Feeding times

[Fishfinder1973]

I like to feed my fish 2hrs after dawn and 1hr before dusk.This is the feeding times in the wild.Nymphs swim for the surface at these times,hatching as flies when they get there.
The nymphs usually hide under rocks on the bottom for most of their life,until the day comes when they need to swim to the surface.This is when they are most vulnerable to being eaten,and therefore they swim to the surface in their millions.Once the flies have mated they will fall back onto the water surface,effectively spent,and this usually happens at dusk when the air is cooler.
I don’t change these times during winter as obviously the tank is the same temp all year round.
In winter,wild fish will feed when the sun is at its highest,which is usually around 1pm.Even in the dead of winter there’s a small window of opportunity for flies to hatch at this time,and in Scotland it’s usually midges.
Winter flies are tiny,but fish become torpid below 5 degrees and hardly need to eat,so even these tiny flies provide a sufficient meal.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

I like to feed my fish 2hrs after dawn and 1hr before dusk.This is the feeding times in the wild.Nymphs swim for the surface at these times,hatching as flies when they get there.
The nymphs usually hide under rocks on the bottom for most of their life,until the day comes when they need to swim to the surface.This is when they are most vulnerable to being eaten,and therefore they swim to the surface in their millions.Once the flies have mated they will fall back onto the water surface,effectively spent,and this usually happens at dusk when the air is cooler.
I don’t change these times during winter as obviously the tank is the same temp all year round.
In winter,wild fish will feed when the sun is at its highest,which is usually around 1pm.Even in the dead of winter there’s a small window of opportunity for flies to hatch at this time,and in Scotland it’s usually midges.
Winter flies are tiny,but fish become torpid below 5 degrees and hardly need to eat,so even these tiny flies provide a sufficient meal.

Interesting idea, although whilst you have simulating nymphs covered, most fish will eat throughout the day or night, usually always on the alert for food.
I'm curious...what fish are we talking about?

Feeding fish in a regular pattern is often advised to newer fish keepers, as it establishes the habit of remembering to actually feed the fish and the fish themselves can learn when it's feeding time.
Personally, I feed little amounts, relatively often and paying attention to what seems to miss out, if any do. I then try and focus on those fish the next time I feed, perhaps using food in a different format. The timing of these feeds is fairly random, with me trying to replicate natural feeding, (nymphs aside ). As it is, the fish now seem to know that the Big Thing Out There often equates to food and in so doing, adequately demonstrate the power of random reward, (Skinner et al).

 

[Avel1896]

I feed 3/4 times a day. Why ? Cause fishes do not eat at fixed time in nature

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Freshwater fish don’t have set fishing times,that’s correct,but they do have two prolific feeding times.Those times vary according to seasons,but it remains twice a day.In winter,the first heavy feed is when the sun is at its highest point of the day and the second is just before dark.In summer,it’s a couple of hours after dawn and an hour before dark.It’s just that in nature,insects are more abundant at these times.
Bruce,I’m talking about any wild freshwater fish in the uk,tench,roach,perch,bream.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

...Bruce,I’m talking about any wild freshwater fish in the uk,tench,roach,perch,bream.

So when you said 'feed my fish', do you have these in a tank?

 

[Avel1896]

As we are talking about tropical fishes, there's almost no season change.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

As we are talking about tropical fishes, there's almost no season change.

Hence my question.

 

[AbbeysDad]

I tend to subscribe to Charles Clapsaddle's 'Grazers and Gorgers' fish feeding tips.
I think most of our fish are grazers and as such might be fed small amounts several times a day. Having 'said' that, I feed most of my swordtails twice daily (fry 3 times), but there's always plants and algae to munch.

 

[Corypower]

I feed most of my fish in the day while my pleco at night

 

[Fishfinder1973]

Aquarium fish yes Bruce.

 

[Corypower]

Aquarium fish yes Bruce.

Didn’t answer the question
Bruce meant like cold water fish or warm water fish , or salt water

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Aquarium fish yes Bruce.

That narrows it down a little.
What species are you feeding in your tank? You're using UK cold freshwater species as your model, but in this tropical part of the Forum, we'd normally be talking about tropicals and these would have a life quite different from your average Roach in the Tay.

 

[itiwhetu]

I feed fish once a day at my dinner time 3 hours before the lights go out. My lights are on midday to 10pm. I leave the fish scavenging for food during the day.

 

[Corypower]

I feed fish once a day at my dinner time 3 hours before the lights go out. My lights are on midday to 10pm. I leave the fish scavenging for food during the day.

Are they nocturnal?

 

[itiwhetu]

Are they nocturnal?

No, but there are always some nocturnal fish in my community tanks.