Feeding Question

[youngb204]

hi again guys

 

sorry if I'm making too many threads.. I'm a beginner and have lots of questions

 

and instead of searching the internet, i like to post here since i find it adds more discussion

 

Anyways, One of my fantails is more active than the other.  They are both healthy from the looks of it, and do both eat,

 

but one seems very shy.  Goldfish A (haven't named them yet lol) will nibble on my finger if i place it in the tank immediately.  Goldfish B will kind of wait a few minutes, nibble on my finger, then get back to his regular program.. which is usually throwing himself against the filter current

 

Goldfish B is very child like, it follows A around a lot.

 

BOTH recognize me whenever i come up to the tank, and aren't scared of interaction.

 

However, there is no bullying from A, in fact, the times where there is bullying *very MINOR* its B doing the Bullying 

 

I currently feed them 2 times per day, goldfish flakes.  Soak them in water and let them drop and they go nuts.  Its just B eats a lot less, as A is quick to take most of the food like he's never been fed in his life...

 

 

Question

So my question is, how can I solve this?  I was thinking having a small 3 gallon tank that I use to feed the fish.  That way I can keep my main tank cleaner, and feed them one by one.

 

 

[RanchuDressing]

I wouldn't want to move the fish twice a day, every day, for feeding. Too stressful.

The easiest way to go is to get them used to eating on opposite sides of the tank. It takes some training, but it can be done. Drop food at the same time at each end of the aquarium. Hopefully the one who's being out competed will catch on.

[Wesleyworking]

I have two Ranchus in quarantine and one of them is nearly blind due to overgrown wen and the other Ranchus always gets the food before the other ,kind of like what you are talking about, and I just feed them and watch them. Sometimes the blind one ends up getting its fair share, but if it isn't than i separate the other fish into a strainer while the blind one finishes eating. I separate my fish into a bucket during their water change and when I feed them in there during their water change, I notice that the blind one finds the food very easily, but separating the fish into a smaller tank EVERY time that you feed them would probably be very stressful to the fish. So I would recommend just separating the one hogging the food during feeding time if it isn't getting its fair share. Hope that was helpful

Edited March 10, 2015 by Wesleyworking

[FishyMandy]

Feeding at opposite ends of the tank is something I've found works well, it does take a little for them to catch on though. And if they like nibbling your fingers yo may be able to train them to handfeed

[GoldenSpoiledRotten]

Handfeeding is one of my favorite ways to make sure everyone gets enough. Since Goldfish B is more shy, then I would just distract A with hand-feeding and drop some food at the other end of the tank for B. 

[DieselPlower]

Switch to a pellet instead of flakes. The more aggressive fish will have to stop to chew.

[GoldenSpoiledRotten]

Switch to a pellet instead of flakes. The more aggressive fish will have to stop to chew.

To add to that, flakes often contain fillers in the first few ingredients and so aren't as nutritious as most good-quality sinking pellets.

[jmetzger72]

I agree with all of the comments above.  Don't separate them into other containers...it's too stressful.  Try feeding sinking pellets on opposite ends of the tank.  Also, try feeding defrosted frozen bloodworms and disperse them throughout the tank.

 

To be honest, I wouldn't be too concerned.  My Oranda always hogs the food while my Ranchu hangs back and eats much less.  They are both large, active, growing and healthy, so it doesn't seem to be a problem.  

 

The following behavior may indicate that fish B is a male