my feeding schedule

[Tostada]

I really like how convenient the Hikari frozen cubes of brine shrimp are. I just get some aquarium water in a cup, put the cube in it, microwave it for about 45 sec, then set it down till all the brine shrimp are all thawed and feathery and spread out, then I split it between the tanks. Since all the frozen cubes are about $3 to $4 for 32 cubes, there's no reason for me not to spend $0.10 to $0.13 a day to feed my fish.


So, this is the feeding schedule I've switched to:

Su: peas
Mo: blood worms cube
Tu: brine shrimp cube
We: krill cube
Th: brine shrimp cube
Fr: blood worms cube
Sa: (no food)

The frozen krill cubes don't really look all that much like krill. It's just sort of a lump that breaks up really easy into flakes that are small enough for even the bettas and rasboras to eat. I wasn't sure if the krill was a good idea, but it doesn't seem to be a problem, so I'm thinking of feeding it more often than once a week, although it's not as convenient as the brine shrimp or worms which break up all by themselves and disperse very evenly.

They don't seem to like the peas all that much, but they end up eating them. They like the krill, and they definitely all love the brine shrimp and blood worms. I do sort of worry that not much gets down to my cories on days I'm feeding blood worms or brine shrimp, though, since the other fish eat it all so fast. It's amazing to watch the cloud of brine shrimp that almost makes the whole tank opaque then disappears in under a minute.

I don't want to overfeed, so I'm not sure if I should add anything to that or not. I was thinking maybe just adding a single sinking wafer on Tuesday/Thursday, and maybe adding some Tetra ColorBits on Monday/Friday. Both of those float down to the bottom and give the cories something to eat.

I do a PWC every Sunday, so maybe it would be a good idea to stick an orange slice in on Saturday (instead of feeding nothing) and take it out on Sunday?

I've also got regular flake food, the little balls of betta food, and freeze-dried blood worms, but I don't know if I need them.

I only feed once a day (and have been skipping Saturdays), but it seems like there are baby MTS all over the place. Maybe the frozen cubes are just a little too big -- although they do get eaten really fast, and if I fed any less I think the gourami would just eat everything and nobody else would get any.


My fish (in 2 different tanks) are:

8 rasboras
4 swords
3 lemon tetras
2 bettas
1 gold gourami
5 panda corys
4 ottos
4 ghost shrimp
1 mystery snail
MTS


Just looking for general advice. Thanks.

 

[hc8719]

i thought you were suppose to feed flakes also, especially because all of those foods (minus the pea) are meaty. fish need some fiber (as well as vital nutrietnts) too

why dont you feed saturday? people really do exaggerate that fish can be overfed easily. i feed mine 3 times daily, the fish eat it all, and my tank doesnt cloud up.

the trick to multiple feedings is to, put what they can eat in 45 secs, then put what they can eat in 30 secs, repeat as much as you want. people who dont like overfeeding complain because they put a buttload in, and the fish dont get to it all before it hits the bottom and clouds the tank.

so my fish eat 3 times, with each meal consisting of 2-3 servings (if that makes sense)

 

[Tostada]

i thought you were suppose to feed flakes also, especially because all of those foods (minus the pea) are meaty. fish need some fiber (as well as vital nutrietnts) too

I've never heard that. I've heard people say it's not a good idea to feed blood worms all the time because they're particularly high in protein (freeze-dried is 65%), but tropical flake food is always pretty high in protein. Freeze-dried brine shrimp is 47% protein, which is about what most flake food is. If you look at pond pellets, those are more like 30-35%, but tropical flake is usually 43-48%. My ColorBits are 47.5%, and the flake version is 49%.

