Feeding Lettuce

[brgurung]

hi, while feeding lettuce/spinach to my goldies, shall i hang the leaf all day inside the tank? should they be fed as substitue to regular diet or like a snack in between regular meal?
thanking you
bik

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Its good to feed it to your goldfish at least once a week, it you'd like to feed it more regularly there is no harm in feeding it as long as you also feed your goldfish more high protein foods as well like bloodworms and things to help keep their diet varied and omnivorous. The main benefet of veg like spinache and lettuce is that it help prevents contipation in goldfish and other things like swimbladder disorders and dropsy etc- if your goldfish won't take the veg, chopping it up can help encourage them to eat it . There are also numerous other types of veg which are good for goldfish which they'll take too.
I would say leave the veg in the tank for a maximum of 24hrs- a little longer and it may still ok, but i personally wouldn't advise longer than that as it will start to go off after that and the goldfish are unlikely to touch it once it does etc.

 

[brgurung]

hi, thanx for the quick reply...... so while keeping lettuce in my tank, do i need to feed my goldfish as usual ( i.e. two meal a day )..... or should I skip one meal?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

hi, thanx for the quick reply...... so while keeping lettuce in my tank, do i need to feed my goldfish as usual ( i.e. two meal a day )..... or should I skip one meal?

Usually skipping a meal should encourage them to eat the veg, they'll be fine with just the veg as the meal for that feeding session .

 

[brgurung]

sorry for bothering you again.... i fed my goldies in the morning....if I keep the lettuce now in the tank and then feed them again at night with their regular meal, will that be overfeeding? lettuce is just water and fiber, right??

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

sorry for bothering you again.... i fed my goldies in the morning....if I keep the lettuce now in the tank and then feed them again at night with their regular meal, will that be overfeeding? lettuce is just water and fiber, right??

Nah you shouldn't be overfeeding them- as long as the goldfish eat all their prepared/dried/dead foods within a minute or so, then thats fine.
Its when you start to get uneaten food littering the bottom of the tank or fish getting constipation or taking a very long time to eat and clear up easy to eat foods like fish flakes, that you know you are over-feeding them . As time goes by you'll get a feel for how much food your fish are capable of healthily eating.
Goldfish will beg for food more or less all the time, but 2-3 small to medium sized meals a day is sufficient for them. In the wild fish like goldfish would eat a more or less constant but very small supply of critters and veg they find in the water, so they have a more or less constant appetite to match such a diet and lifestyle. In an aquarium though they get fed much more nutritional and fatty foods but on a less regular supply- if you are not careful, the goldfish can over-eat such foods very quickly. So small but regular varied meals is the best diet for goldies .