What Do You Feed And When?

[Blobfish]

I was just wondering what people feed their fish, how frequently, what part of the day and if and how you rotate your foods.
 
Frankly, I don't know why I feed the stuff and the way I do.  It's just evolved over time.  The fish seem to like the food and I guess it's mainly habit when they are fed,  I like to watch them eat so it's when I have time to sit and watch.  So I was interested to hear what everyone else does to see if I can do anything better.

 

 

[Flubberlump]

I feed a mixture of food in the evening. Usually flake, catfish pellets, cichlid pellets and algae wafers. About once a week they get frozen food - daphnia, artemia, bloodworm, cyclops or tropical mix. I occasionally put in some blanched courgette or broccoli stalk. They've been getting some live microworms and baby brine shrimp recently as I'm raising some corydora fry so I have the cultures going for them.

I like to watch them eat too. There's lots of activity going on and it's a good opportunity to make sure that everyone is healthy and eating. I love watching them eat the algae wafer. There are usually several cories, kuhli loaches and tetras all crowded around it together. When I had my apistogramma he used to join in too. They're all so peaceful, it makes me smile

What do you feed?
It might be worth asking one of the mods to move this to the tropical discussion section. It's more relevant so you'll get more replies there

 

[fluttermoth]

It might be worth asking one of the mods to move this to the tropical discussion section. It's more relevant so you'll get more replies there

 
No sooner said than done

 

[Blobfish]

 

It might be worth asking one of the mods to move this to the tropical discussion section. It's more relevant so you'll get more replies there

 
No sooner said than done

 

 
I'm so sorry, that's exactly where I intended to post it, where did it end up?

 

 

[sawickib]

I feed so many different foods its not even funny. I usually only feed once a day, sometimes skipping days intentionally.
 
So my staple food is hikari sinking carnivore pellets, but i also having 2 types of sinking catfish pellets, a homemade earthworm/blackworm pellet, 3 types of flakes, new life spectrum sinking pellets, some smaller sinking pellets, some algae wafers, and lastly for those is some turtle floating pellets that some of my other fish still eat haha.
 
I also feed a LARGE amount of frozen/fresh fish/invertebrates, which consist of jack, snook, red fish, clams, scallops, squid, octopus, tilipia, mussels, crawfish, shrimp, really small clams i caught for my puffer fish, and lastly if i even got it all is snails. So yea i really try to divvy up the foods, however the most expensive foods are the shrimp and hikari, but those are the staples i use.

 

[Blobfish]

I feed a mixture of food in the evening. Usually flake, catfish pellets, cichlid pellets and algae wafers. About once a week they get frozen food - daphnia, artemia, bloodworm, cyclops or tropical mix. I occasionally put in some blanched courgette or broccoli stalk. They've been getting some live microworms and baby brine shrimp recently as I'm raising some corydora fry so I have the cultures going for them.

I like to watch them eat too. There's lots of activity going on and it's a good opportunity to make sure that everyone is healthy and eating. I love watching them eat the algae wafer. There are usually several cories, kuhli loaches and tetras all crowded around it together. When I had my apistogramma he used to join in too. They're all so peaceful, it makes me smile

What do you feed?
It might be worth asking one of the mods to move this to the tropical discussion section. It's more relevant so you'll get more replies there

 
 
My oscar just has Hikari Gold as it is the only thing he will eat, I'm not happy about this.  He was bought up on lots of different foods but he gradually went off everything but the pellets.  Actually, he does still eat the various moths, spiders etc that I catch around the place but any fresh fish, shrimp etc he ignores.

My shell dwellers have either Astax crumb or Golden Pearl Reef and Larval food and the odd feed of earthworm sticks.  They have brineshimp along with the other tanks when I can hatch it - generally over the summer months.

My other tanks are bottom heavy, mainly with whiptails who love Vitalis (formerly New Era) Plec Pellets.  One tank has ricefish and they are happy to peck at pellets too.  I've just got around to making some food so that will replace the pellets for a few months, it is fresh fish, shrimp and mussels with lots of green veg and oddments of foods I had.  They get a meaty stick feed once or twice a week-ish.  The two other tanks have some mid to top swimmers - tetra, panchax, harlequins, rainbow fish and such.  I put something like a bit of flake, Astax crumb or GP food in for them usually.  Not if I feed the meaty sticks as those break down quickly and put a lot of particles in the water column.  I've a whole fleet of Dwarf Chain Loach on one tank but they eat any and all of the food I put in, likewise the corys seem happy with the whiptails diet.  They do have days when I don't feed them.  They have brineshimp when I have some.  I rarely feed fresh vegetables but feel I should.

