Goldie snaps at water line, begging for food

[mapexmac007]

Hi folks,
I've got a very humorous situation to inquire about:

I've got two very healthy, active veil tale goldfish, approximately 4.5-5 inches in length. (one white, the other orange/gold.) These fish mooch more than a hungry beagle.

I feed them fairly conservatively. They get one cube of frozen blood worms in the morning. I use a feeding cone to help distribute the food evenly among them.

In the evening, they get one leaf of spinach (about a silver dollar size give or take) or they get about a dozen green peas (shelled of course).

Some could argue I'm over-feeding them — that's debatable given their size.

Every time I walk into the room, they become quite animated, putting-on a swim show for me. The orange/gold fish goes to the water line, and kind of snaps at the water, which makes a very noticeable sound —*as if to gain my attention. I'm not worried. Just curious about this behavior.

Do other goldie keepers experience "begging" behavior, and snapping at the water line?

It's worth noting, neither of these two have EVER had swim bladder disease.

Thanks,
Mike

 

[Ricky 1]

It's great when you can interact with your fish, I have Koi Angels and they let me feed them, they don't make a noise like your, that's real cool, well done.......

 

[jlk]

Typical goldfish behavior to beg with earnest but I think their over eager displays are because they are quite underfed. Are they fed any type of staple food to cover the large gaps in their nutritional needs?


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[mapexmac007]

Hi JLK,

Although I'm not at al the expert you are on Goldies, I thought some protein each day, balanced with veggies each day were covering their basic dietary needs.

Once every two or three days, I substitute the evening veggies with some "New Era" Tropical Pellets. I've been told this food is a very healthy, nutritious food for them. Sometimes, during the day, I give them a very small pinch of the "New Era" as well.

What else should I be feeding them?

Are very small portions several times a day better for them as opposed to two larger portions/feedings 12-hours apart? i.e., lot's of small grazing meals instead of two larger meals...

 

[mapexmac007]

Typical goldfish behavior to beg with earnest but I think their over eager displays are because they are quite underfed. Are they fed any type of staple food to cover the large gaps in their nutritional needs?

JLK, please, what food is considered a "staple food" such that they are getting all of the nutrients they need? Thanks!

 

[aqua_holic]

Staple food is what makes up the bulk of a fishs diet. Goldfish should be getting a high quality, sinking pellet like NLS.

 

[mapexmac007]

sinking pellet like NLS.

they do get sinking pellets made by "New Era", the Tropical Pellets to be exact. I was told by my LFS (whom I trust) these pellets are very nutritious.

 

[aqua_holic]

they do get sinking pellets made by "New Era", the Tropical Pellets to be exact. I was told by my LFS (whom I trust) these pellets are very nutritious.

Yeah, you can't trust the fish store people. That food has too high of a protein content and not nearly enough plant matter for goldfish.

Here is their ingredient list

Ingredients
Fish Meal, Cornstarch, Fish Oil, Krill, Dried Seaweed Meal, Mussel, Squid, Shrimp, Choline Chloride, Astaxanthin, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol, dl-Alpha-Tocopherol, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium-L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Molybdate, Folic Acid, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin.


And for comparison, here is northfins goldfish food.

Ingredients: Kelp, Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, High Omega-3 (DHA) Herring Meal, Whole Sardine Meal, Wheat Flour, Spirulina, Garlic, Astaxanthin (Haematococcus Algae), Calcium Montmorillonite Clay, Vitamin A Acetate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphospate (Source of Vitamin C), D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), DL Alphatocopherol (E), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Thiamine, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium, Zinc.

36% protein versus 45% for the new era food.

 

[jlk]

Yeah, you can't trust the fish store people. That food has too high of a protein content and not nearly enough plant matter for goldfish.

Here is their ingredient list

Ingredients
Fish Meal, Cornstarch, Fish Oil, Krill, Dried Seaweed Meal, Mussel, Squid, Shrimp, Choline Chloride, Astaxanthin, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol, dl-Alpha-Tocopherol, Potassium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Dicalcium Phosphate, Magnesium Oxide, Calcium-L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Zinc Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Molybdate, Folic Acid, Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Biotin.


And for comparison, here is northfins goldfish food.

Ingredients: Kelp, Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, High Omega-3 (DHA) Herring Meal, Whole Sardine Meal, Wheat Flour, Spirulina, Garlic, Astaxanthin (Haematococcus Algae), Calcium Montmorillonite Clay, Vitamin A Acetate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphospate (Source of Vitamin C), D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), DL Alphatocopherol (E), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Thiamine, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Biotin, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Selenium, Zinc.

36% protein versus 45% for the new era food.

Can you please explain why you feel the protein level is too high?

My apologies, Max, for the delayed reply as life has been a bit hectic lately. You did not mention feeding anything beyond the worms and some veggies and I was just concerned your fish may not be getting adequate nutrition. If your feeding some type of staple food (whether commercial or homemade), your bases are covered and there is no reason to be concerned. And, yes, feeding smaller meals/more often is much better suited to a fancy's digestive system. They can not store food so they are constantly grazing. Having lots of fresh veggies to nibble helps across the board.


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[lilme]

try goldfish flakes
or
pond pelets
as treat the shrimp pellets
is what i did had 1 gold fish 7 years then i had a amonia spike

 

[aqua_holic]

Can you please explain why you feel the protein level is too high?

Because goldfish eat a lot of plant matter in their diets and their digestive systems don't handle a lot of protein well. If you look at the best goldfish foods on the market (NLS, omega one, Northfin, kikari, etc), their protein percentages are in the low to mid 30s. There's a reason for this.

 

[mapexmac007]

Makes a lot of sense. OK, time to cut their proteins way back. Thanks very much for the follow up!!


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29 gal, fresh water, fluval 206 with nitrate-scrubbing media + mech + charcoal,

 

[mapexmac007]

try goldfish flakes
or
pond pelets
as treat the shrimp pellets
is what i did had 1 gold fish 7 years then i had a amonia spike

So sorry about your ammo spike. I lost a beautiful Fancy Tail to SBD, and at that time I feed them almost exclusively goldfish flakes.

No more flake food for my goodies! Done with it!

Now-a-days it's sinking pellets (New Era Tropical), real spinach leaves, real green peas, and (now) the occasional blood worms frozen cube (fed via a feeding cone).

 

[mapexmac007]

If your feeding some type of staple food (whether commercial or homemade), your bases are covered and there is no reason to be concerned. And, yes, feeding smaller meals/more often is much better suited to a fancy's digestive system. They can not store food so they are constantly grazing. Having lots of fresh veggies to nibble helps across the board.

I'd be interested to learn of homemade staple recipes - if you've got any.

Upon your excellent advice, I am shifting quantity of food and intervals to be more in line with a frequent grazing as opposed to two large meals.

Also, upon the advice of Aqua-holic, I will shift from the New Era to NLS sinking pellets staple.

Now, if I could just get my rates to drop significantly...

 

[RussSerio]

I am no expert, but goldfish will pretty much eat whatever you feed them. Too much protein leads to fat fish. They require more veg matter. But the popping I have seen before. I personally think it's just a form of begging, and perhaps boredom. Goldfish do not have long memories, and it is reserved for habitual things. They see you, they think FOOD!

 

[mapexmac007]

Russ,
They do indeed see me and equate that with food. Sometimes, after walking into our kitchen (our tank is in the kitchen...) they see me, get all excited, and when they realize I'm not in there to feed them, the popping begins — as if to get my attention and say, "HEY! We're over here! Remember us?"

It's all become quite routine. They are good fish: fun, healthy, active, and beautiful to admire.