As far as fiber, all the tropical flake I've ever seen says "Crude Fiber (max) 2%." Blood worms have more, Krill has more, and brine shrimp has less, but I've still seen people recommend brine shrimp as a good thing to prevent constipated fish (not sure if that's true).

why dont you feed saturday? people really do exaggerate that fish can be overfed easily. i feed mine 3 times daily, the fish eat it all, and my tank doesnt cloud up.

the trick to multiple feedings is to, put what they can eat in 45 secs, then put what they can eat in 30 secs, repeat as much as you want. people who dont like overfeeding complain because they put a buttload in, and the fish dont get to it all before it hits the bottom and clouds the tank.

so my fish eat 3 times, with each meal consisting of 2-3 servings (if that makes sense)

About 90% of people on this forum recommend against feeding 3 times a day. There's probably nothing wrong with it if you're not actually overfeeding, but I've tried multiple small feedings and my gourami gets to it faster than everyone else every time, so if I fed enough that everyone got some, my gourami would be eating about twice her weight in food a day. When I have a cup of thawed out frozen food, I can just dump it all in at once and it disperses everywhere so everyone gets some, but it's still eaten within about a minute.

I had a betta get constipated and die when I was feeding a little flake food and a little betta food every day. I thought skipping a day and adding peas would be a good idea. I really can't feed much less because I need to feed a significant amount for everyone to get some, but they're getting enough that skipping a day shouldn't be a problem. I skip the day before I feed the peas, so then they always eat some of the peas, even though they don't like them nearly as much as the frozen food.

 

[hc8719]

thats because it was a betta, gouramis have such high metabolism that wont happen. about 100% of people on this forum feed their fish every day, and you dont see threads going up "OMG my kisser at a butt load and got constipated and died"

besides, what makes saturaday any different, if they eat sun-fri anyways, i'd think theres more of a chance with them eating 6 days in a row.

 

[Jchillin]

I'm no dietician but I'm sure the flake provides vitamin supplements and fiber that the meaty foods don't. Most flake foods provide about 2% fiber, which is essential for good health.

In regard to once a week fasting, there is nothing wrong with it. To be sure, our fish probably get more nutrition daily than they would in their natural environment.

 

[Guest]

i have read several articles about the need for vitamin C for fish... you can generallyget what you need vitamin wise from a good flake or pellet

i'd suggest looking at the full nutritional needs of your fish.

 

[QTOFFER]

I like your schedule. For more variety, and more balanced nutrition, I would suggest replacing one bloodworm and brine shrimp feeding with high quality flake foods.

Su: peas
Mo: High quality community aquarium flake
Tu: brine shrimp cube
We: krill cube
Th: Spirulina flake
Fr: blood worms cube
Sa: (no food)

You can also introduce variety by substituting leaf spinach or zucchini for the peas.

Different brands of flake provide some variety too. I have lots of trial-sized containers of flake and pellet foods from several different makers. Each day I randomly select one and have noticed that certain fish go for different components of each flake mixture.

Letting the fish go one or two days a week without food will not harm them in the least.

 

[hc8719]

In regard to once a week fasting, there is nothing wrong with it. To be sure, our fish probably get more nutrition daily than they would in their natural environment.

yes but in their natural enviroment, their lifespan isnt that long either. i mean how many of us skip a few meals for our dogs, "because in the wild they dont eat every week"

cardinal tetras are a great example, in the wild, they rarely live for more than a year, but in a tank, they can live up to 4 years

 

[Jchillin]

In regard to once a week fasting, there is nothing wrong with it. To be sure, our fish probably get more nutrition daily than they would in their natural environment.

yes but in their natural enviroment, their lifespan isnt that long either. i mean how many of us skip a few meals for our dogs, "because in the wild they dont eat every week"

cardinal tetras are a great example, in the wild, they rarely live for more than a year, but in a tank, they can live up to 4 years

So, we agree that skipping a day doesn't cause any harm? Or that feeding every day is no problem either, so long as they are feed a balanced diet?

 

[rich311k]

Just a thought, a dog is a mammal like us and we need to eat everyday. Fish are cold blooded much more adapted to not eating everyday. Snakes eat once a week or so.

Why is a fish living longer such an issue with you? They do better in captivity than in the wild. Why is this bad?

 

[Zagz]

I believe fish need some quality flake food in their diet. I also believe they need some fresh veggies and fruits. I don't skip a day feeding but certainly agree with JC that it does absolutely no harm whatsoever.

I prefer that the fish live longer in captivity than in the wild. It makes me feel good to have extended their lives. I personally think it is a very good thing.

 

[ksfishguy]

There are so many views on feeding. Can fish thrive just on flakes?

