Feeding

[Scrappy71113]

So, I've been doing a lot of reading and video watching of how much I should be feeding my fish.
I don't really care for the "what the fish can consume in 2 to 3 minutes" rule as I feel this is a very inaccurate method and can be wasteful.
A good example would be oscars vs angel fish. If I were to feed an oscar based on this rule they tend to gobble down every last bite, and I have even seen mine hold food in their mouth while very visibly having a full belly and begging for more before the 2-3 minutes is up.
There technically is no wasted food depending on how you look at it, but the oscar is now being over fed. If I took the time to feed my oscar one pellet at a time and wait for him to chew, it would take much longer than 2-3 minutes to get him to slow down on his ravenous gobbling and I now risk underfeeding.
When I feed my angel fish, they peck at their food, taking small nibbles. And after the 2-3 minutes, any leftovers is scooped from the tank and trashed, leading to wasted food and I'm left wondering if they got enough to eat.

Another method I discovered, that seems a bit more accurate, and less wasteful, is feeding fish based off of body mass.
Weigh the fish, and feed a measured amount of food based on a percentage of this weight (Probably an easier method for larger fish).
But how much is that percentage?
I've read anywhere from .75% to 5% of the body mass of the fish.
If taking this route in feeding, food can be pre-measured and packed into the freezer to help maintain freshness. Plus the pre measured food can be spread out throughout the day if you're like me and enjoy feeding your fish but don't want to over feed.

So what feeding method do you prefer?
If it's the second method, what is the percentage you feed?
Is there another method you prefer? If so, what is it?

 

[Jim bean 20055]

I just feed my peacock bass and oscars until I can see that their bellies are a little round

 

[Scrappy71113]

I just feed my peacock bass and oscars until I can see that their bellies are a little round

I did this when my oscar was cute and tiny.

Fat baby ?

 

[Jim bean 20055]

Awww cute looking forward to feeding mine because everyone is soooo fiesty lol

 

[Fat Homer]

I dont think there is really a hard fast rule about how to feed fish as each fish is different and depending on the species and age may have different feeding requirements...

Some people like to power feed younger fish to get them to grow faster although this can sometimes lead to its own problems such as fatty liver disease...

So really it depends on what species you’re looking to feed and the age of said fish...

After a while you can pretty much work out whats a good amount of food for them based on their weight and growth over time and then throw in a day of fasting once a week or even every few days as they get older...

For example, my puffers used to eat maybe once every 2-3 days as adults or when their stomachs were showing signs of getting flat... sometimes i would even go as far as 4-5 days not feeding them if i think they ate too much during the last meal...

 

[esoxlucius]

The general "rules" are not helpful imo, and weighing fish and calculating how much they should be fed is ludicrous. How does that even work, you'd have to take each fish out of your display tank and feed them alone in a seperate tank to be sure that it's tankmates were not stealing it's measured portion!

If anything I underfeed, AND I have two, sometimes three fasting days thrown in too. Feed a minimal amount of high QUALITY diverse foods and the appearance of your fish, overtime, will tell you if you are feeding well. Countersunk bellies and thin shoulders are a sure sign you're wimping out on feeding.

For the overall health of your fish, not to mention your water, it is always best to underfeed and keep the fish hungry. It's served me very well thus far.

 

[FJB]

After deciding that I was grossly overfeeding (malaysian trumpet snails in overabundance), I recently started transitioning from feeding once every day, skipping weekly water change day, to feeding every other day for a total of 4 feeding days weekly, always given by 7 pm. I do continue hanging a piece of nori in each tank every morning, which is quickly gobbled down by all.
It is too early to know what difference the new regime makes. I hope it helps with the snail problem but it is also too early to say. I doubt it will affect the fish negatively.
Interestingly, in the silver dollar tank, no plants are being eaten, despite the new feeding regime.
I also feel that "weighing fish and calculating how much they should be fed is ludicrous", or at least not enforceable and too much work.