# Feeding: How often



## philly7 (Apr 15, 2011)

Hello:

How often do you usually feed your fish: frequency per day, per week?

Thank you!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Best is once per day and skip at least one day a week.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I feed mine every other day.


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## rtbob (Jul 18, 2010)

Every day 20-30 minutes after lights on. Every other night shrimp pellets and algae wafers for the bottom feeders, again 20-30 minutes after lights out.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Everyone has their own feeding regime. You kinda' just have to figure out what works best for you. Many care sites and magazine articles say it's best to feeds very small meals frequently during they day.

I feed mine once in the morning and once in the evening. (Every other day I put in shrimp pellets and frog pellets after I turn the lights out so the fish don't see them and eat them up before the shrimp and frogs can get them). I've had to start putting algae wafers in every day instead of every other, because I just got 3 otto cats, so that, plus the shrimp (and 2 Zebra snails next week), are going to need the wafers. I put the algae wafers in once the lights are out as well, or the fish will eat them. I feed my ADF's frozen worms every other day and they get the frog pellets on the days they don't get worms. My betta is in a breeder box in the tank and he gets fed once a day in the mornings. (He gets frozen worms as a treat once in a while as well).


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

philly7 - the bottom line is, it is better to err on the side of less, rather than more. Articles you read about caring for a particular fish don't take anything else into account other than that fish. Most things you read will not say feed less for any particular fish. You will read things like no more than what they can eat in 2-5 minutes (depending on where you read it), but very rarely do you read anything about your bio-filter.

Your bio-filter essentially is the beneficial bacteria that is in your tank that converts ammonia-nitrates. It's what keeps your fish safe. If you feed your fish more, extra food doesn't have to fall to the bottom and rot to create ammonia. The fact that your fish are eating more will create more ammonia and can push the limits of your bio-filter. When you push the limits you get ammonia spikes, eventually higher nitrates, increase in fish stress, etc.. The end result is usually death.

If you read enough on here when people come with issues like fish deaths, high nitrates, algae blooms, cloudy water, etc.. a very common question is asking what the feeding habits are. Combine a heavy feeding load (not necessarily overfeeding) with a small tank, maybe 30g or less, and you compound the potential-ness (my word) of having problems.

Very rarely will you hear people come here with fish health issues that potentially come from under-feeding....that should tell you something. We all like to watch our fish eat. Like the above post says, do what works for you, but I would go with the idea that less is better and it will keep your fish safer.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

+1 for jrman

Whatever you do, keep it on a routine - my fish have gotten in the habit of zooming around the tank right when I normally feed them, and this helps because more food gets eaten and less falls to the bottom. The rest of the time, my fish hide whenever I enter the room, haha.


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## wayfarer (Feb 22, 2011)

I think it's alright to feed your fishes like humans. Around 2-3 times a day. 3 at the most. Normally, I feed my fishes twice a day only.
One in the morning and one before I go to bed.


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## phys (Feb 4, 2011)

jrman has it down. you could start off with once every other day, watch your nitrate levels over several days and if they're low enough, then try once a day, watch the nitrates again, and see where they are. They really dont need to be fed more than once a day either. Be sure to spread the food over the tank well so one or two fish dont gulp too much at once and get bad eating habits.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

wayfarer said:


> I think it's alright to feed your fishes like humans. Around 2-3 times a day. 3 at the most. Normally, I feed my fishes twice a day only.
> One in the morning and one before I go to bed.


3 times a day....maybe in a fry tank. If you think fish need food and/or meals like humans, you should do a little more reading.


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Good morning philly. Feeding depends on the fish. I have Fancy Guppies and Corydoras. Guppies are very active and need to be fed at least twice a day. If you have Guppy fry, then you need to add an extra small feeding.

Corries will typically clean up the scraps, but I include different kinds of algae wafers for them once a day.

Adult fish typically don't need to be fed more than once a day. Many fishkeepers include a fasting day once a week, so the fish clean up any leftovers, but I don't feed much in the first place, so I don't include a fasting day.

One other thing. Always feed a variety of at least two to three kinds of tropical fish food. The more the variety, the better. I know I wouldn't want to eat the same things every day.

BBradbury


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

I feed my fish every other day. Sometimes i miss a day and they dont get fed. I think less is best unless your tryinig to breed. Creates less waste.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Conditioning breeders get two to three meals a day,though they are small.Fry get four depending on age,and as they get older get fed less often.Adults just hanging about get fed once sometimes twice a day.Summer they get fed live mosquito larvae I culture outside(neighbors hate me,lol)


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

So you guys out there who are skipping a day, are you doing it for the sake of your tank or for the sake of your fish? I guess what Im asking, is there a risk to the fishes health if I continue to feed mine twice daily (in the AM when the lights come on, and in the PM just about an hour before lights out)

I want to raise some healthy looking fish, and i also enjoy watching them eat. I am going to be doing some experimenting soon with different types of foods as well.


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

im sure they enjoy eating more... its just for the sake of well balanced water paramiters. Your never gonna muck up your water feeding less.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

You can feed a fish too much....from what I hear.

It is for sake of keeping healthy water and allowing your bio-filter to catch up, so to speak. That is more important in my mind. Like I said earlier...you very rarely hear of people having problems that come from under-feeding. Maybe that issue you'll never know, but still....


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## BBradbury (Apr 22, 2011)

Subaru4wd said:


> So you guys out there who are skipping a day, are you doing it for the sake of your tank or for the sake of your fish? I guess what Im asking, is there a risk to the fishes health if I continue to feed mine twice daily (in the AM when the lights come on, and in the PM just about an hour before lights out)
> 
> I want to raise some healthy looking fish, and i also enjoy watching them eat. I am going to be doing some experimenting soon with different types of foods as well.


Hello Subaru. Feeding your fish twice daily is fine. Just feed a variety, and as much as they'll eat in a minute or so. You get the hang of feeding after a short time.

B


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## Subaru4wd (May 6, 2011)

BBradbury said:


> Hello Subaru. Feeding your fish twice daily is fine. Just feed a variety, and as much as they'll eat in a minute or so. You get the hang of feeding after a short time.
> 
> B


I have been feeding them flakes since I started. I did some reading and picked up some black worms from the lfs. I am not sure if i have been overfeading them, but I have quite a few fish and I really want the gourami to stay well fed. 

I also bought a Cory Catfish to help keep the floor clean.


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I don't think it's as much an issue of quantity as that of quality - you could feed your fish 2-year-old flake food three times a day, or you could feed your fish live or frozen worms, blanched veggies, and other treats every other day. I mostly feed flake food, but throw in bloodworms, brine shrimp, and blanched zucchini about once or twice a month. My fish go bonkers for them.


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