Help. How much to feed new goldfish? Always hungry

[Trimom 4]

I'm pretty sure I overdoes my new Goldie's. They are orandas about 2 or 3 inches without the tail, and thin. How many sinking pellets do you give each - 2, 10, 100? I put a small handful in some water to soak it, then dumped it in. Right away it looked like way too much. It took them hours, but they ate it all. I also gave them a small bowl of peas in the evening. How many peas can they each eat? Seems no matter how much I put in they munch till they are done. Thanks!

[number20121 2,663]

It should only take them a couple minutes to eat all the food up, if at all. It is best to feed multiple small meals throughout the day.

A rule of thumb is the amount that equals the size of the fish's eye, per fish. You can feed that several times a day. This way the fish will benefit from the food much more than with one large meal.

Goldfish do not have an actual stomach. Because of that, when feeding too much at once, a lot of the food will be pooped out pretty much unprocessed, which will just dirty up the tank. The multiple small meals are much easier to digest, will keep the fish healthier on the long run, and help them to put on a little bit of weight

[fantailfan1 26,742]

What brand of sinking pellets do you use?

If it took them hours to eat it, it was too much. Do you have a kitchen scale? Weight is a better measurement to use than length as some people's 2 inch fish weigh 30 grams or more, mine weighs 16 grams.

[Orandatchi 210]

From the Hikari package, it says that you should feed it as much as it can consume in 2 minutes, to be safe.

[CoralPeachy 39]

I don't feed my fish that much at all because I am overstocked and it is cold in my house so their matobolism is slower than usual. I give them spinach nearly every other day and two soaked new life spectrum each. They do fine on that and aren't that floaty. I used to give my fish all they could eat in about 3 mins but that was actually way too much and that is probably why mine got swim bladder disorder. If you arn't sure then always feed a little bit less.

[tithra 4,917]

If you want to get specific about it, as others say you can actually use a kitchen scale to weigh your fish (there are videos around on how to do this if you need), then weigh the food. You'll need a scale that goes down to .1 grams to weigh the food - if you don't have this someone on the forum who has one may be able to help you out by weighing the food (if they have the same kind) and telling you.

Basically for growing fish around they should eat around 1% of their total body weight over the course of the day if you are feeding pellets - 2-3% if you are feeding a gel food. .5-.75% (more for gel food) for older fish who are not doing a ton of growing.

The 2 minute rule is a good general rule - but it is also still possible to overfeed using this, it's amazing how much food goldfish can eat in 2 minutes! But it definitely should not be taking them hours to eat what you've given. Goldfish always look hungry, which is why it is easy to overfeed. As they get larger we sometimes have the opposite problem that we actually end up underfeeding because we still feed the same amount as when they were really little. I have found using a scale to get a more exact measure really helpful and puts my mind at ease knowing I am not over or underfeeding

[Funfin 71]

Can someone post a link to a video with accurate information. I've been facing the same concerns - am I feed enough or too much?

Thanks:)

[Trimom 4]

Oh geez. I've been way over feeding them!! I think I fed them a years worth this week- sorry fishies!!!!! I got Kikari purple bag at my LFS, a veggie clip for fresh veggies and I ordered Repashy soilent green on Amazon.

I asked for Soilent Green in my LFS and the woman turned pale. She said it was a post apocolytpic movie in the 70's where people ate cube food that ended up being made from humans. I googled it and it was called Soylent Green. Still funny it is named that.

[cmclien 655]

Oh geez. I've been way over feeding them!! I think I fed them a years worth this week- sorry fishies!!!!! I got Kikari purple bag at my LFS, a veggie clip for fresh veggies and I ordered Repashy soilent green on Amazon.

I asked for Soilent Green in my LFS and the woman turned pale. She said it was a post apocolytpic movie in the 70's where people ate cube food that ended up being made from humans. I googled it and it was called Soylent Green. Still funny it is named that.

When I first ordered it my husband said the same thing, bringing up the movie too. Intentional or not? hmmmmm

[tastyworms 396]

It's intentional It's also the name of a punk rock band.

In my experience, fish always act hungry, even when they've clearly had enough to eat. TJ was getting fed 6 times a day at one point because my fiance said he looked hungry...

[fantailfan1 26,742]

Oh geez. I've been way over feeding them!! I think I fed them a years worth this week- sorry fishies!!!!! I got Kikari purple bag at my LFS, a veggie clip for fresh veggies and I ordered Repashy soilent green on Amazon.

I asked for Soilent Green in my LFS and the woman turned pale. She said it was a post apocolytpic movie in the 70's where people ate cube food that ended up being made from humans. I googled it and it was called Soylent Green. Still funny it is named that.

[KrazE 105]

I about fell out of my chair thinking of 1% of 365 grams (Lisa) just for her.. yikes

Goldfish forrage all.the.time, which is why I went with a barebottom tank; they do a great job keeping it pretty clean that way. They also have a lettuce leaf on a clip available to them, and often I put some zuchini on a clip as well, so they are not doing without that's for sure.

[dnalex 13,633]

I think the thing to remember is that the suggestions we make for the amount is a good starting point, and you will want to modify according to what you want. This is why tithra said a scale is important.

If you start with 1% and find that the growth is too fast, or too slow, you can adjust accordingly.

[Shannon1 14]

Let's say my fish are 1 pound each. Anyone have an idea about how many Omega One pellets they should get in the morning and night?

