Varied Goldfish Diet

[crimsonmoon]

I am wanting to give my goldfish a more varied diet, and was wondering what anybody would recommend as a good goldfish pellet? Also I have read that feeding goldfish vegetables is good for them, but have also heard that it is bad for them?? The information you get on the internet varies on each web site it seems. Which vegetables/fruits (if any) are good for goldfish, how do you prepare them, and how often?
They currently get just tetra goldfish flake and frozen brine shrimp. Is brine shrimp even ok for them? Any other foods that are good for goldfish that i didn't mention above? Oh and if it helps to know, the goldfish i am feeding are 3 fancy goldfish in a 55g. 1 black moore, 1 calico fantail, and 1 red fantail
Thanks everybody BTW I've been reading through the wealth of information here for just a day now and LOVE this place!

 

[Virtuoso2K12]

here this shall do the trick http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/Goldfishs Diet.html ,good luck!

 

[crimsonmoon]

Thanks aquaparadise! Just curious, what does everybody here feed their goldfish??

 

[THE V]

I feed pellets, elodea, duckweed, lettuce, and sometimes peas or watermelon. I also toss in 20 or 30 ghost shrimp every couple of months.

 

[crimsonmoon]

Thanks THE V,
This is probably a stupid question but has anybody ever tried turning their goldie's tank into a planted tank for them? I am wanting to do this for my goldfish, but before I go off and learn something the hard way, does anybody recommend/not recommend this and why? Thanks everybody! :grinyes:

 

[Inka4040]

I feed my fish a gel food, nori sheets, and peas. My goldie tank is actually in the process of becoming a planted, and is at the trial stage. Best way to go is to buy a bunch of plants that will do well under your provided lighting and just see what grows/doesnt, and what the goldfish do/dont have a taste for. So far, I've been lucky with crypts and anubias, swords, and willow leaf hygro. Brine shrimp are good in that they provide roughage, but nutritionally, you are better off feeding something like mysis. What website told you feeding goldfish veggies was bad? Alot of the buoyancy issues many fancy keepers come across is the result of a diet too low in roughage. Almost all leafy greens will be taken with great relish by goldfish (go organic though), and the tougher veggies may need a quick blanching before feeding. I'd steer away from flake, and go with a hikari or NLS sinking pellet. Saki hikari is a main ingredient in my gel recipes, as is powdered algae. My fish get veggies every day in their food, and a sheet of seaweed once a week. They also get fasted every Sunday, and their first feeding on Monday is usually peas and mysis.

 

[Flaringshutter]

Here's another fantastic site about nutrition.

http://www.koicarp.org.uk/koi_feeding.htm

It's very important to provide your goldfish with a high quality sinking pellet. This is a great site for determining which is the best pellet for your fish.

http://www.feedingkoi.com/koi_feeding_assessment_koi_food_labels.html

I use Omega One medium sinking pellets, and I've had great success. Depending on what temperature you keep your fish at, what age, and what type of goldfish they are, you may want more or less protein in their staple diet. However, I recommend OmegaOne, ProGold, or Hikari. Be sure to buy a pellet that even your smallest fish will be able to fit in their mouths.

As far as greens go, the same rule applies to goldfish and humans. The darker the color of the vegetables, the more nutrition it will have. So look for richly colored vegetables. My goldfish love romaine lettuce, mustard greens, kale, parsley, collard greens, and occasionally, spinach.
The reason that some websites say vegetables are bad for goldfish is probably because of the oxalic acid content. Some vegetables are high in oxalic acid, which can disrupt their absorption of calcium and iron. However, it's fine to use these vegetables as part of a varied diet. You simply don't want to feed them only spinach or only parsley.
Here's a list of the oxalic acid content of different vegetables.

http://dataguru.org/misc/aquarium/FoodOxalicAcid.html

Best of luck.

 

[reptileguy2727]

My 150 gallon goldfish tank is planted. Plant success in my experience seems to have a lot to do with the rest of their diet. If their diet is truly complete they do no need any of the nutrition offered by plants so they are much less likely to bother them. I feed my goldfish New Life Spectrum exclusively and they do not bother the plants (unless I forget to feed and they just get hungry, then it is good to have something for them to graze on).

This is discussed in the article on goldfish in the sticky section.

 

[crimsonmoon]

Thanks Inka and Flaringshutter, great info and links!
I read your article on goldfish in the sticky section, ReptileGuy, loved it! I will definitely be refering back to it in the future! Thanks everybody!

 

[Flaringshutter]

Glad to be helpful.