Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 1) How much should goldfish be fed daily? How many times a day? 2) Do Air-pumps harm goldfish? 3) Are Air Pumps useful in adding extra surface agitation to oxygenate the water? I've had some, kind of disagreements with someone on facebook over these...so just want to see what you guys say 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 1) How much should goldfish be fed daily? How many times a day? With pellets, which are really nutrient dense, a good amount to start is 0.5% of their body weights, divided into several meals a day. With gel food, which are much less nutrient dense, about 1%, again to be broken down into more than one meal. Keep in mind that this number is just the recommended start. You will want to monitor your fish to see how well they do. You may want to weigh them and keep track of growth (or lack of it), and then adjust up or down, as needed. 2) Do Air-pumps harm goldfish? No. Airpumps are good to help keep dissolved oxygen levels in the tank up. 3) Are Air Pumps useful in adding extra surface agitation to oxygenate the water? Yes, this is why they are useful, and because they help to circulate the water. I've had some, kind of disagreements with someone on facebook over these...so just want to see what you guys say 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Author Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 (edited) Thanks..This person has liked my goldfish awareness page and is telling me air pumps are useless and can harm the fish and absolutely have to be fed 5 times a day and flakes at least once a day Edited January 21, 2013 by FishyMandy 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Sakura Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 1) How much should goldfish be fed daily? How many times a day? 2) Do Air-pumps harm goldfish? 3) Are Air Pumps useful in adding extra surface agitation to oxygenate the water? I've had some, kind of disagreements with someone on facebook over these...so just want to see what you guys say 1) Depends upon your goal. If they're young fish and you want to promote growth, up to 2 (or even 3)% of their body weight daily in food is what many goldfish breeders aim for. For general maintenance of adult fish, 0.5-1% is probably sufficient. The best way to feed goldfish is to give them many small meals throughout the day. Their digestive tract is just one long tube basically, with no "stomach" for food storage. So it's best for them to eat small amounts frequently throughout the day. I think the food should be split up into at least 2 meals daily, but more is better. 2) No, air pumps are not harmful. 3) Yes! The extra surface agitation will allow more dissolved oxygen in the water. The ancestor of the goldfish is a river-dwelling fish, and rivers have high oxygen content. Goldfish need well oxygenated water. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Author Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks guys I think I need to up my feedings again then. They only get 1-2 times a day at the moment. I did go up to 4-5 times but they didn't always eat it :S 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Niiku Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 You're the one who owns the goldfish page on FB? Neat! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Author Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 Yea, that's me I wanted to ask these here and get information to back up what I say I'll give them the feeding, though I think you need to find a routine that works for you and your fish as well:) ? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 The ancestor of the goldfish is a river-dwelling fish, and rivers have high oxygen content. Goldfish need well oxygenated water. Whether rivers have high oxygen content or not, I won't comment on, but goldfish don't actually need well oxygenated water. Carp hemoglobin has a rather high affinity for oxygen, and a carp can fully load 100% of its hemoglobins at dissolved oxygen levels as low as 1ppm. (Roberts, Fundamentals of Ornamental Fish Health, page 9). Having said that, it is not at all a bad thing to have higher dissolved oxygen in the water, and that is what should be done ideally. I just wanted to comment on the biology here. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member StarSapphire22 Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks..This person has liked my goldfish awareness page and is telling me air pumps are useless and can harm the fish and absolutely have to be fed 5 times a day and flakes at least once a day I can't really add more than what Alex and Sakura already said....but I just wanted to point out that flakes hold few nutrients and are less than ideal for goldfish since they can expand inside them, which can cause swimbladder issues, etc. You can presoak them to help with that, but by that time a lot of nutrients are gone. Not sure if you knew this or not, but it may be something you should point out to your facebook fan. Pellets are a much better storebought type food, though I personally think veggies/greens and gel food are more biologically appropriate. Pellets are still an excellent option though, I just always make sure I read the ingredients on them. As far as number of feedings go, Sakura is right that you should aim for 2+ feedings a day, or even as many as 5 or 6 . This simulates their eating in the wild, where they would graze all day and eat small amounts often. That being said, if someone's schedule only allows for 1 or 2 medium-large feedings a day, this isn't necessarily detrimental to the fish, and shouldn't really harm them at all. I like to change things up with the amounts of feeding. I usually do Monday/Tuesday/Thursday/Friday with 2-3 small feedings (depending on my schedule), Wednesday/Saturday with one large feeding, and Sunday is fasting day. That's just my personal preference though. It's really up to the fishkeeper to find a schedule that works for them and their fish. There's certainly a correct answer as far as what is most biologically appropriate, but no correct answer for each individual (short of overfeeding, etc.). Hope this helps answer your questions. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member StarSapphire22 Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 Um, wow, I just liked your page, and saw her comments! She's um....tactful! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 Someone please PM me the link. I'd like to see this! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Author Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 Oh I hate flake food haha. I will see how my goldies go with their feedings upped again:) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted January 21, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted January 21, 2013 Here is a great article on goldfish food! http://www.raingarden.us/feeding.pdf 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter FishyMandy Posted January 21, 2013 Author Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 Thanks Alex! That is a very indepth article! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporter Helen Posted January 21, 2013 Supporter Share Posted January 21, 2013 we get fed once a day here.. twice if they've been behaving or threaten to eat the plants 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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