 

[zacusmaximus]

Humans fast too! Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Jainism, Sikhism and others all have various fasting practices.

My fish don't ALWAYS fast for a day a week, but I do it maybe every other week sometimes once a month. I find it quite hard to deprive my "babies" from nurishment!

 

[Tostada]

I'm no dietician but I'm sure the flake provides vitamin supplements and fiber that the meaty foods don't. Most flake foods provide about 2% fiber, which is essential for good health.

That's a misconception that apparently a lot of people have. Flakes aren't the only thing with vitamins added, and most other foods contain much more than 2% fiber.

I'm using the Hikari frozen cubes, all of which contain multivitamis. Also, they all have tons more fiber than flake food. Once you factor out moisture:

blood worms = 55% protein, 8% fiber
krill = 52% protein, 24% fiber
brine shrimp = 49% protein, 9% fiber

i have read several articles about the need for vitamin C for fish... you can generallyget what you need vitamin wise from a good flake or pellet

i'd suggest looking at the full nutritional needs of your fish.

The Hikari cubes all list "stabilized vitamin C" and many other vitamins as being added.

I like your schedule. For more variety, and more balanced nutrition, I would suggest replacing one bloodworm and brine shrimp feeding with high quality flake foods.

Su: peas
Mo: High quality community aquarium flake
Tu: brine shrimp cube
We: krill cube
Th: Spirulina flake
Fr: blood worms cube
Sa: (no food)

Spirulina is algae, right? So just about everything will eat that?

 

[QTOFFER]

Yup, spirulina is dried algae extract. I like the Hikari brand because they add multivitamins. Everyone in my tanks eats it, especially the corys, tetras, and tiger barbs. The angelfish shunned it in the beginning, but after a few attempted offerings, they started glorping it down too!

Like you, I feed Hikari bloodworms and Hikari brine shrimp. Again, I like the Hikari brand because they add multivitamins to the brineshrimp, which would be pretty devoid of nutrition otherwise.

 

[Tostada]

QTOFFER:

Since you have cories, do you have any advice on when I should be adding sinking wafers in the mix, or if there's other consideration I should be giving them? I've just got the 5 pandas, and I've mostly just been breaking one wafer in half for them every other day.

They're obviously doing fine, but I almost never actually see the cories eat. They're constantly rooting around in the gravel, but I never see them paying that much attention to the sinking wafers I try to give them. My gourami, swords, and betta all do a lot of poking at the wafers, though.

I worry about getting the right balance of not overfeeding but having enough food that some gets down to the cories.

 

[Jchillin]

Like I said, I'm no dietician.

I have cories and they do the same thing that yours do. Since I have an overabundance of bottom dwellers (6 bristlenoses and an 8' Sailfin Pleco), I toss in a large amount of spurilina and shrimp pellets. I toss them in after lights out to discourage everyone from thinking it belongs to them. The cories like it a little softer than when it first hits the tank and will chow down once it's softened a little. I discovered this after watching with a miniature flashlight but now I can watch all the time since the addition of moonlights.

 

[Tostada]

Yeah ... my cories also seem to ignore stuff until it softens up a little.

I should probably just get out a cup of tank water like I do with the frozen cubes, and let things like the sinking wafers and ColorBits soften up for a few minutes.

 

[joannde]

The cories like it a little softer than when it first hits the tank and will chow down once it's softened a little. I discovered this after watching with a miniature flashlight ...

LOL talk about dedication !

My cories love sinking algae wafers - and like many - I've discovered that they need to be nice and soft before they eat them. But once they're soft - watch out ! LOL .... they can be little piggies. They only take a nibble or two at a time, but they stay within seeing distance of that pellet until its gone.

 

[hc8719]

Just a thought, a dog is a mammal like us and we need to eat everyday. Fish are cold blooded much more adapted to not eating everyday. Snakes eat once a week or so.

Why is a fish living longer such an issue with you? They do better in captivity than in the wild. Why is this bad?

i was stating that the reason they did better in captivity was because they get to eat more often, by skipping days you limit their potentional to thrive, and please note the word "limit"

tropical fish are kept in much warmer water, and should be fed more often than once a day. gouramis already have a lightning fast metabolism, and should be fed at least twice daily.