how much should i actually feed

[johnt 1]

at the minute i am looking after 7 goldfish and just dont really know how much to feed

i feed twice a day usually bloodworms(2 defrostedcubes) between them

and later on some flakes/pellets just a fingertip full

is this too little for this many fish,it just dosent seem a lot for a lot of fish i cant imagine feeding 1 7 times less but i dont want to throw too much food in a tank either

whatever i put in seems to be destroted in about 30 seconds never mind all they can eat in 3 minutes

what other foods/amounts can i feed as i sort of inherited these fish and have already started to care for them ive scrapped my idea of setting up a big tropical tank and am going to use it for the goldies instead they are such characters they ware not shy and will happily eat out of my hand

i want to feed the right but am assuming more food =more water changes and cleaning,and too much food just equals bad

[number20121 2,663]

How big are the fish? Minus tail, just body length.

Are you able to weigh the fish? That would be even more helpful.

If the fish are somewhat medium size, I think your feeding regimen is not bad. I'd add a constant supply of fresh vegetables on a clip, so the fish can graze on that throughout the day, plus as of now your diet for them is high in animal protein. Goldfish are for the most part herbivores, so adding vegetables will certainly balance their diet out a bit.

A (length-wise) slice of cucumber or zucchini, peeled and steamed is something most goldfish love. Blanched spinach, romaine lettuce, kale, other leafy greens are excellent as well.

The fish may not recognize this as food right away. In this case leave the veggies in the tank (I've had vegetables in the tank for up to 3 days and it's no harm. Over time the vegetables will only soften further in the water, and becoming more attractive to the fish), and do not feed anything else to sort of force them into eating the new food. When they become hungry enough, they will figure it out

The higher in animal protein their diet, the more ammonia is produced, causing the water quality to decline faster. By simply adding these vegetables to their diet you shouldn't be affecting the water quality too much, but sometimes they can make a bit of a mess with bits and pieces of vegetable matter.

You could also look into gel food. Either home made (we have a lot of recipes in the Goldfish Food section) or buying a premix which you only have to prepare with water.

The Repashy line of those gel mixes is amazing, and almost all of us who have tried Super Green and Soilent Green are highly satisfied with it. It is a bit more on the costly side, but this food is made up of a lot of natural food sources for goldfish.

[johnt 1]

How big are the fish? Minus tail, just body length.

Are you able to weigh the fish? That would be even more helpful.

If the fish are somewhat medium size, I think your feeding regimen is not bad. I'd add a constant supply of fresh vegetables on a clip, so the fish can graze on that throughout the day, plus as of now your diet for them is high in animal protein. Goldfish are for the most part herbivores, so adding vegetables will certainly balance their diet out a bit.

A (length-wise) slice of cucumber or zucchini, peeled and steamed is something most goldfish love. Blanched spinach, romaine lettuce, kale, other leafy greens are excellent as well.

The fish may not recognize this as food right away. In this case leave the veggies in the tank (I've had vegetables in the tank for up to 3 days and it's no harm. Over time the vegetables will only soften further in the water, and becoming more attractive to the fish), and do not feed anything else to sort of force them into eating the new food. When they become hungry enough, they will figure it out

The higher in animal protein their diet, the more ammonia is produced, causing the water quality to decline faster. By simply adding these vegetables to their diet you shouldn't be affecting the water quality too much, but sometimes they can make a bit of a mess with bits and pieces of vegetable matter.

You could also look into gel food. Either home made (we have a lot of recipes in the Goldfish Food section) or buying a premix which you only have to prepare with water.

The Repashy line of those gel mixes is amazing, and almost all of us who have tried Super Green and Soilent Green are highly satisfied with it. It is a bit more on the costly side, but this food is made up of a lot of natural food sources for goldfish.

thanks some things for them to try there....would you class some veg as a feed or just an extra

they range from 3 inches down to 1.5 two are young fantails both pretty round and solid lol

it only dosent seem much because it goes so fast

[number20121 2,663]

Food will always go fast with goldfish

I would say feed the vegetables in addition to what you are feeding. Your fish are still rather small/young and especially at this point require enough food in order to grow properly. From my experience spinach, kale and zucchini are the most loved vegetables among my own goldfish.

In fact, I would probably also up the amount of (pre-soaked) high quality sinking pellets. Feeding blood worms only once a day, and pellets twice, in addition to having vegetables in the tank available most of the time

[johnt 1]

Food will always go fast with goldfish

I would say feed the vegetables in addition to what you are feeding. Your fish are still rather small/young and especially at this point require enough food in order to grow properly. From my experience spinach, kale and zucchini are the most loved vegetables among my own goldfish.

In fact, I would probably also up the amount of (pre-soaked) high quality sinking pellets. Feeding blood worms only once a day, and pellets twice, in addition to having vegetables in the tank available most of the time

thanks

i got the feeling i wasnt feeding them enough initially i was almost scared put anything in thats why i added the bloodworms but its the first stories you read everywhere-give them one pinch each and all this stuff

my thought was seven active fish need more than a smalll pinch of food between them in nature they would constantly graze when they can and feed well when oppurtunity arose lol

[number20121 2,663]

Exactly. Just while you are still overstocked with them, keep a very close eye on the water parameters and do water changes as needed. No matter how much you feed

[johnt 1]

Exactly. Just while you are still overstocked with them, keep a very close eye on the water parameters and do water changes as needed. No matter how much you feed

my test kit is taking longer than it should off amazon,ill just have to buy another locally but everywhere is shut till tuesday anyway, but i am doing 30% water changes + doing gravel vac( some not all) every 3 days or so anyway at the minute the fish seem happy the tank looks good ...im not overly worried because its an established tank thats had this stock for a while