How Often Do You Feed Your Fish?

[MrsE88]

Normally I feed 2-3x a day. Different fish get different food. Pellets, bloodworms, earthworms, meal worms, shrimp, veggies, citrus, algae wafers, and live snails.
I skip days a handful of times a month. Mostly just because my schedule gets crazy and I won’t have time.
Fry gets food 4-5x a day if I have the time. Otherwise just 3x.

 

[Gill Blue]

My native tank gets fed twice a week in summer, once a week in winter.
The tropical tanks get fed every 2-3 days.

 

[Belial]

most of my inside tanks 2x per day, small feeding before work and a larger one after. i have a tank with like 200 brichardi that i feed more often but smaller amounts. the goldfish pond i feed every time i walk past it because i've got some growing boys

 

[AKKADIAN]

There seems to be a lot of variety in the way people feed their fish.
That being said however, the two things that everyone seems to agree on is that fasting your fish every now and then is a good thing and that live food / frozen food should only be fed once or twice a week.

 

[RD.]

It's a complicated subject. From a paper that I read a few years back...….



The initial observations in the present study did not detect further growth responses (on percent basis). In the present study the higher body weight was observed in fsh fed to a frequency of two times per day. Similar results were observed by James and Sampath [26] in Red Swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri) which indicated that feeding twice a day resulted in the highest growth and reproductive success of this specie in a cultured system, when compared with 4 alternative feeding regimens (once, thrice, once and twice a day). James and Sampath [26] had similar findings in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens. Regan) who showed that fish fed twice a day to satiation elicited maximum growth and reproductive output when compared with its counterparts (1 meal in 3 d, 1 meal in 2 d, 1 meal/d, and 3 meals/d). Contrary to our results commercially cultured fish species such as Black Rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) suggested that feeding to satiation once a day resulted in optimum growth [27]. Gibel Carp (Carrassius auratus gibelio), showed a significant surge in growth rate and feed efficiency when feeding frequency increased from 2 to 3, 4, 12, and 24 feedings per day, with the recommendation of 24 feeding times per day for this species [15]. The difference in results might be due to the fact that goldsh is not usually reared for commercial purpose. Moreover, this fact also leads to the fact that there is a need to improve the genetic potential of goldfish if we want to rear it for commercial reasons. In the present study, the maximum weight gain was observed in the feed (B) and the same result was observed in Siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens. Regan) which showed that 2 meals per day fed to satiation are sufficient to support the maximum growth. Further it has been reported that ornamental Red Swordtail (Xiphophorus helleri) fed 2 meals per day resulted in the greatest growth [28]. But contrary to present study the juvenile Atlantic Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus) displayed improved growth rates when fed on satiation 5 times per day, compared with one time per day [29], and African Cafish (Clarias gariepinus) exhibited greater growth rates when fed to satiation twice compared with 3 times per day [30]. In the present study the better feed conversion ratio (FCR) was observed in Feed (A) but contrary to present study best FCR were observed for the Goldfish fed 4 times per day, indicating that this frequency of feeding was optimal, suggesting that both growth and feed utilization are more efficient at this feeding frequency [31].


PDF | Influence of Feeding Frequency on Growth performance and Body Indices of Goldfish (Carrassius auratus). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/public...d_Body_Indices_of_Goldfish_Carrassius_auratus [accessed Jul 11 2018].


PDF | Influence of Feeding Frequency on Growth performance and Body Indices of Goldfish (Carrassius auratus). Available from: https://www.researchgate.net/public...d_Body_Indices_of_Goldfish_Carrassius_auratus [accessed Jul 11 2018].

 

[Wolfen]

My new life spectrum came with instructions.
It said to feed twice a day and make sure there are no uneaten food after 30 seconds of feeding

 

[PGJE]

2x a day, 1 time for my pleco

 

[robham777]

It really depends on the fish, and what I am seeing. For the most part 2x a day, but light feedings. Just enough to see a slight bulge in the gut area. Older adult or less active fish once a day or even every other day. Fry or small juveniles minimum 2x a day up to 4 or 5x if I am at home for the day. I pretty much stick to pellets but keep freeze dried krill an bloodworms on hand. Frozen baby brine shrimp for fry combined with first bites for fry and frozen blood worms for new finicky eaters that won't eat pellets. Live food only if it is a fish not yet accepting pelletized food. As RD. so aptly stated "It's a complicated subject" and not a one size fits all formula as I once more or less believed. If asked again in a couple of years I may have a completely different approach for whatever fish I am keeping at the time.

 

[Vibsee]

Twice a day on some days. Three times on other days. Three different types of pellets mixed together twice a day. Bloodworm balls would be the third meal on days when I feed them three times.

 

[BillC]

Hi. I thought it would be interesting to see what different feeding regimes people have.

Of course the amount and frequency you feed your fish is depended on the type of fish you keep, so it would be worth mentioning that detail also.

I have a 6ft tank with a mix of CA and SA cichlids and feed the tank once every two days with a staple pellet.
I also feed the fish some frozen food (e.g. prawns, krill, etc.) once a week.

(By the way, if a thread similar to this has already been made, apologies).

I handfeed frozen bloodworms cubes 3 or 4 times a day to the elephant nose. A pinch of crushed up flakes twice daily for the hatchetts. Flakes 3 or 4 times daily for the discus. Sinking pellets at night for the pleco and loathes. Lots of water changes and filter cleaning.