Feeding

[Fishlover94]

Okay, if I drop bottom-feeder algae wafers, but my other fish eat them, does that mean I'm underfeeding?

 

[Colin_T]

No. Fish are opportunistic feeders and will eat any time food is available. They do this because they don't know when their next meal will be. It could be in an hour or next week. They don't know so they eat any food when it's available.

 

[Andy Sager]

Okay, if I drop bottom-feeder algae wafers, but my other fish eat them, does that mean I'm underfeeding?

As Colin said, No, they just know that food is there for feeding so they are going to feed.
If you are using the algae wafer for catfish or plecos, you can try feeding them closer to lights out since the catfish will eat at night while the other fish are sleeping. Another option is to feed the the top fish on one side of the tank while dropping the wafer on the opposite side at the same time. This will give the bottom fish a slight edge at getting the wafer first.

 

[Joe_D]

I have several Cherry shrimp in addition to my Cory cats.
This is in addition to some Tetras and Rasboras.

I feed the Corys and shrimp mostly "Tetra shrimp wafers" which they both seem to love
What I do is break up the wafers under a fork into smaller pieces before dropping them in the tank.
The shrimp and Corys quickly zero in on the smaller pieces.

Of course both will also often search the tank for other/ more food .
So I i just supplement it a bit with the wafers.

 

[Fishlover94]

As Colin said, No, they just know that food is there for feeding so they are going to feed.

If you are using the algae wafer for catfish or plecos, you can try feeding them closer to lights out since the catfish will eat at night while the other fish are sleeping. Another option is to feed the the top fish on one side of the tank while dropping the wafer on the opposite side at the same time. This will give the bottom fish a slight edge at getting the wafer first.

Okay, I will try the before lights out.

 

[Fishlover94]

I have several Cherry shrimp in addition to my Cory cats.
This is in addition to some Tetras and Rasboras.

I feed the Corys and shrimp mostly "Tetra shrimp wafers" which they both seem to love
What I do is break up the wafers under a fork into smaller pieces before dropping them in the tank.
The shrimp and Corys quickly zero in on the smaller pieces.

Of course both will also often search the tank for other/ more food .
So I i just supplement it a bit with the wafers.

I like Tetra-Min food. Probably because it is made in Germany, it brings me closer to my heritage. But for tanks and filters and heaters, it's Marineland, wich both happen to be owned by the same parent company.

 

[Fishlover94]

No. Fish are opportunistic feeders and will eat any time food is available. They do this because they don't know when their next meal will be. It could be in an hour or next week. They don't know so they eat any food when it's available.

I think my fish are starting to recognize I'm their food person. Any time I open the lid, they all come up to the top. Lol.

 

[Aiken Drum]

See if they will still go to the top for food if someone else opens the lid. If they dont they recognise you.

 

[Colin_T]

I think my fish are starting to recognize I'm their food person. Any time I open the lid, they all come up to the top. Lol.

They do that. Fish are pretty smart and learn to recognize who is friend (food supplier) and who isn't. A number of my tanks were in the loungeroom and even though heaps of people walked past the tanks every day, the fish didn't react to them. However, whenever they saw my bedroom door open, or they saw me coming in the front door, they would all swim to the side that I was coming from. They didn't do this for anyone else. Everyone else was ignored except me.

Another time I went out of town for a few months and asked one of my sisters to feed the fish while I was gone. I took her into my fish room a number of times before leaving and had her feed the fish. The fish ate when I was there with my sister showing her what to do, but after I left, the fish wouldn't eat. She said she went in each day for a week and put food in the tanks and the fish ignored it. So she stopped feeding them and they went hungry for 2 months. Most of them survived because they had been well fed for months before I left, and there were lots of plants in the tank when I left (not when I got back though). They wouldn't take candy from a stranger
When I got back and went into the fish room, they all came racing over to the normal feeding spot begging for food.

 

[Joe_D]

I don't know it that is "smart" or not. All animals instinctively know how and even learn to detect and get their food..
After all, there are no humans in the wild feeding them.

In fact, there is a whole "sport" centered around this concerning fish. It's called "Fishing" :

 

[ADsnail]

I don't know it that is "smart" or not. All animals instinctively know how and even learn to detect and get their food..
After all, there are no humans in the wild feeding them.

In fact, there is a whole "sport" centered around this concerning fish. It's called "Fishing" :

Good one, Joe_D

 

[Andy Sager]

I don't know it that is "smart" or not. All animals instinctively know how and even learn to detect and get their food..
After all, there are no humans in the wild feeding them.

In fact, there is a whole "sport" centered around this concerning fish. It's called "Fishing" :

" After all, there are no humans in the wild feeding them. "

That's not actually true. The act of fishing is mostly about humans feeding the wild fish. I know I feed a heck of a lot of them on my vacations.

 

[Joe_D]

Isn't that what I said?