Feeding.

[mama mia]

Hi this is my first post so hope Im doing it right.
Ive only had my fish 2 platys & a very small male wild guppy, for just over 3 wks all is going very well the fish seem very happy, but Im so worried about over feeding (everyone Ive talked too & every book Ive read says you must never over feed).
My platys always seem hungry & when I go upto the tank they stop swimming around & just hang about for food. I feed them twice a day I give them a very little pinch they eat it so quickly so I give another pinch an so on for about 5 mins then I stop but they would still eat more, I even gave them water fleas an the same thing happened, they never stop eating.

So my question is are platys just very greedy? Or am I not feeding them enough should I keep giving them more ?
I thought all fish would stop when they had had enough like my guppy does or is this not the case?

 

[mommyof2bettas]

nope, they eat and eat and eat. It sounds like you are overfeeding. Overfeeding is bad when done too much, if you only overfeed one day, it's ok, it's bad because fish food has ammonia, and ammonia kills your fish. When you cycle you eliminate the ammonia, so you need to cycle your tank or else your fish might die. I usually feed twice a day, 2 pinches. BTW, how big is your tank?

 

[Puffdaddy]

The problem that over feeding causes is high ammonia (as mommyof2bettas states) when food is left uneaten. Although
this is not the case for you as it would seem that your fish is eating all the food. So your problem would be obese fish and
that will leed to other problems. For your fish I would recommend feeding only 1-2 small pinches a day and not more than
they can eat in 3-5 minutes.

 

[Dutchie]

I usually feed my fish only once at night and enough for all the food to be eaten within approx 30 seconds.

If you have live plants, then the fish should not get really hungry anyway.
As other have stated, they will keep eating and this could lead to a very quick or painfull death with all sorts of health issues.

Another thing to consider is what you are feeding them; whether its flakes, freeze dried worms, or even live food, its all pretty much the same standard.

Not sure I agree on enough food as they can eat within 3-5 minutes though. This might be over feeding them which will result in a lot of waste meaning lots of ammonia.

 

[Tolak]

I read somewhere long ago that a fish's stomach is about the size of its eye. This obviously doesn't apply to blind cave dwelling fish or that soet of thing. It also helps to withhold feeding for a day once weekly, I have a tank upstairs that I don't feed all weekend every week.

Add up eyes & eye sizes, and guesstimate accordingly.

 

[mama mia]

Oooppps !!!!!!!!

 

[mama mia]

Thank you all so much for your help.

I understand about the ammonia & I always check the water regularly, the ammonia has stayed at 0.
But I will feed them a bit less as I dont want over weight fish. I had read somewhere that you should not feed them for one day a week but it was in a old book so I wondered if it was a bit out of date, but maybe Ill try that too.

I think Ill always come on here with my questions, as I have several fish shops near me but all there advise is so very different, its quite confusing, an I wonder how many of them have actually kept fish them selves.

Thank you all so very much, Im loving my fish so very much I just want to get it all right. I wish someone had told me years ago how great Tropical fish were.

 

[K.J.]

Overfeeding can cause ammonia spikes, constipation, and SBD.

Ammonia spikes are obviously killer. Constipation can be cleared with a pea and fasting, and Swim Bladder Disorder is usually not deadly but can be.

 

[highfire]

Welcome to the forum, mama mia. You have certainly come to the right place if you want helpful, reliable advice.

For your information, I feed my fish every other day. I have done this for quite a while now and they are all thriving.

 

[vinylman]

Mama mia, you've learned very quickly the most valuable thing a newbie can learn: most LFS are there to take your money for things you really don't need - don't get me started on miracle liquids and supplements. . Not all of them, of course, but there's a staggering amount of ignorance and bad advice available from many shops. The best thing to do is to try to get to know the individual staff, ask them if they keep fish themselves and for how long. Not foolproof of course, but if you can find an experienced fishkeeper among them, you won't go far wrong. Many LFS won't even admit to the benefits of cycling a tank. People here will give you honest, unbiased advice based on experience. Enjoy your hobby.

 

[mama mia]

Hello Highfire, thank you for the welcome.

After eveyones comments I think I was feeding them too much.
But I find it amazing the difference in advise you get from shop to shop, an Im so new at this but even to me some of the advise seems so wrong! luckly I double check everything.

Anyway Im not going to feed my fish today (I do feel abit mean) but as of now I will feed them slightly less.

Thank you everyone

 

[dwarfgourami]

I work on the ratio of 2-3 flakes/day per platy, though I usually crushe them a bit to make sure everybody gets some.

That old wives' saying about the eye being the same as the stomach is pretty irrelevant: some fish have virtually no stomach (but a long gut instead), all that means is that they need to eat smaller portions more frequently, not that they necessarily eat less. Herbivores on the whole need to eat more as there is less nutritional content in veggies.

For platies and gups, it is a good idea to replace one or two flake foods per week with veggies such as lightly boiled+ shelled peas or spinach or broccoli, or whatever you're having really, as long as it's not cooked with oil or seasoning. They eat quite a lot of plant material in the wild. They will also enjoy a treat of live food (including frozen bl
oodworm or daphnia) once a week.

 

[vinylman]

Hello Highfire, thank you for the welcome.

After eveyones comments I think I was feeding them too much.
But I find it amazing the difference in advise you get from shop to shop, an Im so new at this but even to me some of the advise seems so wrong! luckly I double check everything.

Anyway Im not going to feed my fish today (I do feel abit mean) but as of now I will feed them slightly less.

Thank you everyone

There's no need to feel mean; it's much less dangerous to underfeed than overfeed. Don't forget, in the wild fish might go for days on end without finding food. You can even go on your hols for a week without having to leave a feeding block polluting the water.

 

[Tolak]

That old wives' saying about the eye being the same as the stomach is pretty irrelevant: some fish have virtually no stomach (but a long gut instead), all that means is that they need to eat smaller portions more frequently, not that they necessarily eat less. Herbivores on the whole need to eat more as there is less nutritional content in veggies.

This goes along with 1 inch per gallon, 20% water changes weekly, and probably a few others that I'm forgetting. They are good guidelines for a beginning aquarist, and will keep them from overfeeding, overstocking, and poor water quality. Once a person gains more experience they can go beyond these guidelines, and feed, stock, and maintain accordingly.

 

[highfire]

There's no need to feel mean; it's much less dangerous to underfeed than overfeed. Don't forget, in the wild fish might go for days on end without finding food. You can even go on your hols for a week without having to leave a feeding block polluting the water.

Yes, that's right. All too often people worry about leaving their fish without food for a day or so when the reality is if they are fit and healthy, they can happily go for a week or so without food. I am going away for 11 days in the summer and although my neighbour and my mum will be keeping an eye on my fish during that time, I shan't be worrying too much about feeding. I shall feed the day I go and then when I get back on day 11. Although my tank will no doubt have some algea to remove when I get home, at least the water quality should still be OK!

As for feeding blocks - I have never used one so can't speak from experience, but have not heard many good reports about them.