Am I Starving my Angel Fish?

[amyb_70]

I am still new at this aquarium, fish and plant keeping hobby. I have a couple Angel fish that I have had for a few months now (maybe 2 - 4 months). I am concerned that I am not feeding the Angels and Platys enough, they always act like they are always hungry. They are both amazing fish, when i walk up to the fish tank they greet me and start to beg for food. My concern is that they seem like they are so hungry you'd think i hadn't fed them in days. I am worried about overfeeding them. I am more used to guppies who just hang out, and eat when i feed they are just kinda there. I don't follow the rule of what they can eat in 5 minutes because i think they would just continue to eat until they blew up like balloons. Here's the things i feed them: tropical flakes aprox 1 tbsp , chichlid pellets aprox 1 tsp , bloodworms aprox 1/2 tsp, and i tried baby shrimp but they dont seem fond of that. I try and mix up what i feed to keep them healthy.I normally feed them 2 of the 3 in the morning and then again at night. I have 2 growing Angles and 4 Platy (1 maybe 2 that is either carrying fry or really fat.. What do you think over feeding or underfeeding? I am very fond of the Angels for some reason and I hate to screw up being a newbie and kill them from feedings.

 

[Tolak]

Healthy angels will always act hungry. A fish's stomach is about the size of its eye, count eyes & feed accordingly. From what you've posted you are in no way underfeeding them, many folks will fast their fish one day weekly. This helps clear out their digestive tract, and prevents any constipation from inadvertent overfeeding. To anyone newer at this the best advice is to feed half as much, change water twice as much.

 

[amyb_70]

Healthy angels will always act hungry. A fish's stomach is about the size of its eye, count eyes & feed accordingly. From what you've posted you are in no way underfeeding them, many folks will fast their fish one day weekly. This helps clear out their digestive tract, and prevents any constipation from inadvertent overfeeding. To anyone newer at this the best advice is to feed half as much, change water twice as much.

thank you. would you suggest maybe only giving them 1 of the items i mentioned? do those portion sizes sound about right to you? i do PWC at least every 7 days, if i see it looking messy on the bottom i do them sooner, maybe 1 or 2 times.

 

[BillD]

Young angels can and will eat a lot. The result is growth. If you don't feed them enough they won't reach their maximum size in my experience.However, more feed means more water changes, and clean water is at least as important as quality food for good growth.

 

[MICEY]

sounds like your over feeding them if you feed them like that more than once a day , unless you have a ton of platies , a starving adult angel if starving would eat the platies
I have 1 adult angel 3 yo yo loachs and 5 gold barbs and 1 half grown brissle nose and I feed them a pinch of flakes or pellets a day , but I use high quallity food only
if flakes get to the bottom your feeding to much at 1 time (sinking pellets will get to the bottom)

 

[amyb_70]

sounds like your over feeding them if you feed them like that more than once a day , unless you have a ton of platies , a starving adult angel if starving would eat the platies
I have 1 adult angel 3 yo yo loachs and 5 gold barbs and 1 half grown brissle nose and I feed them a pinch of flakes or pellets a day , but I use high quallity food only
if flakes get to the bottom your feeding to much at 1 time (sinking pellets will get to the bottom)

These are not adult angels. I would guess maybe 6 and 9 months old. This is an uneducated guess I'm going by how long I've had them and the size they were when I got them. Micey, I have the 2 angels, 4 platy, then I Have Cory cats and school of oto. As well as 2 BBee Goby.
So your suggesting a small pinch 1x day? By a pinch would it be what my 6 yr old would pinch. I know it sounds like a dumb question but a pinch can be a wide range depending on person.


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[amyb_70]

Young angels can and will eat a lot. The result is growth. If you don't feed them enough they won't reach their maximum size in my experience.However, more feed means more water changes, and clean water is at least as important as quality food for good growth.

I agree and have no issues doing PWC to keep their home clean. I don't want to harm them with to much food though. I suppose I should know how to feed but dang they are always begging.


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[Tolak]

What's the name of the products you're feeding? Like anything else, quality of the foods available for fish vary greatly, hate to see you power feeding the fish equivalent of McNuggets.

 

[BillD]

Every spring I have a large amount of daphnia for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. There are also assorted insect larvae in the mix, including blood worms and glass worms.I keep food in front of the fish 24/7. I have seen angels double in size in 3 weeks. I have had no issues with this, other than there is a growth spurt among all the fish, and I have to change more water.

 

[amyb_70]

What's the name of the products you're feeding? Like anything else, quality of the foods available for fish vary greatly, hate to see you power feeding the fish equivalent of McNuggets.

tetra freeze dried bloodworms
TetraColor tropical flakes
TopFin chichlid pellets small
Tetra baby shrimp (sundried gammarus) they don't care for the shrimp, maybe to hard to eat still?
On occasion tetra veggie tank nibblers


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[amyb_70]

Every spring I have a large amount of daphnia for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. There are also assorted insect larvae in the mix, including blood worms and glass worms.I keep food in front of the fish 24/7. I have seen angels double in size in 3 weeks. I have had no issues with this, other than there is a growth spurt among all the fish, and I have to change more water.

Newbie of just over 6 months, I'm clueless what daphnia is? Please tell, so in your experience it's ok, they just grow faster?


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[Tolak]

Upgrade to a better food, Omega One or New Life Spectrum. While the bloodworms & shrimp are fine the flakes & pellets are of lower quality.

 

[amyb_70]

Upgrade to a better food, Omega One or New Life Spectrum. While the bloodworms & shrimp are fine the flakes & pellets are of lower quality.

Ok thank you. This is my first time giving them pellets. Food is expensive. Lol but lasts a while. I found a great site online, I will double check the food I was going to order. Thanks a bunch.


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