How much do fish really eat?

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gdeboeck

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Sep 3, 2003
Messages
6
Location
Virginia USA
The advice on how much food to serve is very imprecise ! As much has the fish can eat in 3 minutes ? Others write: all they can eat in 5 minutes?

I read somewhere that fish should be given 10 mg twice a day for each average fish of 2 1/2 inches (5 cm). Is this correct?

Does anyone have any real good advice on how much food, how many times a day, and what a sensible diet mix and schedule is for various types of fish (omnivorous, carnivorous...).
 
How long is a piece of string. A fish will eat as much as you give it, there are lots of time limits they put in books 2 mins, 3mins, up to 5mins and some even say more depending on what food you are giving them.
There are so many types of food on the market now, flakes, granules, freeze dried, frozen, live, i could go on and on. The best person to see what your fish will eat is you, it is something that comes with time. You will get to know your fish, what foods they like and what they dislike. I would say to you that if after about 5 mins there is still food on the surface of the water or laying on the bottom of the tank then you are over feeding them. when you feed your fish sometimes not all the fish in the tank will get the food, thats one of the reasons some fish grow faster that others. Look at your fish when you feed them, if after a feed they have got nice round little bellies and they are growing nicely then there is probably nothing to worry about, but they will over feed as well and look bloated so be careful because the more they eat the more waste they produce. As for how many times a day you should feed them, you should be careful with that one as well. If you give them one big meal and they don't eat eat that will pallute your tank, i always think that 2-3 times aday and little is better. plus i think that if any of the fish didn't get any breakfast they will probably get some dinner.
There will be some people that think differant to me, this is only my opinion. But i hope it was of some help.
 
Thanks 8O ! Isn't it remarkable that when it comes to water quality there are relative precise suggestions (ph, nirite, carbon or general hardness) even according to fish types, but when it comes to feeding...it is all heuristics! I guess Fisch can't cry, nor can they talk back.

Guido
 
I would just like to say that this is just my oppinion, others might tell you differant. And you can make you own mind up, But i hope it was of some help.
 
I definitely agree with you Terry. And Guido, I'm relatively new to this myself, so I'll tell you how I have managed to feed my fish. In my 20 gal community tank I have 15 fish. 5 each of top feeders, mid-swimmers and 5 corys on the bottom. So, as I have fed I watched my fish closely. Some of my fish eat in the morning, some at night and some eat at both times. So, I feed twice a day. And for my corys I feed sinking pellets. I only put 1 pellet in per cory at each feeding. I do this, because if any food from the other fish falls to the bottom they will eat it also. I try not to feed so much that alot of food falls to the bottom. If you see alot of food falling to the bottom, that is a sure sign of overfeeding. And don't worry too much about underfeeding. In their natural habitats fish may only eat once every 2-3 days. So as long you know they are eating something, and as long as they are behaving normally, they should be ok.

I hope this helps.
 
Heuristics is right. When I first started feeding fish I really fretted over whether I was starving them. I accepted the 5 minute rule, and without fail my fish always finished the food I gave them before the 5 minutes were up. I keep an eye on my fish and feed them twice a day unless they look bloated. They all look bloated at the moment... :oops: I spoil them! My girlfriend say that they live better than I do. Kinda true considering I'm eating a lot of PBJ nowadays... But I'm off topic already.

I don't think you should worry about underfeeding your fish. I worried that I'd kill them. Most fish will get less energetic if you're underfeeding them, so you'll notice that. I'd say to always follow the 5 minute rule, then if they are getting fat, leave out a couple of feedings, or feed smaller amounts for several days. In the future only wait for 3 minutes, or establish a smaller amount to feed them. Everyone on this site keeps on saying that you can leave your fish for 5 or 6 days without food and they'll survive. Well, they're almost certainly right, though I'd only leave my smaller guys for a couple of days.

