Good Food for Goldfish?

[Twoapennything]

My goldfish needs a new food. I think flakes just don't agree with him, because he's getting significant gas almost every other day now, and I have to feed him peas. I always make sure to soak the flakes in about 1/2 cup of tank water before feeding, and I let the flakes soak for about 20 minutes. Despite this, the flakes don't agree with Lady's digestive system, apparently.

Any recommendations for a good quality goldfish food would be appreciated. Lady is a fancy ryukin goldfish, about 4 inches in length from mouth to fins.

I have been feeding the tank Nutrafin Max tropical fish flakes and maybe that's the problem right there - it's not specifically goldfish food. Since I now have six goldfish in the tank (Lady, 4 small comets, and one wee little baby ryukin), I'm thinking I should probably change this.

 

[Crepe]

Try pond food. I've been feeding my goldfish that for almost 5 years without problem, they are almost 12inches now in my pond. A few sticks, soaked in water will be fine.

 

[mfdrookie516]

Variety is always a good thing. Here is a link where jsoong talks about what he feeds his fish. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/goldfish-diet-123105.html

 

[jsoong]

That is a problem with mixing tropicals & goldfish. They have different diet requirements. Goldfish being pigs, will eat all the tropical's food & get into gut problems (even if you are feeding goldfish food as well).

Tropical flakes have too much proteins & not enough veggies. For fancy goldfish, a sinking pellet is best. <Hikari is a good brand, there are others, and look in the pond section for them, esp. for the bigger sized pellets.> However, they will pig out on the tropical flakes no matter how you do the feeding, so you are going to have to add veggies to balance things out. <I feed veggies even when using goldfish pellets. It is good to have varieties ... and they do love their veggies ... peas, cucumbers, zucchni, lettuce (Romaine), oranges ..... and my fish like to have their veggies cooked - quickly blanched.>

 

[Twoapennything]

Thank you to everyone who responded with suggestions! Much appreciated

That is a problem with mixing tropicals & goldfish. They have different diet requirements. Goldfish being pigs, will eat all the tropical's food & get into gut problems (even if you are feeding goldfish food as well).

Ugh, I so wish that I had known this before starting an aquarium - I would have never mixed tropicals and goldfish. I should have educated myself before I started my aquarium, and I didn't do that. *sigh* And since my daughter won a bag full of goldfish at her school last week, we now have six goldfish in the tank, not just one. Even now I'm looking at the tank and the goldfish are just going to town, trying to seek out every little last bit of flakes. They are pigs!

I will try the sinking pellets.

<I feed veggies even when using goldfish pellets. It is good to have varieties ... and they do love their veggies ... peas, cucumbers, zucchni, lettuce (Romaine), oranges ..... and my fish like to have their veggies cooked - quickly blanched.>

Do you blanch the lettuce and the oranges, too? With the peas, I've been taking them from the freezer and soaking them in water until they are pliable, and then shelling and grinding them up. I have a small mortar/pestle set that I use to break down the peas. How much veggies would you suggest for a 4 inch goldfish, plus a baby ryukin and 4 one inch comets? How often do you give veggies?

Thanks for your time on this - I really do appreciate your expertise!

 

[mfdrookie516]

And since my daughter won a bag full of goldfish at her school last week, we now have six goldfish in the tank, not just one.!

Looks like its time to set up another tank

 

[Crepe]

Looks like its time to set up another tank

It's time to join us ponders you mean. Goldfish are also very inefficient eaters be prepared to do more water changes as they get bigger as well.

 

[jsoong]

Those comets will certainly need to be in a pond eventually ..... so yes, you can join the ranks of the ponders! <Incidentally, you don't have a lot of time to prepare for new digs ... well fed comets grow like weeds, I would guess that they would outgrow your tank within 6-12 months.>

As for veggies - you can feed as much as you like! <Within reason!! But fresh veggies don't break down & pollute the water too fast, so basically you can leave it in the tank for a day or so. I put enough in the tank for the fish to munch on for a few hours. Say a tablespoon or 2 of peas, few slices of zucchini, etc.> I have live plants that my goldies munch on at will, but I try to feed (additional) veggies once or twice a week. A 4" gold will not need to have food mashed ... He can handle things 1/4" or more, so basically, coarsely chopped is fine.

My recipes:
Peas (frozen) - put in a bit of water, microwave on high 10-20 sec, squeeze out the "meat" (the insides of the pea), chop very coarsely. <That is for the smaller fish, my 4 inchers can swallow peas whole as long as you get rid of the "shell".>
Cukes & zucchinis - cut in 1/4" slices, cut each slice in half (so it is a semi-circle) to expose the inside. Blanch in boiling water for ~20-30 sec so the slices will sink. Throw in tank. Fish out uneaten pieces after 24 hrs. <There is usually nothing left, except sometimes the rind!>
Lettuce - tear out a good size piece, blanch 5-10 seconds till softened. throw in tank. <Or use a veggie clip so it doesn't float all over the place.>
Fruits - just cut into small pieces ... no need to cook. <Only tried oranges so far ... people usu. only feed soft fruits ... apples/ pears they don't seem to like ... perhaps they need to be cooked into apple sauce??>
Shrimp - I just use cooked salad shrimp & chop coarsely. That is a goldy's absolute favorite food. However, yours are getting tropical flakes when you feed your other fish, so they would have too much proteins already ... so shrimps should be an infrequent treat.