School me on feeding fish..

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x3ro

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Jan 20, 2009
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Very much a newb question here..

My cycling is wrapping up and on it's way, so I'll be getting fish in the next couple weeks, hopefully...

I need to be schooled on feeding. I haven't owned fish since I was a little boy, and obviously back then I had no idea what I was doing...

Fish I plan to keep:

Angelfish
bigger tetras
bolivian rams
corydoras
bristlenose pleco

Gimme your best shot :thm:
 
Well here's my $.02,

I feed once a day varying between frozen bs, freeze-dried tubifex, and staple flake.

Each of my fish get 2 flakes no bigger than my fingernail.

I would feed the pleco and corys a bit sparingly, but feed them well, and many people mal-nourish theirs, thinking and expecting that they eat the left over food but that's never enough. A high quality sinking tab for the cory, and an algae tab for the pleco.

Curiosity asks, how big is your aquarium?
 
Anoop said:
Well here's my $.02,

I feed once a day varying between frozen bs, freeze-dried tubifex, and staple flake.

Each of my fish get 2 flakes no bigger than my fingernail.

I would feed the pleco and corys a bit sparingly, but feed them well, and many people mal-nourish theirs, thinking and expecting that they eat the left over food but that's never enough. A high quality sinking tab for the cory, and an algae tab for the pleco.

Curiosity asks, how big is your aquarium?
Click to expand...

Thanks.... I'm unsure of most of the things you said, food wise... I don't know what kinds of food to feed the fish, etc..

I have a 55g aquarium, tall and deep.
 
I try and feed every day but its more like every couple of days. They get a variety of flake and pellet food and live black worms a couple times a week. When you pick out food, look at the ingredients. Try and pick out a food that lists real fish as the first ingredient, not "fish meal" or anything with "meal" as the first ingredient. Only feed what they can eat in a couple minutes. It's better to do a couple small feedings then one large feeding.

As for snails, otos, plecos, and other "cleaner" tankmates; they really need to be fed and you should not rely on them surviving on the leftovers from your other fish. I feed mine algae pellets and also veggies, such as spinach, cucumbers and whatever other veggies I have lying around.

Hope that helps.
 
:iagree:
I agree with the advice the others gave about making sure your bottom-feeders have their own food. As for my own tanks, I try to feed twice a day, with bloodworm treat on Saturdays. Sunday is a fasting day, based on what seems to be a common practice at AC.
 
I actually may feed less than most, but I really think most over-feed. lol My fish have been feeding only every other day for the last few months and have never looked better. I feed 3-4x per week what they will consume in about 2-3 minutes while adding tabs for tanks with bottom feeders.
 
Thanks guys..

You tought me HOW to feed, now lets talk about WHAT to feed..

Any good brands to look into? Any to stay away from?

What are bloodworms? Would one just pick them up from the LFS? Frozen or live?

Where would I get pellet food?
 
Hey, any word on the new filter yet ? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I fed my fish 5x a week, with Sunday and Wednesday for fasting. I have since gone to the every other day method, based upon some things that I have read and some opinions on the different forums. Seems to be working out fine. I feed frozen bloodworms, froz. brine shrimp, froz. daphnia, froz cyclops, Hikari algae tabs, Kens spirulina tabs, earthworm stix, veggie flakes, reg flakes, Kens ssoft and moist krill, all on a rotating basis. Kens is a great place to get food, although it can be difficult to order small amounts. ken is very economical. I get most of my frozen foods from Drs. Foster and Smith online. Some froz foods are available near me, but not many, so I do order them online. Good luck.
 
I feed once every 2 days (flakes - tropical and spirulina, dried foods, shrimp pellets, wafer, and blanched veggies)

I used Tetra's Tropical and Spirulina flakes (switch every other feeding)
Hikari Shrimp Pelletes & Hikari Algae Wafers (switch every other feeding)
Hikari dried foods (3-4x a month) - Brine Shrimp, Daphnia, Bloodworms, Krill, tubifex worms, I think I'm missing 1 more

I have cichlid sticks and granuals, but I generally don't use those.

Oh, forgot my cucumber/zuccini I blanch and put in the tanks for 5-6 hours once a week.
 
You should find most of the stuff listed here at the local fish store. Brands will vary from store to store.
If you want to supplement a frozen food to the fish's diet I would recommend blood worms as the first selection. Just ask the clerk if they carry frozen food.
Get the kind that has little individual cubes that can be removed and thawed separately. I thaw mine out in a small container of tank water for a few minutes and then feed it to the fish with a dropper. You could also just pour it in the tank.
I feed bloodworms or brine shrimp every three days.
 
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