or even fasting? I take it fasting actually does the fish good?
My water stats are on the whole acceptable (perhaps nitrate may be a little higher than I would like), but I'm afraid I don't have the exact figures to hand.
Forgive me if I seem naive here, but when one reads different advice it is difficult to know what advice to heed.
Thanks alot for any help.

 

[sophos9]

Hi

I would space the feeds out more, like 8am and 9pm, fish are happy eating at dusk.

Give them bloodworm every 3-4 days, will help digestive system keep clean

Would also starve your fish for 24hrs once a week

Best advice, is DONT overfeed. 2 sinkers per bottom feeder, 3 flakes per mid-top feeder

I learnt the hard way

HTH

 

[highfire]

Very helpful advice sophos9 - many thanks.
I didn't think about spacing the feeds out a bit, but it makes perfect sense now I think about it.
The only problem I have with feeding two sinkers per bottom feeder is that my golden barbs snap them up at such a rate the loach and flying foxes don't get a look in! I have taken to breaking the sinkers up a bit so that they will - hopefully - be more even distributed.
Also when I feed flakes, the barbs are always there first too. They are greedy little blighters!
Thanks for replying to my question.

 

[mewhorse]

I rarely feed my fish twice I day - only if they make me too guilty (poor starving fishy faces!) I try to feed 3 days, then skip 1, 3 days, skip 1...seems to keep water cleaner, fishes stay at healthy weights with good appetites and look very happy...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i feel once a day, starve day at least once a week.

if you have a greedy fish who hogs all the food, try putting some in for him at one end then while he's scoffing put some at the other end of the tank for the others we do this to get food past my Oscar to the other fish

 

[highfire]

Thanks alot for the tip, mewhorse and Miss Wiggle.
I have decided to cut my feeding down because my nitrate is too high and I'm struggling to get it down.
I shall try and feed my barbs at one end of the tank and see if they will leave the other food alone for the other fish.
Wish me luck!

 

[Boids-n-more]

i agree ans second and third it , feed once a day and set a day aside to fast them. if your nitrates are high just do a water change and that will bring it down.

 

[highfire]

i agree ans second and third it , feed once a day and set a day aside to fast them. if your nitrates are high just do a water change and that will bring it down.

Thanks for the advice. I have made a firm decision to cut down to one feed a day, no matter how much my fish pleed and beg me from inside their tank, with their little hungry mouths and starving eyes!
I did another water change yesterday so I shall keep a close eye on my stats and hopefully my nitrates will come down.

 

[sheree]

Hi,

I feed both my tanks about 5pm every day with an occastional fasting day. I give mine a treat one a week with live food mainly brine shrimp as they seem to like that best. I vary the diet throughout the week between flake & freeze dried but i always put either granules or wafers for the bottom dwellers. They all seem happy and content upto now.