I think the real problem is that fish eat so little and are so variable in their size that pinning an amount of food to a fish would have to involve creating a function that took into account size, weight, activity, metabolism and possibly even sex. In other words, impossible... 8O

So just judge by the fish's behavior and looks. :lol: And react accordingly.
 
how much too feed a fish depends on what type of fish it is, how big, what the tempature in the tank is, if the water is flowing hard or fast from power heards. ill give some examples for you, ill use my e-cat , i feed him a piece of beef heart every day that is about 1" - .5" wide and around 2" long and some days i also give some shrimp, big earth worms and feeder fish, all of that is for an 8" fish and that is way too much food for and 1" neon that the big feeders might eat. certain fish like tiger barbs might be better of with 2 or 3 small feedings a day while a red-tailed catfish is better of with one larger feeding, the tempature of a tank plays a big role also because the , fish are cold blooded so when the water is cooler they eat less and when its higher they eat more because of the motabalisim, and when a power head is causeing the fish too swim more they will burn off the food faster and there fore become hungry again and need more food.
 
I have diff type feeders in my tank, so I don't go by a "time" rule. The angels inhale anything floating or moving in the tank, as well as food sitting on the bottom. Once it hits the bottom, the loaches start in on it. I also use sinking wafers for the loaches and plec (although the angels find em delicious as well); the plec usually moseys over 3-4 mins after the wafers enter the tank, and it can take him a while to work his way thru one algae wafer.

I agree with madasa's suggestion of going by behavior; it is what I do. My only caveat is do NOT listen to em when they tell you they are starving and have never eaten before LOL Fish are lil beggars and learn quickly who feeds em and what sort of movements are made before they are fed. If they see the person(s) or the movements (ie: staring in the tank) they may THINK they're going to be fed and act pathetic if they aren't. Don't give in! Fish can go a WEEK or so without starving...

And as Terry said, there are TONS of diff types of fish food out there. It depends on what sort of fish you have, but the better ones here in the states seem to be Omega One, Spectrum, BioBlend and Hikari. My guys get those as well as the occasional Tetra flake, some other brand of shrimp pellets and freeze dried bloodworm, frozen bloodworm and the occasional snail. And no, not all at the same time. I vary foods from feeding to feeding. They always get 2 of the first group I mentioned once a day; pellets or flake for the angels, wafers for the loaches and plec. And I feed em only twice a day. Originally it was recommended 3x a day, but even at 2x a day they are fat pigs LOL so I cut the feedings down.
 
To Eat or Not to Eat

I, too, have heard many different tales about how much and how often you should feed your fish. Yet perhaps the most important question is: are they fat? If they're overweight, then you're feeding them too much. If they look trim, then you're probably right on the money. Now determining whether or not a fish is fat might require some research. A Gourami, for example, will get a "tummy" somewhere behind their gills. It will be a cute little round pudgy looking shape. If you want to kind of reset your proverbial fish feeding schedule, stop feeding them for four or five days. Fish can easily go without food for at least three days, so stretching it out a little longer might be helpful. When coming back to a feeding schedule, start with a minimal amount of food and see how they do. One of the guys at my lfs said that a fish's stomach is about the size of their eye, which is to say, not very big at all. I also think that the amount food in relationship to time intervals depends a lot on your filter. A powerful Fluval or Bio-Wheel will suck the food out of the tank rather quickly. Well, that my 2 cents worth for now. Good luck.
 
Re: To Eat or Not to Eat

"One of the guys at my lfs said that a fish's stomach is about the size of their eye, which is to say, not very big at all. "

if you have ever gone fishing and cleaned a fish then you would know that, that is not true at all, mabey for tiny fish but not for fish 4" and up, and some fish like dragon gobys, e-cat, other nocternal fish have very small eyes, that would only enable them too eat not even half a piece of rice and dragon gobys get too around 24" and e-cats 36"
 
For Sure

I have cleaned fish in my day. I remember cleaning out a Northern Pike, about 15 lbs in size. I was amazed at the number small fish I pulled out of his stomach. Just one of them was bigger than both of his eyes! I only mentioned the eye thing because it was one more "wives tale" I heard about feeding fish. I now tend to rely more on my observations insofar as their behavior is concerned, and of course their waistline. :D
 
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