Underfeeding or Natural Fish Behavior

[theotheragentm]

There are times when I have accidentally put too much flake food into the water. The fish don't leave anything behind, but it just looks like too much. Anyway, I noticed that after I "overfeed" that is the only time I don't see the fish digging around in the sand and rocks like they are looking for food. My fish look normal, not overly plump, and I've never seen a skinny fish that wasn't sick. Is it possible I am not overfeeding them and I am underfeeding them, leaving them hungry and looking for food?

 

[Smidge]

I have heard it said in the past that "a hungry fish is a healthy fish". Whilst i guess that's not strictly true it is better for you to underfeed rather than overfeed as you'd pollute your water and raise those ammonia levels if you had too much rotting debris in there. You should only ever feed your fish what they'll consume in a matter of minutes. I think...

The experts will no doubt help you out, there are some very fish-learned people on here! Good luck.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Generally safer to underfeed than overfeed, but it's not as simple as that I suppose. For cichlids to grow and mature and colour up, they need a good diet. Some fish eat more than others because they need to. Some fish can eat quickly, others take more time. And so on and so on.

I regularly fast my fish (all of them), skipping a day of feeding either once or twice a week. It's worked well for me (and them), although I have to keep an eye on aggression levels with my cichlids, which seem to rise when they're hungry.
Likewise, I only feed once a day when I do feed them. Some people feed twice a day, or three times a day, but smaller amounts.

I suppose you just get used to a routine: if you feel unsure or uncomfortable (like, there's a niggling feeling) about your current feeding routine, then have a go at changing it and keep your eye on things. If all seems well then make the change permanent

 

[kansei]

I feed twice a day morning flake/freeze dried , evening frozen(worms shrimp or plakton) and vegies .

 

[Smidge]

I also fast my fish every now and then it seems to work for me and it helps me to maintain good water parameters.

 

[theotheragentm]

I definitely fast my fish once a week. That's called, went out last night and can't get up to to feed myself, let alone the fish. All the food is definitely consumed, so water levels are not my problem. I think it's just natural tendency to think the fish are hungry then they are poking around the rocks and sand.

 

[fearlessfisch]

Of course, what else do they have to do in there?

 

[theotheragentm]

Of course, what else do they have to do in there?

Mate. They do that too.

 

[hc8719]

i dont believe in fasting, just because they can live through it, doesnt mean its healthy. different feeding amounts greatly contribute to a fish's growth.

i have 2 BGKs, one in a community tank, and the newer, baby, rescue BGK by himself in another tank.

well the baby didnt have any compitition in his tank, and within a couple of months, outgrew the older, and once larger one.

another note on my BGKs, fish may snap at anything, but they know when they are hungry or not... when i ran out of bloodworms for 2 days, the baby BGK in his own tank, devoured all the ghost shrimp i had in there, which he never touched for months before. fish are not mindless eatting machines, they know when their starving.

i feed my fish 2-3 meals a day, sometimes more depding on how much i'm home, my water still stays clean as well.

hungry isn't healthy, just for an example, who's going to live longer a kid starving in asia or a western world child fed 3 meals a day, who's going to have a better immune system, less stress on their body, and stronger body.

tropical fish are hard to overfeed, given their high metabolism, please consider this

 

[zenkatydid]

actually, for many animals fasting IS a healthy thing to do. i fast my other pets too, even the cats occasionally. it's very cleansing for a human to go on a fast, to clear out the gut and start afresh.

 

[7Enigma]

hungry isn't healthy, just for an example, who's going to live longer a kid starving in asia or a western world child fed 3 meals a day, who's going to have a better immune system, less stress on their body, and stronger body.

Judging by the obesity rate in our country today? I think its probably a toss up.


More important than how often you feed is what you feed. A varied diet is far superior to feeding 5 times a day. I personally feed twice a day (3pm and ~10pm), with a variety of flake/frozen/vegatable foods. I also feed peas once a week to prevent constipation. About once every 2 weeks I will do a pea feeding followed by a 24hr fast.

