Goldfish Feeding
The correct feeding of your goldfish is very important, and when possible they should be fed at the same time every day, preferably once in the morning and once in the evening. The food should always be placed in the same spot in the aquarium or pond, and the goldfish will soon learn to anticipate feeding time. They will beg for food every time they see you, this does not mean they will die if you don’t feed them! Overfeeding is probably the leading cause of death and disease in older goldfish.
Goldfish will typically eat just about everything that is given to them and they have a higher capacity to eat than they do to utilize all the food they are capable of consuming. With the exception of very young goldfish it is necessary to limit the amount of food you feed your goldfish. Always use a high quality goldfish food and supplement their diets with peas that have been popped out of their skins and blanched leaf greens.
Most people have a tendency to overfeed their goldfish. As a general rule you should only feed what they can consume in a 2 minute period. The food should be pre-moistened, of high quality and formulated especially for them. Over feeding can cause many problems, first being poor water quality. Uneaten or undigested food will kill your water quality in a hurry. The egg body type of goldfish, especially should have a varied diet that includes fiber and roughage. It is important for these goldfish to have a clean system that does not get blocked up.
It has been suggested that goldfish are naturally grazers, eating small amounts continuously. It does seem that goldfish have fewer problems with many small meals than they do with one large one per day. Live foods not only have a nutritional advantage over prepared diets but they add necessary bulk and natural laxative to the goldfish's fare. Care should be taken when feeding live foods to ensure that harmful organisms are not being introduced. Most often, goldfish are good eaters and are not too shy about eating. However, a more timid goldfish may be at a loss during feeding time, and so goldfish should be observed during feeding to make sure each gets a share of the food. In general, if a goldfish is rather smaller than his tank mates, he may not get as much food, not because he is unwilling to eat, but unable to eat. If a fancy goldfish is kept with more common varieties, the fancy goldfish may be unable to acquire adequate food. Extra effort on your part can often alleviate this problem. |
