Hello; In the wild conditions can be from feast to famine or something in between. I have observed fish eat untill they puke and then start eating again. If we feed them every day they will eat every day, also every three hours or every two hours. Point being that in the wild there is not always regular feeding available and that fish can deal with fasting just fine.
I have, over decades, moved from daily overfeeding to more moderate feeding with a day or two a week of no feeding. I find some benefits from this in a tank. In the wild the excess bits of food from messy eaters is not an issue, but can be in a tank. I first noticed some benefits of fasting after being away on three day weekends. I would come home to find the tanks seeming to be in better condition and looking better. The fish and scavengers such as snails would have scoured the tanks for the excess bits of extra food. I speculate that food passing thru a gut yields a better outcome than food decaying.
Another benefit can be ensuring that each fish has a chance at enough food. I will feed a bit heavy on a day thus ensuring an opportunity for feeding by all the fish. The pigs get lenty and the others get enough. A following fasting day seems to give the water conditions a peroid to deal with the excess food bits without adding more load.
I have been doing the moderate feeding for a few decades and the fasting days around fifteen years. Seems to be working and I suspect the fish are doing better overall. At least the smaller species I have been keeping are generaly surviving for longer spans. I also do not have some of the water quality issues that would show up before. Some of my other practices likely contribute so all improvments cannot be assigned to the fasting days.
At the least I think that fasting days do not hurt the fish.
I have, over decades, moved from daily overfeeding to more moderate feeding with a day or two a week of no feeding. I find some benefits from this in a tank. In the wild the excess bits of food from messy eaters is not an issue, but can be in a tank. I first noticed some benefits of fasting after being away on three day weekends. I would come home to find the tanks seeming to be in better condition and looking better. The fish and scavengers such as snails would have scoured the tanks for the excess bits of extra food. I speculate that food passing thru a gut yields a better outcome than food decaying.
Another benefit can be ensuring that each fish has a chance at enough food. I will feed a bit heavy on a day thus ensuring an opportunity for feeding by all the fish. The pigs get lenty and the others get enough. A following fasting day seems to give the water conditions a peroid to deal with the excess food bits without adding more load.
I have been doing the moderate feeding for a few decades and the fasting days around fifteen years. Seems to be working and I suspect the fish are doing better overall. At least the smaller species I have been keeping are generaly surviving for longer spans. I also do not have some of the water quality issues that would show up before. Some of my other practices likely contribute so all improvments cannot be assigned to the fasting days.
At the least I think that fasting days do not hurt the fish.
