My fish just got fed A LOT of peas

[GothFishKeeper]

Okay so I originally thought my platy was pregnant, but it’s been well over a month since she’s been so big so I’m pretty sure she has bloat. I heard that feeding fish peas would help bloat, so I thawed a handful of frozen peas in water and dropped a few in. Then I went out for a couple hours, and when I came back home, they were pretty much untouched other than a couple that had the skin broken before I put them in. So I squished the few that were left and my fish (14 fish total minus fry) ate them all in an instant, not leaving any for my platy. So I took the cup that they were thawed in, smashed the rest while in the cup, and dumped it in. I didn’t realize, however, that there were dozens of peas left in that cup still. They’re currently going nuts for these peas, but I’m worried that something could go wrong in feeding so many peas. I read that the skin is bad for them but I also read that it isn’t from a different source. Do I take the peas out? Do I let them eat them over time? What do I do?? Picture of the mess here:

 

[Naughts]

That's a lot lol. Take them out, a tube or hose to syphon them will make it quicker.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Yeah, I'd just siphon most of them off the gravel. Too much of a good thing!

 

[Seisage]

Have fun with your new aquarium plants! They fit right in with their nice vivid green. Do keep an eye out for melting though. Peas are usually grown emersed, so they'll likely melt back and regrow with a slightly different growth pattern. They make great ground cover once established though.

 

[GaryE]

Peas are used as a folk remedy for fish constipation. A lot of our processed foods are low in fibre. It's really important to look at the nutritional breakdowns.
Most fish eat what's there. If they eat insects, they eat the whole thing, crunchy bits and all. If they eat algae or aufwuchs, they eat whatever small creatures are living in it - high roughage. Bones, scales, exoskeletons, wings, fibrous plant parts, stems, shells - great stuff to them.

A lot of processed food, especially older ones were really low in fibre, with no crunch. With no roughage to help food go through, goldfish keepers sensibly resorted to feeding peas, and somehow that became a hack for insect eating Bettas. The Bettas are often raised in antibiotics to force growth, and arrive with messed up gut floras. That leaves them very vulnerable to bloat and gut blockages. Once they establish healthy gut bacteria, they need roughage. Live mosquitoes, their food of choice, are not 1% fibre.

Platys pick at algae. I've seen them in Belize, working their way along sunken wood, picking, picking and picking. They eat a lot of larvae, invertebrates and creatures in the algae, as well as the algae itself. Bug larvae spirulina flake mixes work well for them.

 

[Back in the fold]

I always get puzzled when people talk about feeding their fish peas but now I get it after reading this thread . That Sailfin Mollie in the picture found himself a nice algae substitute to eat .