How often should I feed?

[alivenwell82]

I have a new 10 gallon freshwater community tank stocked as follows:

4 bloodfin tetras (1-2")
1 red honey gourami (1.5")

how often should i feed them? The cannister of food says three times a day. That seems like a lot.

I'd appreciate any help. I'm paranoid about over-feeding.

My levels are as follows:

pH -7.8
ammonia - 0-.25 ppm
Nitrite - 0 ppm
Nitrate - 0-5 ppm

I'd appreciate any help.

 

[megladonsharky]

I would try twice a day only as much as theyll eat in 2-3 minutes

 

[Blucat]

Watch the ammonia. Your tank is obviously starting to cycle. Th ammonia could spike soon, and could result in fish death

 

[firestar]

2 times daily is common. The key is not to leave any uneaten food in the tank. Anything that sinks to the bottom should be promptly removed (I use a turkey baster) before it starts to rot, which can (and often does) cause a lot of damage to your fish. You can see if the fish are eating too much because they do get fat, just like underfed fish will be skinny.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Once or twice a day is enough. If you would go by what the fish container says, you will have to buy more food. That's why they put that on the container.

Since the tank is not cycled, I would cut it down to once a day during the first few weeks.

 

[Guest]

as for food sinking to the bottom, get some scavengers/bottom feeders. The cories do a great job of keeping the bottom clean.

 

[alivenwell82]

thanks for all of the suggestions. i haven't seena an ammonia spike yet, which is odd -- knock on wood -- but we'll see what happens.

down the line i'll probably get an oto or two.

 

[talloulou]

I feed my fish small amounts many times a day, sometimes 4-5 times a day. But I feed them small amounts. I just like them to get a variety of food in their diet. I also do pwc at least once a week, though. If you are going to do lots of water changes and don't mind vacuming at least every other week you can feed the fish more. I would be really careful about NOT overfeeding though while your tank is still cycling. Also if you do feed a few times a day, feed a variety of food.