# Can you give your goldfish too much veg?



## Sue520 (Nov 8, 2011)

I usually give my goldfish fresh broccoli or zucchini (courgette) daily. 
Is this to much?


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Actually its good for them, but you also need to give them goldfish food for a balanced diet. They also like some fruits.


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## TypeYourTextHere (Apr 20, 2011)

Do you "flash boil" (forgot the name for it) before you serve them?


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## Sue520 (Nov 8, 2011)

They also get a mixture of flakes and pellets Susan.
Yes TypeYourTextHere, I blanch the veg for 2 mins before giving it to them.
It's just that I read somewhere that they should only be given veg once a week and I've been giving them it daily and wondered if I was over doing it. 
Thank you for your reply's


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## gretchup (Jul 9, 2010)

I just started feeding mine veg every day and a year long case of pop eye suddenly disappeared. I'm my opinion, flakes are the McDonald's of the fish world.


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## Sue520 (Nov 8, 2011)

gretchup said:


> I just started feeding mine veg every day and a year long case of pop eye suddenly disappeared. I'm my opinion, flakes are the McDonald's of the fish world.


Lol Gretchup, now ave got a vision of them sitting with their happy meals *pc.
I've continued feeding daily without any problems, they get so excited when they see it arriving.
That's great about the pop eye and certainly good to know, thanks.


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## kudoxy (Mar 12, 2012)

Hi,

I feed my goldfish with peas and wonder what other kind of veggie and fruit are good for goldfish? I currently have some tomato, green lettuce, banana, apple and pineapple at home, are they also good for goldfish? Do you need to cut them into the size of mini pellet? Thank you.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Sue520 said:


> I usually give my goldfish fresh broccoli or zucchini (courgette) daily.
> Is this to much?


Don't know how much you give them but to answer your forum topic the only correct safe answer is yes you can give your goldfish too much veg. So the only question is how difficult is that to do.

Actually IMHO the single more common reason for fish deaths is simply too much food at least in the sense that the fish would have lived had they been fed less.

but that's just me and my


.02


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## FishScr (Mar 16, 2012)

Goldfish are omnivores which mean they eat both meat and vegetables. I feed them a variety of green leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce. Goldfish need only be fed as much food as they can consume in a few minutes. If you put too much food, your fish will continue eating and that may rupture their stomachs.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I think the reason for not feeding too much veg has more to do with the fact that a lot of it goes through the fish not so well digested, good for the fish, bad for water quality, thus bad for the fish. The problem is that goldfish are so large and messy to start with that water quality and stocking levels are often an issue without adding messy food. In a tank that is under stocked and over filtered I think you could feed loads of veg without it being a problem. In the wild they will graze on plant matter pretty much when they want but also eat meaty food when they get the chance.


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## Sue520 (Nov 8, 2011)

snail said:


> I think the reason for not feeding too much veg has more to do with the fact that a lot of it goes through the fish not so well digested, good for the fish, bad for water quality, thus bad for the fish. The problem is that goldfish are so large and messy to start with that water quality and stocking levels are often an issue without adding messy food. In a tank that is under stocked and over filtered I think you could feed loads of veg without it being a problem. In the wild they will graze on plant matter pretty much when they want but also eat meaty food when they get the chance.


Hi Snail, I've cut them down to twice a week for that very reason, plus when they're ripping the veg to pieces there was tiny particles floating all through the water. I was having to clean the gravel and wc 20% daily and refilling 20 gallons with buckets was no fun  Now I only change 10% per day and vacuum once a week and all's good.


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## nanabmcd (Apr 26, 2012)

Vegetables are very good for goldfish, especially fancy types, if they are fead to them (peas are great!*) on a regular basis it can help to flush out their digestive tracts and prevent swim bladder disorder.

*Remove the skin before feeding peas, and cook (or thaw if frozen).


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## squishy (Apr 13, 2011)

Are there any good plants I can put in my ryukin tank that grow fast and they can graze on? My one goldie has horrible bloating and one bite of any non-plant fish food and he is upside down. 

I feed my goldies algae wafer (break em into small pieces, soak them in tank water until they get soft, then i discard the water (cuz there is alot of small particles that dirty up the water) and feed them that). It cures the bloating but they HATE getting it too frequently. same with cooked peas, they hate it more than once a week. First day they excited about it and after that they spit it out unless its the only thing i feed them. I also feed them goldfish sinking pellets that i soak first. But these give him gas too.


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

squishy said:


> Are there any good plants I can put in my ryukin tank that grow fast and they can graze on? My one goldie has horrible bloating and one bite of any non-plant fish food and he is upside down.
> 
> I feed my goldies algae wafer (break em into small pieces, soak them in tank water until they get soft, then i discard the water (cuz there is alot of small particles that dirty up the water) and feed them that). It cures the bloating but they HATE getting it too frequently. same with cooked peas, they hate it more than once a week. First day they excited about it and after that they spit it out unless its the only thing i feed them. I also feed them goldfish sinking pellets that i soak first. But these give him gas too.


Goldfish like duckweed, but I don't know if it will grow faster than they eat it, it probably would once it survived their initial enthusiasm.

It sounds like your best hope is to try to feed as big a variety of veg matter as possible. Have you tried other veg like zucchini?


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## squishy (Apr 13, 2011)

i feed peas, they liked it in the beginning and then they would spit it out if they ssaw it once every 1-2 weeks! they didnt eat the broccoli at all or blanched carrots. We never used zucchini in my house so i never tried it, what other food would they like? 

they eat the algae wafers and i was feeding them with it almost daily... I was feeding them my ADF's sinking pellets (for frogs and newts cuz my ADFs wouldnt eat it) and they LOVED it. I just bought them goldfish sinking pellets and they are ok with it, but it still gives the 1 goldie gas....


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

One tip is to cut up something like a zucchini and put it in the freezer then you can just take out one bit at a time and it will last for ages. You wouldn't even have to blanch zucchini because it will be soft when it defrosts.


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## Laurencia7 (May 19, 2012)

Veg is good, in moderation. As long as they consume it, and it does not rot on the bottom you are fine. I would cut down on the number of times you feed them. Unfortunately I have tried feeding my goldfish veg and they don't eat it. 

My Orandas are going on 7 and 3 yrs old. I give them a mix of sinking pellets, and bloodworms. I mix in some vacation blocks, because Orandas tend to suck air sometimes and get gas/bloating. The blocks help deter their air sucking to push down the food.


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