Feeding Goldfish

[jinkel]

So...I've learned a couple of things about goldfish feeding:

- They always seem hungry;

- They shouldn't be overfed.


The trick is...what would be overfeeding? I don't think the two-minute rule applies to goldfish, does it? Because I can tell you, my oranda can Dyson the heck outta the tank in two minutes. He looks like a squirrel, sometimes, I swear. Once I saw that, I backed the heck off of the "whatever they can eat in two minutes" rule.

But let's just say that I'm feeding them the small, sinking goldfish pellets (Omega One). How many - after soaking - should each goldie get? The approx sizes of each fish, from tip of nose, to where the tail begins:

- Oranda: 2.5 inches
- Oranda: 2 inches
- Black Moor: 1.5 inches

I also feed them peas (about 1-1/2 pea each) 3x/week, instead of the pellets. Is this too much?

For the record, they seem happy, they don't float all cockeyed or crooked (like swimbladder stuff - which two of them DID do when I first got them, but went away quickly after a dose of peas). Actually, they remind me of little puppies, with their begging and playfulness. But I would still love to know what other goldie owners do? Am I on the right track, or over time is this too much food for the little fellas?

Thanks again for all your help - - I would be SO lost without this forum!

 

[Dwohlge1]

I am interested to see what others say...

I have a 3 in ryukin and a 2 in Oranda.

I give 8 3mm pellets in the morning then 4 at night.

Some nights I don't give them pellets but substitute peas or Brine Shrimp.

My water parameters are all fine so I am assuming I am not overfeeding them? Let's hear some other opinions.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Well my Moors eat abut 18hrs a day lol. They get 1 feeding a day (AM) and the occasional day off. Feed them peas once or twice a week and I just do a bunch of them and like the food, let them hash it out as to who get how much. One thing I'm certain of is that they'd eat 5lbs of pellets a day if given the opportunity and that the top inch of gravel is clean because they're always looking for one more morsel of food. I also keep edible plants in the tank which they will forage on from time to time.

As for the floating food/air intake hooey? Never had it happen and don't expect too. They swallow air and blow bubbles underwater for fun, so that myth is busted® IMO/E lol.

 

[jinkel]

I am interested to see what others say...

I have a 3 in ryukin and a 2 in Oranda.

I give 8 3mm pellets in the morning then 4 at night.

Oh! Um, I'm pretty sure mine get way more than that. Yikes! Maybe they are getting WAY too much food!

 

[jinkel]

Well my Moors eat abut 18hrs a day lol. They get 1 feeding a day (AM) and the occasional day off. Feed them peas once or twice a week and I just do a bunch of them and like the food, let them hash it out as to who get how much. One thing I'm certain of is that they'd eat 5lbs of pellets a day if given the opportunity and that the top inch of gravel is clean because they're always looking for one more morsel of food. I also keep edible plants in the tank which they will forage on from time to time.

As for the floating food/air intake hooey? Never had it happen and don't expect too. They swallow air and blow bubbles underwater for fun, so that myth is busted® IMO/E lol.

I'd love to hear about the edible plants! I've kind of shied away from plants - it took a painfully long time to cycle the tank, and now that everything's settled, I'm a bit paranoid about changing anything. Are there things I need to worry about, adding plants?

Funny you mention it. My moor is totally fine with air/air bubbles, and actually prefers to spend most of his time grazing around the top of the tank (although he goes all over). I hand feed him, however - as he doesn't see as well as the orandas, and I worry about him getting enough food. But on the occasion that I've had food end up floating on the surface (even after soaking, the parasite food would often float), he plucked it from the surface with a surgeon's skill. The orandas, however....well, they'll gasp and suck a TON of air, if given the opportunity to look for food at the surface. So for them, I definitely can see why sinking pellets were created.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I'd love to hear about the edible plants! I've kind of shied away from plants - it took a painfully long time to cycle the tank, and now that everything's settled, I'm a bit paranoid about changing anything. Are there things I need to worry about, adding plants?

Funny you mention it. My moor is totally fine with air/air bubbles, and actually prefers to spend most of his time grazing around the top of the tank (although he goes all over). I hand feed him, however - as he doesn't see as well as the orandas, and I worry about him getting enough food. But on the occasion that I've had food end up floating on the surface (even after soaking, the parasite food would often float), he plucked it from the surface with a surgeon's skill. The orandas, however....well, they'll gasp and suck a TON of air, if given the opportunity to look for food at the surface. So for them, I definitely can see why sinking pellets were created.

Two plants (more or less) that my Moors love are Anacharis which can be floated or planted and only needs basic lighting and Marimo Moss ball. The Moss ball is rated as a medium light plant, but I've had no issues with it, except that my young Panda Fantail likes to tear it to shreds eating it lol.

These 2 plants will also help keep any nitrAtes (no3) in check as they both use it to grow. The Anacharis can be found most anywhere and is very inexpensive, so on occasion when a stem gets really chewed up, I just pull it out and toss it. Any chunks of the moss ball that's left floating/uneaten, I just make a new ball and put it in one of my smaller tanks.

You can read up on them at plantgeek.net.