Please Watch My Feeding Video - Help

[Deleted member 107737]

Hi All,
 
Am I feeding my young platies the right way??
 
 
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Iadaurw8c4
 
 
 
I feed them 8am and 6pm. 3 flakes crushed up each feeding.
 
Please watch my video and give me feedback.
 
Thanks,
 
Dave


8 fish

 

[TooManyChoices]

Way way way too much food IMO. Anything that drifts down and remains uneaten will foul water. I feed 8 larger, very active tetras far less than that. Feeding is one of those things that takes a while to figure out. But I'd cut back to one flake. IF THAT!
 
Fish aren't going to starve with small feedings. Their stomachs are about the size of there eye!
 
I'd crumble it up in your fingers and gradually let it go, little tiny bits at a time, wait till those four or five bits are eaten and give them some more. This takes a bit more time but means the fish will get used to your hands and will quickly learn to be unafraid and happy to come right up to your fingers. 

 

[Mikey1]

i agree....it looks like too much
 
one of those flakes would probably be enough.....those flakes are huge and really made for bigger fish

 

[lee420]

what i do is get a salt shaker, put some flake in it and crush it up with a pen in the shake. i give em one small shake about 3 times a day and i havent lost any that way

 

[This Old Spouse]

That's about how much I feed ALL the fish in my fully stocked 55g, once a day! Keep in mind that a fish's stomach is about the size of its eye.
 
Also, I don't see any water movement on the surface. Should be some to aerate the water.

 

[MBOU]

Your feeding technique is perfect doing better that about 99% of people who end up in their LFS asking how much to feed!!
 
That said... few things to take into account:
 
- you don't have many fish
- your fish aren't a species known to waste away..
- stomachs are small but they wont stop eating, they are right fatties!
-in the wild, these fish would burn off all this excess energy and fat in their attempt to find food..  take this away and stick em in a tank... their food handed to em on a platter... they aren't working any more, just eating and getting fat and lazy!!

 

[snazy]

I normally stick my hand into the tank so the food gets wet and falls. The platies like chasing falling flakes and you can see the small ones at the bottom on your video fetching food from there which is typical for them. It's just personal opinion but you can do it either way.
 
And overfeeding is as bad as underfeeding. One causes bad water quality, ammonia/nitrIte spikes and death, the other one causes stress, malnurishment, stunted growth, depression, disease and death.

 

[floraandfauna]

there was no water movement- i did notice that.  you dont only need an aerator you need a filter.  food that builds up after too much feeding will definitely kill your fish.  there needs to be oxygen in the water and the untouched portions of food and the resulted waste needs to be sucked up and away from the fish.  these filters have replaceable cartridges.  once one gets dirty, after a couple weeks, you can put in a new one.  hope this helps.
  
also, i agree with one flake of food.  and once a day.  if you really are worried about starving them,  watch their bodies - the fat and muscle structure along the dorsal and belly areas.  in my experience, a fish that is starving, in my case, it was ill and had no appetite, the back of the fish along the dorsal fin and belly start to recede. they were so hollow that i could see bones.  but my fish was sick.  and i doubt yours will ever come to this i would just advise to cut back the flakes to one a day - you only have eight juveniles and their tummies are only as big as one of their eyes.

 

[snazy]

The tank has quite a few plants for this low bioload and the plants look very healthy, so filter or no filter the ammonia and other toxins will be consumed by the plants most likely. In a non-planted tank a filter is obviously essential, but in a planted tank there are all types of alternatives to keep it healthy once you reach a balance. There is something moving the surface there on the video so it might as well have a filter too.

 

[Deleted member 107737]

Hi All,
 
yes i have an external canister filter which I switch off when feeding.
 
so far i havent had any spikes after 2 weeks.
 
doing 2 partial water changes a week.
 
now feeding them 2 times a day 1 flake each time
 
thanks,
 
dave

 

[Mikey1]

leave your filter running while feeding
 
dont worry if it sucks up some food, its actually GOOD for the filter/bacteria

 

[floraandfauna]

The tank has quite a few plants for this low bioload and the plants look very healthy, so filter or no filter the ammonia and other toxins will be consumed by the plants most likely. In a non-planted tank a filter is obviously essential, but in a planted tank there are all types of alternatives to keep it healthy once you reach a balance. There is something moving the surface there on the video so it might as well have a filter too.

thanks snazy; i didn't know this.  it actually helps me... thank you.