Feeding

[KateH]

Hi,
I'm a new aquarium owner and have just introduced some zebra danios that swim around madly at the top of the tank and some cherry barbs that rest peacefully at the bottom, hiding in the plants. Just wondering how I can make sure the cherry barbs get their share of food! The danios seemed to eat the lot before it had time to sink low enough for the cherry barbs to notice it!
Apologies if this is a silly question!

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by KateH

Hi,
I'm a new aquarium owner and have just introduced some zebra danios that swim around madly at the top of the tank and some cherry barbs that rest peacefully at the bottom, hiding in the plants. Just wondering how I can make sure the cherry barbs get their share of food! The danios seemed to eat the lot before it had time to sink low enough for the cherry barbs to notice it!
Apologies if this is a silly question!

Depending on what kind of food you are feeding, you can use a turkey baster to blow food down to the bottom of the tank while the danios are eating at the surface. If you are using frozen foods, thaw them out in some tank water and blow that mix down to the bottom and pour some of it in at the surface. if you are using a flake food, again, wet it in some tank water in a container then blow that down to the bottom while feeding the dry flakes at the surface. Another option is to use a sinking pellet and a floating pellet so both areas can get food.
Hope this helps.

[KateH]

Thanks Andy, that's really helpful. I'll try that when I feed the fish tomorrow!

[Colin_T]

I wouldn't worry too much. If the barbs are hungry, they will look for food. They certainly won't starve if you are putting food in each day and if you have live plants in the tank. Unlike mammals and birds that use most of the food they eat to stay warm, most fish take their body temperature from the surrounding water. This means any food they eat is used for moving and growth, and this allows fish to go for weeks or even months without food and not die.

I used to feed danios 3 to 5 times during each feeding session. And I fed them 3 times a day. I put a bit of crumbled up flake in and they eat it in seconds. I added more and they ate that in seconds. I added more, which they ate in seconds and then added more. By the time they got to the 4th round some food was making it part of the way down the water column. You can also feed dry food first and then add some frozen food like brineshrimp, daphnia or bloodworms. I just drop a block in the tank and the fish pick at it while it defrosts. This is safe to do for small fish but if you have big fish that swallow the entire block of frozen food, you should defrost that first. But with danios and barbs, just drop a block in and let them pick at it.

Remove any uneaten food after 5 minutes.

------------------

Having said all this, if the tank is newly set up, you need to keep the feeding down to a minimum until the filter has developed enough good bacteria to keep the water clean. This usually takes around 4-6 weeks but can take longer. If the aquarium is not cycled, you should feed the fish once every couple of days and do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate 4-8 hours after feeding. This will remove any ammonia produced by the fish and food and help keep the ammonia levels low while the filter bacteria grow. When the filter has cycled, you can feed more often and do a water change once a week.

What sort of filter is on the tank?
Did the shop tell you how to clean it?

Did you cycle the tank before adding fish?
If yes, how did you go about doing it?

[KateH]

Thank you very much for your reply and all the information Colin. Really helpful for a new fish keeper! And reassuring that fish will survive or if hungry will go for any food around. Also helpful to know about the mix of food.


As advised by the shop, I used a liquid filter starter for 3 days to kick start the bacteria growth in the filter. After a week the shop tested the water to check for ammonia/nitrites and said everything was OK. Not sure if that is what you mean by cycling - maybe I do need a water change sooner rather than leave it a week?


Yes, they told me how to clean the filter (I can't tell you what kind it is - it has a removable sponge!) when I change the water.



I did put in 3 small zebra snails to help keep the tank clean, but the shop said the snails won't eat the green plant so I should put in an algae wafer from time to time. I did that this morning and all the fish seem to have gone for it - the barbs have emerged from the greenery to hover over the wafer and the danios have spent more time near the bottom of the tank. I've not added any other dried food today as I was concerned about too much food/fish waste in the tank and not enough bacteria to cope with it!


Thanks again for your advice - much appreciated.