How soon to feed new fish?

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luvinbluegills

luvinbluegills

Gambusia
MFK Member
Feb 26, 2011
529
16
18
Pgh PA
I'm old school, and I like to follow the advice I was repeatedly given as a young fish-keeper; don't feed new fish 'til the next day. This is to give them a chance to settle in and relax a bit. Yes, I have feed fish much sooner, but I generally give them some time unless I'm adding to a community, in which case I feed the tank as a distraction.

I frequently see posts from aquarists excited that their new fish feed within minutes of arrival and that always surprises me. Is there a consensus on the first feeding of a new fish? Me, if I get a new fish in the afternoon or evening, I feed the next day. If I get it in the morning I might try that evening.
 
I found it really depends on the species.. most of my fish ate the same day... when I buy from the LFS I will often let them fast until the next day... and like my gar who was shipped.. went days w/out food before shipping, and then while shipped... So I offered him food right away. If a fish is hungry it will eat.. if it's not feeling well it won't IME. I've had some fish refuse to eat for days after getting them home. I htink it's more important that they be fasted before a long move, then when they get to the final destination. I always fast my fish at least 24-48 hours before I move them.
 
I give my cichlids a day or so to settle in before feeding. When you have new fish and you're likely giving them different food than they're used to, the stress of shipping/moving and acclimating can cause sometimes cause constipation issues IME. I just prefer to play it safe, most fish are completely fine going a day or two without food. Also depends on species like someone else mentioned.
 
depends on the fish, for oddball/delicate fish, I give them a couple of days to settle in...but for hardy fish like most cichlids, I might try feeding later in the same day I add them
 
Depends, with fish that have been shipped I'll give them the opportunity to feed as soon as they look stable. I've had baby black arowana eat within an hour of being put into the tank.
 
I usually wait several hours or a day to give them time to settle so that I can avoid having uneaten food in the tank. I used to fee them almost immediately but my experience was that they generally would not bother it.
 
You can try feeding immediately, but don't panic if they don't eat.
I've had ropefish hold out on me for more than a month, bichirs for weeks.
A lot of my fish (congo tetras, knifefish, cichlids) ate on the first day, though.
 
when I get them, I feed about an hour after I put them in the tank, but only daphnia or blackworms. they're more likely to eat live, and I don't have to worry about it if they don't eat it. plus they keep moving around so when the fish do want to eat, it's right there looking yummy.

when they leave the quarantine tank, I transfer the fish and feed immediately to distract the current residents.
 
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