One very important and often overlooked thing is that fish are cold-blooded. They have much lower energy requirements than a warm-blooded creature of the same size/activity level. Virtually all of their energy goes toward movement and growth. Not having to maintain a stable temperature is very advantageous from an energy standpoint, and thus they can easily go quite a long time without food. It is not recommended, but it can be done. A 1 day fast, or lightened feeding is most likely going to do more good than harm.

This feeding question comes up about once a week and there are proponents on either side, and sometimes the arguments get heated. I'm glad to see this hasn't happened yet.

 

[hc8719]

actually, for many animals fasting IS a healthy thing to do. i fast my other pets too, even the cats occasionally. it's very cleansing for a human to go on a fast, to clear out the gut and start afresh.

got a source? at any rate, i think you'd get in trouble when you tell the cops "No, you dont understand, I'm fasting my kids for a day, not starving them"

by not having anything in your gut, your body has to get ATP and calories from somewhere, and the first place it takes protein from is your muscles, not your fat believe it or not.

7enigma, im sure the western kid would live longer than the poverty stricken one, even if the kid was obese (besides im not saying to stuff and stuff your fish, so obesity shouldnt be played into this, especially since the fish arent crunching sugar and chocolate, whens the last time you saw someone fat on fruits and veggies?

 

[O ALX O]

Fish and people are two completely different animals! No comparison. Period!!

 

[tropicfishman]

I think its just where fish love to eat, they eat anytime they can and as much as they can, but liek the others have mentioned, it is better to underfeed than overfeed

 

[coldmachineUK]

More important than how often you feed is what you feed.

I completely agree with that.

I've seen more problems with fish that are down to overfeeding, than underfeeding: bloat, intestinal problems, poor water params, fungus from rotting food, not to mention lethargy. This all comes from seeing fish kept by other people, not my own, I should add

 

[7Enigma]

More important than how often you feed is what you feed.

I completely agree with that.

I've seen more problems with fish that are down to overfeeding, than underfeeding: bloat, intestinal problems, poor water params, fungus from rotting food, not to mention lethargy. This all comes from seeing fish kept by other people, not my own, I should add

OT, how big are your clown's? I was under the impression they routinely get to over a foot long, but I was recently told they stay closer to 7" or so.

 

[coldmachineUK]

Me? I don't have clowns anymore Not enough space for all these tanks after moving house recently (I'm having to pull down even more: I've recently taken down my two 20G and combined them into a 32G, for space reasons).

Clowns do grow to over 12" if given the right conditions (I'd say a 100G+ depending on group size, e.g. 3). Too many people keep them in small tanks, and as a result nitrAtes build up more rapidly. Without decent pwcs on top of that, you end up with stunted growth and fish prone to disease. It's probably then that you'd see 7" fish. It's why many people say clowns are so sensitive: in actual fact, if they were given the right conditions to start with they'll do just fine!

Oh, I should add: I've noticed over the last year or so that the quality of the clowns in numerous LFS seems to be degrading. I don't know if it's to do with overfarming (I'm guessing so). There are many which are deformed, and they seem to be absolutely tiny. Again, these fish are not going to do particularly well in the long run, even if they are rescued by well intentioned and knowledgeable fishkeepers!

 

[7Enigma]

Thanks for the helpful reply. Sorry about having to downsize the number of tanks.

 

[SparKy697]

Some more fuel for the fire:

http://www.rawfoodinfo.com/articles/art_fastinghealthbenefits.html

http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/biology/b103/f02/web1/wcarroll.html

 

[7Enigma]

Sparky, thanks for those links. I enjoyed the first one, but the second one goes against much that I've learned. Fasting will "detoxify the body" due to many trace harmful chemicals that are stored in fat, but the increased immune system and fewer cellular errors I just don't buy. I have no sources on hand, but fasting for extended periods can most definitely damage the immune system since your blood is the 1st place that energy is taken from (soluble protein, fats, sugars, etc). Many of which are tasked with preventing infection and regeneration of cells.

I definitely think there are health benefits to short fasts (less than 24 hours), but would be hesitant to go longer than that. And again, we are talking about HUMANS, warm-blooded creatures that use vastlly more energy due to our brain size than a cold-blooded fish, just in case someone wanted to use my post as an argument against fasting.