hartman57
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
JUST ASKING.....in general how aften should fish be fed??? is it every other day or is that a myth????
feeding
- Thread starter hartman57
- Start date
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Keeper
Aquarium Advice FINatic
i feed mine everyday. It might depend on the type of fish though.
William
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed mine every other day or two.
Bearfan
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed mine once or twice per day...small variety meals rather than one type all at once.
trenac
Aquarium Advice Freak
I feed my fish small amounts twice daily, when I come home from work and again before I go to bed. My bottom feeders & algae eaters I feed once too twice a week.
flipz
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Most people will say every day. Some people (like trenac) do it as much as twice a day. It really depends on the fish. Personally I only feed once every other day. It really depends on the fish.
-brent
-brent
Menagerie
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed my larger fish every other day, but the smaller fish get fed everyday and the tank with the fry gets fed twice a day.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I do the same as Menagerie. It definitely does depend upon the fish. I think that because in the wild they do not eat every day that it does not hurt them to go hungry, though I don't think feeding once or twice a day is a problem, either. I definitely like my fry to eat twice a day.
I feed mine twice a day at a pretty regular time schedule. 7am and again at 7pm. They seem to keep eating....just watch that they eat most of the ffod. Inevitably you will have a few flakes or pellets fall to the bottom.
To minimize this excess to the bottom, I place a very small amount in and wait until they are all done. Depending on their activity level and quickeness of chowing, I'll repeat until they slow down. Once they start ignoring food, I stop.
Generally, if flakes do fall to the bottom, they will eventually get those as well leaving very little debris in the long run. But twice a day seems to work pretty well for me.
To minimize this excess to the bottom, I place a very small amount in and wait until they are all done. Depending on their activity level and quickeness of chowing, I'll repeat until they slow down. Once they start ignoring food, I stop.
Generally, if flakes do fall to the bottom, they will eventually get those as well leaving very little debris in the long run. But twice a day seems to work pretty well for me.
An t-iasg
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed my bettas once a day, in the morning, and skip one day a week (Sunday). I feed 4 betta pellets or 4 bloodworms at the morning feeding. I read once that you should consider a betta's stomach to be about the size of their eye. That's how I figured out the number of pellets. The directions on the container also say 3 or 4 pellets, depending on the size of the fish.
I started to give an evening feeding recently. The owner of the hatchery (where I got the bettas) said they were looking a little skinny. So now, the morning feeding stays the same, and the evening feeding is only a few days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri. I think this gives them a little more food, without overfeeding and worrying about too much food waste. At the evening feeding, they get 2 or 3 freeze-dried daphnia, or 4 Azoo betta pellets. These pellets are much smaller than the Hikari pellets they get at the morning feedings.
Hopefully, this is a balance between adequate feeding, and not creating too much waste.
I started to give an evening feeding recently. The owner of the hatchery (where I got the bettas) said they were looking a little skinny. So now, the morning feeding stays the same, and the evening feeding is only a few days a week, Mon-Wed-Fri. I think this gives them a little more food, without overfeeding and worrying about too much food waste. At the evening feeding, they get 2 or 3 freeze-dried daphnia, or 4 Azoo betta pellets. These pellets are much smaller than the Hikari pellets they get at the morning feedings.
Hopefully, this is a balance between adequate feeding, and not creating too much waste.
madasafish
Aquarium Advice Addict
This depends on the fish, but there's also another lesson to learn about fish feeding. Fish will adapt to the amount of food they're fed. If you feed them once a week (OK for some carnivores, not for most others) they'll chill and wait for the feeding... and they'll stay skinny. If you feed them 4X per day (ok for fry, which have a very high metabolism) they'll get fat and grow quite quickly. The curator of vertebrate zoology (a specialist in cichlids) at the American Museum of Nat. History in NY told me that she didn't think it was possible to underfeed fish... They're so adaptable.
The key is striking a good balance between keeping the fish healthy/well fed and keeping the tank clean. For me, and many others, that involves feeding once a day, as much as the fish can eat in about a minute. If you feed too much, you increase nutrient levels in the tank. This can lead to algae and bacterial blooms.
So, once a day works for me!
The key is striking a good balance between keeping the fish healthy/well fed and keeping the tank clean. For me, and many others, that involves feeding once a day, as much as the fish can eat in about a minute. If you feed too much, you increase nutrient levels in the tank. This can lead to algae and bacterial blooms.
So, once a day works for me!
QTOFFER
Aquarium Advice Addict
I think there are as many answers to this question as there are fish in the sea!
Like several people said, it depends on the fish - and, I might add - your schedule.
I feed the bettas two - three pellets each twice a day - in the morning and when I get home.
The community tank gets flake once a day in the morning. Once a week, I substitute bloodworms or brine shrimp.
The corys get sinking pellets at night.
Every other week or so, I leave town for the weekend and the fish miss their Saturday and Sunday feedings. This doesn't appear to be any problem.
Like several people said, it depends on the fish - and, I might add - your schedule.
I feed the bettas two - three pellets each twice a day - in the morning and when I get home.
The community tank gets flake once a day in the morning. Once a week, I substitute bloodworms or brine shrimp.
The corys get sinking pellets at night.
Every other week or so, I leave town for the weekend and the fish miss their Saturday and Sunday feedings. This doesn't appear to be any problem.
shawmutt
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed once a day, skipping one or two days a week. You'd be amazed by how little fish actually get to eat in the wild.
Christmasfish
Aquarium Advice Addict
I feed twice day on schedule and there is sometimes a mid- feeding in tanks with young or large animals. We skip Sunday. The overstock tank gets overfed due to getting something to everyone. Plus I encourage mild algae now becaus ethe pack of otos. My large clown has been evil to the otos and two small tetras lately. I am stepping up evening fed to ensure his behavior. And my BKG gets irritable if left out (I hand feed him to prevent that).
My polypterus is an eating machine..I fed him just three of anything at any interval and he would surely jump to the tank below and eat the occupants! 8O :|
The fish that do tricks get extra..which has been somewhat telling on who does the most..just look at SHerbert in my gallery..before and after..^_^ he is actually FAT!
I didn't think fish could get fat! but he is such a skilledd performer ...how can he go unrewarded? 8O
most the betta are fed by a small stick and usually about 6-8 micropellets, two flesh pieces or 4 bloodworms.
My polypterus is an eating machine..I fed him just three of anything at any interval and he would surely jump to the tank below and eat the occupants! 8O :|
The fish that do tricks get extra..which has been somewhat telling on who does the most..just look at SHerbert in my gallery..before and after..^_^ he is actually FAT!
I didn't think fish could get fat! but he is such a skilledd performer ...how can he go unrewarded? 8O
most the betta are fed by a small stick and usually about 6-8 micropellets, two flesh pieces or 4 bloodworms.
