Fish Eating...

[Lozzibear]

Ok, so i know this will be such a stupid question... but i havent had fish for a good while now, and just wanted to ask something after watching my friends fishies eating.

My friend has some neons, platies and guppies... i was watching them eating the other day (i am using her fish to amuse myself until i can get my tank filled up, whenever that may be...) and i noticed that the neons would just take wee small bits (hardly suprising with their size lol) and eat them fine. But the platies and guppies would take a big bit in their mouths for a few seconds, spit it out and it would be in loads of little bits... then they would eat those little bits and spit them out again. Is this normal? All of them were doing it, so i assume it is... but they didnt look like they were getting any food...

Also, how do you know the fish are getting enough food? Now, with my dog i adjust his diet due to if he is losing/gaining weight... but how can you tell that with fishies?

I feel like such an idiot... but its been years since i properly had fish, and i was much younger so didnt pay the greatest attention... So, when i get my fishies i want to make sure i know this stupid little things...

 

[AstonN24vantage]

it seems normal, do they not eat anything? sometimes its hard to tell. they could just be spitting some of it out.

every fish should get a couple pieces of food, if not less or slightly more, depending on fish.

 

[Geoff-]

I've noticed that if my tetras are hungry they will go nuts for food. If they are well fed they will often play with it by spitting it back out again, lose interest in that piece and even go find a new piece of food and repeat the same process.

So it probably means you could get away with feeding them less. But I'm a noob at this hobby so don't take my word for it

 

[raptorrex]

Ok, so i know this will be such a stupid question... but i havent had fish for a good while now, and just wanted to ask something after watching my friends fishies eating.

My friend has some neons, platies and guppies... i was watching them eating the other day (i am using her fish to amuse myself until i can get my tank filled up, whenever that may be...) and i noticed that the neons would just take wee small bits (hardly suprising with their size lol) and eat them fine. But the platies and guppies would take a big bit in their mouths for a few seconds, spit it out and it would be in loads of little bits... then they would eat those little bits and spit them out again. Is this normal? All of them were doing it, so i assume it is... but they didnt look like they were getting any food...

Also, how do you know the fish are getting enough food? Now, with my dog i adjust his diet due to if he is losing/gaining weight... but how can you tell that with fishies?

I feel like such an idiot... but its been years since i properly had fish, and i was much younger so didnt pay the greatest attention... So, when i get my fishies i want to make sure i know this stupid little things...

I too have noticed this. if its normal i don't know. all i can say is, many fish do it.

 

[dayzofspeed]

or it could just be their way of chewing ......large piece spat out small piece consumed

 

[AstonN24vantage]

many cichlids do that too. my angels, convicts - oscars are notorious for spitting food.

 

[waterdrop]

I have observed the difference you describe between neons (or most tetras) and guppies/platies/etc. (livebearers) for many years and it's an accurate observation and I believe quite normal. I have no idea what the livebearers are actually doing.

One speculation might be that most livebearers enjoy "picking" at surfaces (they will pick at sustrate, decorations, plants and even other fish) and that they are "scavenging" and thus are used to picking up a lot of debris that they don't want along with occasional food that they do. Tetras do like high-protein diets and it may be that they are more used to insects and other live catches, where it's an advantage to trap the entire insect immediately if you don't want to lose it.

~~waterdrop~~