How Do I Feed 'em?

[waterdrop]

Live foods are a wonderful occasional variation from the normal baseline flake diet and there are times when lively discussions get going about how to raise various types of live food. Bloodworms are a food that are sometimes discussed and one warning about them is that they should be fed very sparingly so as not to cause intestinal tract problems. Likewise, brine shrimp are a food that fish will go crazy over but the warning is that it can be like junk food for fish and should be only an occasional treat. Frozen tubifex worms are one another treat I find makes an occasional change for the fish. Fluttermoth's post about veggies covers that important area and I agree those should be occasionally offered. I'm not sure whether concerns over cooked meats such as beef or chicken center mostly on intestinal problems or mostly on fat breakdown in the tank causing problems or both. No doubt many larger fish may get fed these treats but its not something I've done myself, even with my Jack Dempseys back in the day.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[dayzofspeed]

the way i feed my fish is mostly flake once a day, dried tubifex once a week with occaisional life food such as daphnea, but i also have a weekly rest day with no food, sunday.....my fish dont like sunday

 

[aquaidoka]

Thanks Fluttermoth! Thanks Dayzofspeed! Thanks WD! Always glad and grateful to see your replies!

 

[aquaidoka]

Ok, bought frozen Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, and Tubifex Worms (all cubes); will develop some schedule and feed occasionally. I hope that in air-proof bags they will be fresh for some time in freezer. Does anybody can comment? How long do those products stay fresh in freezer? Are there some special tricks for storage?

 

[fluttermoth]

They'll keep indefinitely in air-tight wraps in the freezer.

I feed frozen food once a week, some kind of veg on another day and flake on the rest. I don't feed on a sunday.

 

[DavidG]

This is a great topic as we have just finished our fishless cycle and have got our first fish and were wondering how best to feed. We have been giving them flake up until now but having read this topic will vary it a little bit. How come some of you dont feed them one day a week?

 

[aquaidoka]

Thanks, Fluttermoth! I think your scheme is the one I'll adopt.

DavidG, thanks for your appreciation of this topic! Once a week - is way too seldom feeding in accordance to all what I read before, but let pros answer this question.

 

[fluttermoth]

This is a great topic as we have just finished our fishless cycle and have got our first fish and were wondering how best to feed. We have been giving them flake up until now but having read this topic will vary it a little bit. How come some of you dont feed them one day a week?

It's just because it is very easy to over feed fish; aquarium fish are nearly always much fatter than wild caught fish, and having one day a week without feeding helps to prevent them being too over fed.

 

[aquaidoka]

Sorry, DavidG - I read your question too hastily and understood it incorrectly.

 

[waterdrop]

This is a great topic as we have just finished our fishless cycle and have got our first fish and were wondering how best to feed. We have been giving them flake up until now but having read this topic will vary it a little bit. How come some of you dont feed them one day a week?

It's just because it is very easy to over feed fish; aquarium fish are nearly always much fatter than wild caught fish, and having one day a week without feeding helps to prevent them being too over fed.

Agree, there was an interesting bit I read somewhere speculating that many fish species, having evolved in situations of fairly scarce food have never developed any sense of "fullness" (satiety.) We humans find it hard to imagine that I think.

~~waterdrop~~