I feed once a day (apart from the oscar who usually has two feeds), usually  little before lights off in the evening - basically when I have time to watch them.  I'm always buying food to try so I have a cupboard stuffed with all sorts.  I worry the little fish perhaps need to be fed more than once a day.

What I would like is to have a feeding schedule written down so I don't have to try and remember which tank had what and when and OH can feed them properly if I'm away.  I guess that is what I hoped to get out of this discussion.  It is interesting to know other peoples thoughts, experiences and ideas too.
 

 

[fluttermoth]

My oscar just has Hikari Gold as it is the only thing he will eat, I'm not happy about this.  He was bought up on lots of different foods but he gradually went off everything but the pellets.  Actually, he does still eat the various moths, spiders etc that I catch around the place but any fresh fish, shrimp etc he ignores.

Oscars can be the very devil for doing this. For his own good, you might well have to 'starve him into submission'; keep offering the healthy foods and do not give in and give him pellets. This may take a couple of weeks, but you will get there. Sadly, I've found most oscars are far more strong willed than their owners, so they usually win and get given pellets, but it's not a good diet for them, as you're aware! My last oscar went through the same phase; he used to swim up to the food, gaze at it mournfully, then turn away and lie down on his side as if he was dying, the drama queen (he used to do the same performance at water change time as well

).
 
I feed most of my tanks once a day, when I switch the light on. My staple food is a high protein granule or crisp (I've never had fish that liked flake), plus meat based catfish pellets and the occasional algae wafer, blanched veggie, frozen bloodworm or brine shrimp. I also have freeze dried daphnia, as it's one of the few things that stays floating for long enough for my marbled hatchets.
 
The 55l cube that sits next to my bed ( ) has some really small and shy dwarf emerald danios and shrimps, so I feed those a couple of times a day; once along with everyone else when I put the lights on (usually around tea time) and again when I go to bed to read, so I get to see them properly

 

[Zante]

Reef at home: In the morning when I wake up and in the evening before the lights start getting dimmer. I feed granules taken randomly from three or four different types to keep variety, with occasionally some frozen food. Once every other day an algae sheet for the tangs and the foxface
 
Freshwater shrimp tank: once a day, after I get back from work. Either an algae wafer or a pinch of shrimp granules
 
Discus tank: when I get up in the morning a block of home made food and in the evening, when I get back home frozen food.
 
Reef on my desk at work: three times a day a mix of different granules and frozen food.
 
Local rock pool tank at work: same as the reef on my desk.

 

[Blobfish]

 

My oscar just has Hikari Gold as it is the only thing he will eat, I'm not happy about this.  He was bought up on lots of different foods but he gradually went off everything but the pellets.  Actually, he does still eat the various moths, spiders etc that I catch around the place but any fresh fish, shrimp etc he ignores.

Oscars can be the very devil for doing this. For his own good, you might well have to 'starve him into submission'; keep offering the healthy foods and do not give in and give him pellets. This may take a couple of weeks, but you will get there. Sadly, I've found most oscars are far more strong willed than their owners, so they usually win and get given pellets, but it's not a good diet for them, as you're aware! My last oscar went through the same phase; he used to swim up to the food, gaze at it mournfully, then turn away and lie down on his side as if he was dying, the drama queen (he used to do the same performance at water change time as well

).
 
I feed most of my tanks once a day, when I switch the light on. My staple food is a high protein granule or crisp (I've never had fish that liked flake), plus meat based catfish pellets and the occasional algae wafer, blanched veggie, frozen bloodworm or brine shrimp. I also have freeze dried daphnia, as it's one of the few things that stays floating for long enough for my marbled hatchets.
 
The 55l cube that sits next to my bed (

) has some really small and shy dwarf emerald danios and shrimps, so I feed those a couple of times a day; once along with everyone else when I put the lights on (usually around tea time) and again when I go to bed to read, so I get to see them properly

 

 
Thank you for your input Fluttermoth.  How long do you think an Oscar can go without food?  He maybe getting a companion soon which might make a difference to his attitude over food.
 

Reef at home: In the morning when I wake up and in the evening before the lights start getting dimmer. I feed granules taken randomly from three or four different types to keep variety, with occasionally some frozen food. Once every other day an algae sheet for the tangs and the foxface
 
Freshwater shrimp tank: once a day, after I get back from work. Either an algae wafer or a pinch of shrimp granules
 
Discus tank: when I get up in the morning a block of home made food and in the evening, when I get back home frozen food.
 
Reef on my desk at work: three times a day a mix of different granules and frozen food.
 
Local rock pool tank at work: same as the reef on my desk.

