Need Overfeeding Advice

shunyata

I'm having issues with overfeeding in all my tanks. I keep reading that it is trial & error, but I don't want my error to cause one of my friends to die of starvation. I'm sure there is a psychological component here too; I'm a bit heavyset myself. *hehe*

At twice a day, most (if not all) the visible food is eaten up. Yet I have a mild case of what I think is Planaria. And I do vacuum the gravel with each water change. I have lots of plants, so I still want to make sure they get their food (aka fish poo).

What is a safe minimal feeding? Twice a day is clearly too much. Once a day seems safe (IMO), but is that still too much? Dare I go as low as every other day? How can you even tell if a fish, snail or frog is 'starving'?

Here are my 2 freshwater tanks:

15g - 15 gallon Freshwater fish tank
10g - 10 gallon Freshwater fish tank

Backer

Hey :)

I can say I have always been told whatever your fish can eat up in 3 minutes. Otherwise it's too much. My fish do fine on one a day, sometimes two, some of them are little chubby but I do that to keep aggression down. (I find it helps) Hopefully this helps. Good luck.

aunt kymmie

Healthy fish ALWAYS act as if they are starving but the reality is they can go weeks without eating. I feed twice a day, the amount is just a bit over what they can consume in two minutes. At least once a week they go 24 hours without food, and some days they will go with one feeding a day.
When I go on vacation they do not get fed. I do not trust ANYONE to feed my Discus.
They go a week with out a feeding, no problem, but they are adults, not juvies.

sik80

I feed once per day and then usually have one day with no feeding per week. You'd be amazed how little fish need to be healthy. I have 44 smallish fish in my tank and normally feed them 2-3 sinking pellets and a small pinch of flake or mico-pellets once a day. I'd show you a picture but can't find my usb cable... Around twice a week they get either frozen bloodworms or chopped earthworm.

By the way, that angel will not be happy in a 10g tank. They are shoaling fish and should be kept in groups of 5 or more in at least a 55g tank.

SinCrisis

the food you feed your fish is not the only food it eats. Fish will consume other tank critters like planeria if they are really hungry. I feed my fish once a day, just a pinch. I was once told this rule ( no idea if this this accurate) that a fish's stomache is around the same size as its eye. If your wondering how much to feed do not portion more than a eyeball of food for each fish.

shunyata

Unfortunately as an apartment dweller, a 55gal tank is off limits. Though I'm aware I'll eventually I have to find him a better home.

Christople

the way to tell if a fish is starving is if the bellie is depressed and is awkward. I feed my fish 1 time a day and twice every other day... I feed them flake and bbs and blood worms. If you do feed them live or frozen food besure to remove the left overs unless there are a fair amout of bottom feeders

shunyata

Thanks everyone! I've adjusted my feedings to once a day (and less than an eyeball's/2-min's worth) for now and will make an effort to skip a day each week.

Can anyone tell me what signs to look for that my African Dwarf Frog is not getting enough food? He's the one I worry about most since he's a slow eater.

jaysee

It can be difficult to keep ADFs in a community sometimes because they are not the best at finding and eating their food. Also, it can be hard to prevent other fish from eating the frog food.

I would say that if it's losing weight, then it's not getting enough to eat.

nomel

Two minutes!? I tried that once with my silver dollars when they were about 4 inches long. They ate 12 pellets each (like these)...extreme overfeeding. So, I wouldn't use two minutes as a set rule.