Like grazing mammals and birds that eat all day long if they can find food, fish are also opportunistic eaters by nature, eating what they can get. However, pet fish living in an aquarium can only eat twice a day – in the early morning and around sunset.
In the wild, fish are constantly on the lookout for food and will eat as much as they can in one meal if they can find something that suits their taste buds. However, if a fish cannot find anything edible to fill its stomach, it can go without food for at least a week without eating anything. And healthy adult fish do not starve until they have been without food for five or six weeks.
This means if you have pet fish and go awayFor a weekend, you don’t have to worry about no one being around to feed them. On the other hand, you never want your fish to get stressed about the fact that they are hungry and can’t find food for themselves.
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How much should I feed my fish?
While many animals collect and store food forWhen used in the future, fish can no longer store their food and must find new food sources every day. The best practice for people who keep fish as pets is to research the type of food your fish needs and follow the instructions on the package for how much to feed it.
Since they are scavengers by nature, your fishI will learn that when they approach there is a chance they will get something to eat. T hey can swim frantically and rise to the surface of the water with their mouths open. With such an adorable spectacle, you might be inclined to think: "Poor fish! Look how hungry they are! I will give them a little more today. " And there is nothing more satisfying than watching a pet gobble up the food you give it. It gives you a real sense of purpose and responsibility.
But fish also eat themselvesunnecessarily and make themselves sick. While they will always eat when food is offered, healthy fish should know to stop eating when they are full. However, there are always fish that don’t understand that too much good can be bad. Another problem with overfeeding is that the food they don’t eat breaks down into toxins that are dangerous to the fish or clogs the tank’s filter.
It should take about 5 minutes for your fish to finish their meals. If they finish all their food in a minute, they may need more food. If they continue to eat for more than five minutes, or if you see leftover food floating on the surface of the water or slowly sinking to the bottom of the tank after feeding, you may be giving the fish larger portions of food than they need.
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How often should I feed my fish?
The times and frequency you feed your fish will depend entirely on the type of fish you have. The basic rule is one feeding per day.
If you really enjoy watching your fish eat, you can cut the recommended portion in half and feed them twice a day.
There may be many exceptions to this rule.
- Newly hatched and young fish need to eat at least three times a day because they are still growing. You still need to give them a controlled amount of food, but just divide it into very small portions.
- Herbivorous (plant-eating) fish have smaller stomachs than carnivorous fish and also need to eat more frequently. Fish such as farowellas, mollies, and silver dollars would graze in the wild and need the opportunity to "graze" in your tank.
- Goldfish, believe it or not, do not have a stomach. They digest their food in their intestines. They also need to eat two or more small meals per day to get the nutrients they need.
- Most fish feed either early in the morning or at sunset. That is, before you go to work or after you get home. Nocturnal fish, however, only feed at night and should be fed before you turn off all the lights in your house to go to sleep. Nocturnal fish are able and happy to forage and eat their food in the dark. You will only get the pleasure of watching them eat if you don’t stay up late yourself!
How do I know if my fish are hungry?
Sometimes you think your fish are hungry becauseAs soon as they spotted you near the aquarium, they started swimming wildly in circles and poking their open mouths out of the water. But this is similar behavior to a dog jumping on you with its tail after not seeing you for just ten minutes (never mind that it went for a long walk, you played fetch with it, and it ate . ).
While wild fish can go a day or two withoutEating, fish kept as pets get used to a regular feeding schedule and therefore feel hungry if they miss a meal. On the other hand, it’s healthier for your fish to always be a little hungry than to always be "stuffed to the gills," as the expression goes.
Signs that a fish is truly hungry include aggression toward other fish in the tank, digging at the bottom of the tank, slow or sluggish activity, and a marked decrease in size or weight.
Prevent problems caused by overfeeding
Test the aquarium water every few daysSure bacteria, nitrates and ammonia do not build up. If the level of harmful chemicals and pollutants in the water gets too high, change the water and reduce the amount of food you feed your fish.
Buy an automatic fish feeder So you don’t have to constantly worry about whether or not your fish are getting the right amounts of food at the right time.
Add some live plants to your aquarium. Fish can nibble on plants between meals when they get hungry, and the plants remove carbon monoxide from the water and add oxygen.
To make sure all your fish get an adequate amountFood, scatter the food over the surface of the water instead of dropping it all in one place. You may find that some of your fish are pushy and not leaving food for the others to eat. Be patient – once a fish is full, it will move away and let its tankmates eat their share.
Feed your fish supplements such as bloodworms, microworms, white worms and daphnia (water fleas) once a week.
If you have time, remove leftover food when your fish finishes a meal. You can use a substrate siphon or let your filter do the work, but that means extra time cleaning the filter.
If you are a forgetful type and canNever remember if you have already fed your fish on a particular day. Create a table with the days of the week and feeding time. Every time you feed your fish, mark the card. This way, don’t forget to feed your fish all of the food or double the food they need.