feeding fish

trust-e-man · 11-26-2006, 01:23 AM

ive had fish tanks for almost a year now and i have a questions i know that fishes get a memmory that when they see the person that feeds them they come to the top of the tanks looking for food regardless if your going to feed them or not. my questions is that i have a pair of oscars which ive had for about 6 months ive read up everything that i could find about them like they are very fast growing fish how big they get whats the minimum tank size they should have (the larger the better for every fish) but i feed my fish like three times a day they produce alot of waist which i vacuum out all of it every other day or so to keep the nitrate levels down. am i feeding them to much? im feeding them dried shrimp which is high in protiens nutrients etc.etc.they have been the healthiest fish ive seen never had a problem except when i first got them they got ick and all i did is turn up the temp to 84 and let nature take its tole. but yeah am i feeding them to much especialy the female which ive tought to jump out of the water to grab food so shes the first at the top. please help this also saves money if im feeding them to much the i dont run out of food to fast.

gm333 · 11-26-2006, 01:37 AM

I feed all my fish(fresh and salt) one time a day and have been for 10yrs now and have not had any problems.

trust-e-man · 11-26-2006, 01:46 AM

you made ur web site through bravehost huh well look at mine and tell me what you think in on my signiture

gm333 · 11-26-2006, 01:50 AM

Already did and it looks good! I need to update mine!

trust-e-man · 11-26-2006, 01:55 AM

well if you need info on a fish just email me it and ill post it asap when i get the chance and hopefully im going to put at least twenty new fish on the site asap so hopefully you see one that you have

prgwbtd · 11-26-2006, 02:09 PM

I feed my fish once a day - usually when I go to bed so that I remember. Fish can go for two weeks without food and I've read about some people who don't feed them at all when they go on vacation for a few days or so. But once a day won't bother them at all. Some people do feed three times a day - I guess it depends on your preference, just as long as you don't feed them too much each time.

Tommy Gun · 11-26-2006, 06:47 PM

There are some fish that need a more constant food source throughout the day and three-a-day feedings are usually the method that is used to provide that. Off hand, I cannot think of a freshwater fish that falls into that catagory but some saltwater fish need it, mainly herbivores.

I feed all of my fish once a day as well. They are not suffering and they will always act like they are hungy. The best analogy I have ever heard about it that fish are much like Pavlov's dog who learned to be hungry everytime a bell rang. It is much the same when your fish see you walk towards the tank since they see you as a food source.

A lot of fish are also opportunistic feeders meaning that they will eat any food that is put in front of them since in nature, food doesnt normally just drop into the tank at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a regular basis. And I do beleive that a fish can over eat just like I like to do sometimes however they dont really have a treadmill to work out on like I do...not that I use it though. In all seriousness though, you CAN overfeed your fish even though they are eating everything and food is not dropping into the substrate.

trust-e-man · 11-26-2006, 06:50 PM

thanks, well it wont matter now but ill keep this info for future reference cause i got somone tobuy my oscars for $60

thats awsome.

igoryek69 · 12-02-2006, 06:36 PM

My question about feeding fish is, I've bought some flake food, when I put it the tank after a few seconds it starts to sink to the bottom and stays there ( fish wont eat it). Does it make more sence to mince it into powder and all uneaten food will be sucked into the flitration system?

Tommy Gun · 12-02-2006, 07:24 PM

Igor,

No, I wouldnt crush it all up since that would most likely make it harder for your fish to eat it fast enough to get enough before it hit the bottom of the tank.

What size tank do you have?

What kind of fish do you have?

What type of flakes are you feeding?

How often do you feed?

Have you tried/thought about feeding frozen foods?

As a side note, it may be better for you to ask questions like this one in your own thread. Even though I realize that your question is very similar to Trust-e-Man's question, but every situation is different and so creating your own post can help you keep better track of the answers and reply to further questions that people ask you like I have. It also helps bring more attention to your spacific questions since most times, at least for myself, people don't look back upon old topics that are known to be 'solved', if that makes sense.