Feeding the fish

[TEC5154]

I was just wondering...I hear alot of different things about feeding fish. The directions on the container say 2 to 3 times daily. The worker at the local fish store I go to (who is very knowledgable) says just once because of the possibility of overfeeding and then polluting your tank. I was just looking for any suggestions on feeding. I have a 35 gallon hex tank and the population is: 1 Sweetheart Parrot, 3 Angels, 7 small and medium barbs, 2 plecos, 3 cory cats, and a freshwater shark. I think I have enough fish but I am worried about over/underfeeding. I just bought the parrot and the the guy at the fish store suggested pellets instead of flakes. Let me know if you have any feeding suggestions. Another concern is if I am overpopulated. Let me know what you think. Thanks.

[Menagerie]

The general rule for angles is 10 gals each due to their nature and size. You need to research the adult size for each fish and make the necessary changes.

As far as feeding goes--a hungry fish is a healthy fish. The food containers say 3 times a day since it equals more food sales, same thing holds true for companies to tell you to replace the filter media once a month. My adult fish get fed every other day. If I am feeding veggies (article in the articles section), then the fish get to graze.

[Meredith]

I only feed once a day as well. They do fine with this amount of food. I know its hard to resist feeding angels all the time. Mine is such a beggar!

[Fluff]

I agree, my angels are very eager eaters and it's hard to walk past them without feeding but, I stick to the once a day routine.

[Regen311]

And one more thing, it's probably not a good idea to "trust" your [acronym:599d6c31e5="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:599d6c31e5]. (Which, you don't seem to be doing since you've posted on here). They all SEEM like they know a lot, but as I have learned from experience and many other people have, it's not always the case... doublecheck everything.

[RoK]

Well, I feed mine twice.
Afternoon: Some flakes
Frozen bloodworms 1-3 times a week
Night: Some flakes for mid & top dwellers, a few small shrimp pellets and 1 small algae wafer for plecos and catfish

[QTOFFER]

It's very hard to underfeed most tropical fish - the only exceptions that come to mind are bottom dwellers and algae eaters.

I generally feed my fish once a day, in the evening when I get home. Before I go to bed, I drop sinking wafers for the bottom dwellers. Sometimes, I miss a day, but the fish don't seem to suffer for it.

[Frank_the_Tank]

I feed before my first morning class, then every few days toss in a few bloodworms as a treat in the afternoon. zuchini or algae wafers at night for the pleco

[youronlysin]

I feed the tank once a day. I feed three types of food...pellets for the bottom dwellers, flake for the rest and betta pellets for the single betta. He doesnt touch the flake food. Once or twice a week I feed frozen bloodworms to all.

I feed my fry tank twice a day. The fry food is almost a powder. I feed once in the am and once in the pm rather than feeding a lot of food all at once...those little critters will eat till they pop. I fed them frozen bloodworms the other day (14 day old guppies). I didnt think they would be able to eat it as they are so small, but they managed. It took them a while, and they swam around the tank for an hour with worms in their mouths, but there wasnt a single worm left by late morning.

[jaysono]

I agree with all above but I'll add my $0.02 anyway:

I find that feeding 1 to 2 times a day is okay. I sprinkle a very small amount of food in and let them devour it all before I add anymore. I alternate between sinking pellets and floating flakes, as some fish have different comfort zones as to where they may eat. My danio's and guppies are definetly surface skimmers, while my Tetra's generally prefer mid tank snack as pellets drop. My Ghost Shrimp, while he will indeed swim to teh surface for flakes, I do see him scour the gravel fro any pellets that fell to the bottom.

The rule I have found that works for me is that after my second or third dash, when they seem to lose interest, or allow more pellets to sink, usually means they are done...I've learned that way not to overfeed.

I've gond outta town for a few days, and returned after 2-3 days of no feeding, and they all seem fine.

I think most here would agree not to get the time released disolving thingies as they tend to gum up the filters and can lead to water chemistry alterations. This woudl be if you go on vacaion or something...anything more than a few days, get a trusted friend who picks up yoru mail as well