Good Food To Get Some Growth?

[Moonstream 0]

I just rescued a teeny tiny goldfish from a neighbor who had him in a less than .5g bow filled with rotting food and waste. she asked me if I wanted him, since she knows that I have fish, and I went over earlier to pick the little thing up.

he (it, really, since I dont actually know the sex of it) is about .5" long, and looks to be a normal fantail (red and white with some darker markings). I'm getting a temporary 10g set up for him while I look for larger quarters. it should be cycled, since I'll be using some of the cycled media from my 29g.

anyways; I'm unclear as to what the best foods for the little thing are? I have a bunch of stuff on hand from my other fish; here is what I have:

-frozen bloodworms

-freeze dried bloodworms

-some frozen mysis shrimp (need to get more)

-shelled, frozen krill (which I heard is good for growth? I got it for my lionfish before I heard it was associated with lockjaw, so its not being used now)

-freeze dried krill (unless I threw it out?)

-several brands of betta pellets

-frozen peas

-several other vegitables and fruit I could feed

-lots of plants from my other tanks which I could feed (micro chain sword, several species of rotala, water wisteria, water sprite, hornwort, lots of duckweed and salvinia and dwarf water lettuce, some aponogeton species which I can pull leaves off of)

for added vitamins, etc, I also have some garlic extract, and some Selcon to soak food in, if it might help?

what can I and what shouldnt I feed to the little thing? I'd like to get him to grow some; I'm very worried he's stunted and will have health problems from his time in the bowl (a few weeks, from what my neighbor said).

I still have to get some good flake/pellet foods to use as a staple, I didnt have enough money to get any today, but hopefully will be able to pick some up tomorrow or tonight.

[ashlee18 1,169]

Unfortunately, most of the freeze dried stuff causes bloat or constipation in fancies. But frozen foods are high in protein. Then you can make gel food with tuna or egg added in.

Edited September 30, 2011 by ashlee18

[tithra 4,917]

^ agreed. I would ditch the freeze dried stuff, but your list looks good otherwise. The frozen bloodworms are good because they are high in protein, and gel food is an excellent option because you can put lots of good fresh food in it. I like to put fresh fish (salmon or tilapia usually), kale, pumpkin, red pepper, peas, egg white, and garlic in mine. The fish love it! The gel food is really the best 'staple' food. I only keep pellets around for when I forget to thaw the gel food!

(also, if you do get pellets (get pellets instead of flakes) get ones that are sinking ones, the floating ones can sometimes cause issues (alternatively you can soak the floating ones and squish the air out of them before feeding).

Will we get to see a pic of this little guy?

Edited September 30, 2011 by tithra

[Moonstream 0]

yep; I'm going to put a thread in the photo section and try to track the little things progress as it (hopefully) grows. he's a cute little critter, and it looks like he may be gaining some black coloration, which would make me very very happy (calicos are among my favorite colors).

I think I may give gel food a try- would gel food be fed in addition to flake/pellets, or instead of?

also- I should be giving him one fast day a week, right? I was planning to feed him frozen food 2 days a week, pellets 3, and fresh veggies or fruit one day, and then fast the last day. is that a good diet? if I decide to make my own gel food, when should I feed it? (as in, what type of food should I substitute if for?)

[tithra 4,917]

Gel food can be used as a substitute for pellets, I feed gel food almost every day (unless I forget to thaw it or am feeding just veggies or peas that day).

I do fast mine once in a while (maybe not every week, but I know others do that), but I do feed just peas once a week to help clear them out. However, if he is a really young guy you'll want to feed him more often than you would an older goldies (a couple times a day)... I honestly don't know if you would fast a young guy, my inclination is no, but I'm not sure. But peas are always good once a week to clear them out so to speak!

Just be careful how much fruit you give, it should just be treat not a full meal because of the sugar content. There is a great list of foods and their sugar content stickied on the food forum.

Also, given the conditions he came from, it is possible that the black could be ammonia burns.

[Moonstream 0]

I'd thought of that, but it looks to be sort of natural; like smudges from a paintbrush.

looking at him, he does need some weight; I think you're probably right with not fasting youngsters. anyways, he has a bunch of duckweed and salvinia in there to graze on, and I'm about to toss in some rotala. tomorrow I'll feed him some thawed peas, and pick up some pellets.

also, I thought I'd post a link to the picture thread I started on him:

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?/topic/94736-my-little-rescue/

[Azlaier 12]

He definitely has some Ammonia burns...but those should disappear in a few weeks after being in better water conditions! Goldfish are carp, so they're scavengers; their digestive system is designed to take in foods with not much nutritional value, and turn it into something the fish can use. That said, goldfish can eat just about anything and have large amounts of growth, if they're in a big enough tank. The Frozen Bloodworms would be great, though! ^-^

[Moonstream 0]

ok, so yesterday I gave him some peas when I woke up and then some bloodworms later in the day. I really need to get some pellets or flakes for him. I'm going to look around my house to see what else I have that I can give him for today though. porbably give him some more frozen food and another veggie.