Goldfish food

[lexiesboots]

Hi everyone!

I currently have three young goldfish (2 fantails and 1 telescope eye) I have been introducing them to other types of food as snacks. So far they have tried spinach (their favorite), lettuce, carrots, and bloodworms. Was wondering what other foods they might like? I plan on trying Broccoli and Peas soon and just wanted to see what other people have tried and are favorites for their goodies also what goldfish foods you would recommend. I want to get them on a better quality diet but they are so small still I'm having a hard time finding pellets small enough that are good quality and flakes seem to get sucked into the filter faster then they get eaten.

Any and all info and or suggestions are welcome!!

Thanks so much!

 

[jlk]

Hi! They will love broccoli florets (flowers), too. Any cooked veggie is game as long as its not starchy (corn, potatoes) or spicy (onions, hot peppers). No canned stuff. Fruits should be offered on occasion, too- just not daily. Hard stuff can be smoothed into bits with garlic press.

For regular food, try Hikari saki or lionhead, NLS or Progold. An even better option is gel food- homemade or purchased. Check out the link below- there's additional links in it as well to making goldfish gel food/purchasing it, basic care & additional information.

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

 

[lexiesboots]

Hi! They will love broccoli florets (flowers), too. Any cooked veggie is game as long as its not starchy (corn, potatoes) or spicy (onions, hot peppers). No canned stuff. Fruits should be offered on occasion, too- just not daily. Hard stuff can be smoothed into bits with garlic press.

For regular food, try Hikari saki or lionhead, NLS or Progold. An even better option is gel food- homemade or purchased. Check out the link below- there's additional links in it as well to making goldfish gel food/purchasing it, basic care & additional information.

http://www.myaquariumclub.com/goldfish-101-11174823.html

Thank you so much! Is the hikari saki small enough that they will be able to eat it? Or can I crush it up a little to make it easier to eat? Also is the pro gold the same? I heard somewhere that it was pretty soft. Does gel food make the water really messy? I know gold fish are messy anyhow and I filter 10x the GPH on the tank and do frequent regular water changes so the water quality is good (I don't like seeing cloudy dirty water anyhow. It isn't very appealing when watching them swim around)

 

[jlk]

Hikari actually makes different sized pellets from micro to large but its a bit hard to find any other size than mini or large. I crush the mini pellets for tiny babies. Even babies around the size of a quarter can eat the mini pellets. The Progold only comes in one size 'pellet' which are quite large especially compared to the Hikari foods. They do swell alot once wet & fall apart pretty easily (progold). Different goldies handle foods differently- some do better with one brand vs another, gel vs commercial, etc, so you kinda have to experiment a bit to see whats best for different fish. Yes, homemade gel foods can be a bit messy- using lots of gelatin to set them helps to keep them together until they are eaten. I actually have not tried the commercial gelfoods (repashy, mazuri) because I make my own but they are very popular in the goldfish community. Hope this helps! Please ask if you have questions!

 

[lexiesboots]

Thanks so much! I am thinkin of trying the Hikari first because it will a little bit easier to find in a short period of time. My Goldie's pretty much eat whatever they are fed. I think I will try to gel foods as well but test out some pre made ones from the store first as a test run. Do they have to be specifically for goldfish or can they be for freshwater as well? Or does it not matter?

 

[jlk]

The only commercial gelfoods I have ever seen are Repashy & Mazuri. You only can purchase them online and they are actually intended for all fish, not just goldfish. They make various formulas with different protein/veggie contents so they need to be purchased on based on this.They are not cheap either- making my own is alot less expensive. One other line of food I have yet to try is the Almost Natural brand of foods (Natural Tropical Fish Food - Fish Food Online Store ). They make the closest thing to 'organic' foods for fish with specific formulas for different species of fish. I am happy with the Hikari foods & making my own but everyone has different ideas for feeding their fish.

 

[lexiesboots]

Ill have to check that out as well!! I'm sure any of these suggestions is much much better than the crap the pet store supplied me with IMO.