My children and I have been giving our two commons "2 pinches" twice a day, but after reading this post, I see that may be too much. Maybe that's why I'm doing a water change every other day, and my husband says I must be feeding them steroids.

[tithra 4,917]

Your fish are a pound each you think? That is huge! Are they in a pond?

Which omega brand are you feeding? I think they have different sized pellets depending on type

[Shannon1 14]

Your fish are a pound each you think? That is huge! Are they in a pond?

Which omega brand are you feeding? I think they have different sized pellets depending on type

I'm totally guessing their weight. I read that a 12-inch common goldfish is about 5.5 pounds, and mine are about 4 inches long. I guess a pound would be a bit much.

I'm feeding them Omega One Small Sinking Pellets.

[number20121 2,663]

Your fish are a pound each you think? That is huge! Are they in a pond?

Which omega brand are you feeding? I think they have different sized pellets depending on type

I'm totally guessing their weight. I read that a 12-inch common goldfish is about 5.5 pounds, and mine are about 4 inches long. I guess a pound would be a bit much.

I'm feeding them Omega One Small Sinking Pellets.

Now that is all wrong. I have an 11-inch shubunkin (smaller in body than a common) and she weighs about 75-80 grams at the most at 5.5" pure body length, which is about 3oz at the very most.

I doubt your fish weigh more than 5oz / 140 grams at the most each!

The food you are feeding is actually quite high quality. High in good protein, almost no fillers. My favorite brand of pellets (I only go with Omega One anymore for commercial processed food).

Again, see if you can buy a digital kitchen scale that also works in grams. Grams are a smaller unit and so much more accurate. Most digital kitchen scale will give you the option to choose between ounces and grams.

Then, weigh out your fish and feed 1% of their body weight in (dry***) pellets.

*** make sure to weight it out dry, but then soak them in a little bit of tank water before feeding to avoid problems from the food expanding inside the fish's digestive tract.

Edited December 15, 2012 by Oerba Yun Fang

[Shannon1 14]

Now that is all wrong. I have an 11-inch shubunkin (smaller in body than a common) and she weighs about 75-80 grams at the most at 5.5" pure body length, which is about 3oz at the very most.

I doubt your fish weigh more than 5oz / 140 grams at the most each!

Oops, yes, a pound is too heavy. Here's a video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLYhqxbZDy4

[Shannon1 14]

This is the source I was using, by the way: "The largest type of Goldfish can reach a maximum size of 30 centimeters (12 inches) and weigh 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds)." - [link deleted by DNAlex]

[number20121 2,663]

This is the source I was using, by the way: "The largest type of Goldfish can reach a maximum size of 30 centimeters (12 inches) and weigh 2.5 kilograms (5.5 pounds)." -

Gotcha! I read their articles a lot, and I am quite sure they speak of 12" body length (minus tail) here. A foot long goldfish still will weigh a lot, although I am not sure 5.5 lbs are accurate. Our Chihuahua weighs that much and he is significantly bigger than a 12" goldfish

Even a 12 inch koi, which is much more sturdy than most goldfish, usually weighs about half a pound

[shakaho 6,312]

That just shows you how good that source is, LOL. (By the way, everyone here should read that article. It's beyond belief!) I suggest you move up to the medium sized pellets, since the small ones can get lost in that gravel. What I do is give the fish food until they have full mouths and stop to "chew." Then stop feeding. You only have two fish, so you can drop in the bigger pellets one at a time to find out how many pellets fills their mouths, and after that just throw in the counted amount.

I would like to know if there is any experienced goldfish keeper here who gives their fish all they can eat in 2 minutes. I know it say that on all the food containers, and it probably works for very tiny fish or those with small or deformed mouths, but my fish could in 2 minutes completely stuff their mouths, chew, swallow and repeat twice, and that's overfeeding! At the opposite extreme is "a piece of food the size of the eyeball." I'd call that fasting. What do you actually do?

[Ms.Jenny 555]

I feed exactly how you feed Shakaho! I give them enough to eat in one mouthful, but try to do so at least 3 times a day or more and mix up what they are getting each time. I've have been trying to give them two mouthfuls of Repashy now instead of one, since I saw on a another thread it was recommended to give 2-3 mouthfuls of it at a time, but usually just do one still since that's what I've been doing for months and they are all doing great. I always think I'm underfeeding, but when I weigh my fish every few months I'm always very pleasantly surprised!

I think this is the most natural way, if you think about them in the "wild" they would be foraging and getting a mouthful here, another moutful there. I don't think it would be very often they would find a meal that took multiple bites to eat. It seems like not a lot but it has been working for me and my guys pretty well.

[shakaho 6,312]

According to this study, a 30 inch common goldfish weighs about 400 grams, (~14 oz.) a 4 inch fish should be about 20 grams (0.7 oz.).

Fang, Hugo fits on the graph pretty well if you assume the standard length of a common is about 80% of the total length.

[dnalex 13,633]

I would like to remind everyone that it is against the rules to provide links to other sites with competing interests, such as another forum. Personally, I do not know how well other forums check their facts. Therefore it is not to anyone's benefit to participate in the propagation of misinformation.

There are real scientific sources, such as the one provided by shakaho in this and many other threads.

Thank you.

[Shannon1 14]

I would like to remind everyone that it is against the rules to provide links to other sites with competing interests, such as another forum.

Thank you.

Ooops, I didn't intend to cause any ill will towards this forum.