 
Thank you Zante.  Does your desk reef tank and the rock pool tank get fed three times a day through boredom or does it need it?  If it's not strictly necessary, do you think the fish do any better for the more regular feedings?

 

[NickAu]

 
Sadly, I've found most oscars are far more strong willed than their owners, so they usually win

Bettas are just as bad.
 
I feed the Big tank once a day, and its the quick or the hungry approach I use a community mix to feed the Tetras Rasboras Zebra Danios  and a male Molly that I cant catch. Its a mix of Tropical Flake Vegeterian flake Cichlid Flakes sinking Micro pellets New Life spectrum Dainichi Discus  pellets bits of dried cherry shrimp dried brine shrimp, I just put it all in a jar and shake gently for a few minutes till its all mixed up. 3 decent pinches feeds 60 small fish. And thats all they get till the next day so they have to get in fast or they may miss out.  If you ever saw a school of fish in a feeding frenzy on TV? Well thats what it looks like, Fish darting everywhere like mad. In my opinion this is good.
 
My Clown Loaches get fed at the other end of the tank the same way,  They also get to pick up any food the small fish miss by looking for it in the substrate like they are meant too.
In that tank the only fish that gets special feeding delivered to his door is my male BN when he is looking after eggs, I always leave food in front of his cave and put a few bits of blood worm in the cave so the other fish dont get it.
 
In my 2 foot tank I feed the Kuhli Loaches Shrimp and Snails  the same community mix small pinch once a day.
 
Both tanks get fed a verity of frozen food and 3 times a week I put in some fresh veg.
 
Someone once said " A hungry tank is a healthy tank" and I am a firm believer in this.
 
As for my Betta lets not go there, all I can say is I am a well trained human who obeys his Betta overlord.

 

[Zante]

 

Reef at home: In the morning when I wake up and in the evening before the lights start getting dimmer. I feed granules taken randomly from three or four different types to keep variety, with occasionally some frozen food. Once every other day an algae sheet for the tangs and the foxface
 
Freshwater shrimp tank: once a day, after I get back from work. Either an algae wafer or a pinch of shrimp granules
 
Discus tank: when I get up in the morning a block of home made food and in the evening, when I get back home frozen food.
 
Reef on my desk at work: three times a day a mix of different granules and frozen food.
 
Local rock pool tank at work: same as the reef on my desk.

 
Thank you Zante.  Does your desk reef tank and the rock pool tank get fed three times a day through boredom or does it need it?  If it's not strictly necessary, do you think the fish do any better for the more regular feedings?
 

 
They are better off with more frequent smaller feedings. Since I'm around to do that I feed them three times a day. Note: they don't get fed at all when I'm on holiday or on weekends.

 

[fluttermoth]

Thank you for your input Fluttermoth.  How long do you think an Oscar can go without food?  He maybe getting a companion soon which might make a difference to his attitude over food.

An oscar can easily, easily go without eating for a fortnight. That's why you have to have nerves of steel to starve them out; it's usually the owner, after a week or ten days or so, who gives in because they're worried the fish will literally starve.
 
And, of course, most oscars will know how to give you the old puppy dog eyes, and the "but I'm weak, mummy, look at me, I can barely raise a fin. I think I might die unless I have some pellets" act 

 

[AbbeysDad]

I have a 60g community tank and feed once or twice a day with Omega One Tropical or Veggie flakes. I like Omega One because it does not use fishmeal and grain/gluten binders like many foods out there. I have also used Almost Natural which is also made with fresh fish. I've noticed that with these higher quality foods, the fish have far less excrement! (I believe the fish can't process the grain [after all they don't eat corn or rice in the wild] so it just passes through).
Now and again I'll augment with frozen brine shrimp. 

 

[Flubberlump]

I have a 60g community tank and feed once or twice a day with Omega One Tropical or Veggie flakes. I like Omega One because it does not use fishmeal and grain/gluten binders like many foods out there. I have also used Almost Natural which is also made with fresh fish. I've noticed that with these higher quality foods, the fish have far less excrement! (I believe the fish can't process the grain [after all they don't eat corn or rice in the wild] so it just passes through).
Now and again I'll augment with frozen brine shrimp.

This makes a lot of sense. The same goes for cats, dogs and various other animals (although I haven't studied fish nutrition in too much detail.) The same principle applies to my cats' food - more meat for protein, less indigestible fibre, less poo. Always a good thing Also, although these foods are more expensive to buy, they work out the same or sometimes cheaper in the long run, as the animals get the nutrition they need from a smaller amount of food so the bag (or pot in this case) lasts longer.

I suppose in the case of a community tank the challenge would be to make sure that there was enough food to go around make sure that everyone got some. My tetras and lampeye killis are greedy little things.