My fish cant be this hungry, can they?

[Phreaxer]

I have 4 goldfish and a single silver tipped shark in a 10 gallon tank, and it seems to me that whenever I am watching them, they are either at the surface, or at the bottom picking at the gravel. I feed them in the morning and in the evening, but they seem hungry even after eating. And when I feed them, they are at the top right away. I read that if the were unhealthy, then they wouldnt eat, so I am thinking its a good sign that they are eating, but how much should I be feeding them? Are they smart enough not to eat too much?

 

[Pufferpack]

My fish seem to have 3 modes: Sleep, chase,eat...eat seems to be the favorite

 

[Phreaxer]

So I shouldnt be concerned?

What about feeding them too much? Could I be feeding them not enough? Its hard to know....

 

[Pufferpack]

Fish are expert beggers, my puffers eat so much that they will swim around with bloodworm in their mouth for 5 mins because they are too full to swallow....5 mins later they are begging for more food ...It's tough not to indulge them, but they are fine, some would even say 2 times a day is too much

 

[Jamnog]

well i allways feed thusly i put in a small amount and watch the fish they normally wont let it hit the bottom if it does hit the bottom then i ither wait for them to eat it or go off and do something for 5 mins if it is there when i get back (it never is) then i would leave them for an hourand then check but like i say its normally gone so i feed them really untill they have an amount that they dont eat in five mins and then i hoover it up after a while i sort of gauge how much each of them wants to eat. some times i feed them twice a day once in the morning and once at night. most times i think it is best to only feed once a day if there is food being left. they will bicker if they are hungry and i think that when feeding its easyer to see any teritory disputes. i would have to agree with puffer that they often look like they want food when they dont actually need any more the only real way to know if they need food is if they eat it. and different types of fish seem to want more than others and more often thn not they want allot more than they need.

edit: also there is a big difference to the fish as to wether the fish food is sinking to the bottom of on the bottom e.t.c. that is why flakes are so popular imo as they take longer before they make it to the bottom of the tank.