For optimum health of your fish you need a food designed specifically for your species of
fish - i.e.. e. goldfish, tropical, algae eaters, cichlid, etc... Colorful fish do very well on a color
enhancing food and it does work. For optimum health of your tank you should feed no more than
what your fish can eat in five minutes. Make sure if you have bottom feeders that you get a sinking
food and floating food for others. There isn't a set schedule that will work for every tank. You will
get to know your fish and how much they need to eat. For example, one tank of fish I feed about
1 teaspoon once a day while a different tank I feed 1 tablespoon twice a day; this could change in the
future I just have to "listen" to my fishes needs. If they eat in less than 5 minutes, increases the food
at the next feeding. If there is some left over after five minutes, clear it out and feed them less next
time.
*There is a manufacturer of a desk top tank that suggests that your fish will need to eat only once a
week. THIS IS WRONG!!! Fish use a tremendous amount of energy and need to be feed every
day like most other living creatures.*
EVERY fish enjoys vegetation. Two good choices are lettuce and zucchini. Make sure you wash the
veggies very well to remove any dirt and pesticides. Buying organic food doesn't mean you don't have
to wash it, farmers use very potent, organic fertilizers that can be even more harmful if not washed
off. To give your fish veggies either slice them and float them on top or tie them to a cleaned rock
with fishing line. Avoid using rubber bands as the fish could bite them and eat the loose pieces. Make
sure to take out left-overs within 24 hours to avoid decay.
If you have an aversion to feeding live food, please choose a different type of fish
rather than denying a fish it's natural food and nutrients.
Some fish require the extra protein of live food, such as, beta, cichlids, and most other
semi-aggressive and aggressive fish. For fish that require brine shrimp or blood worms you can buy
these two different ways, frozen and freeze-dried, the later being the easiest. Most all fish that are
semi-aggressive or aggressive fish will and need to eat live food or 'feeder fish'. If your fish are
young start with a feeder fish called 'tuffys'; a small version of a gold fish. You can also buy feeders
in regular and large sizes depending on the size of your fish. Start with 5-10 fish, net them into your
tank and remember DO NOT add outside water to your tank. Do not feed dead feeders and try to
stick with one feeder fish supplier. Feeder fish are in such high demand that some are breed in
horrible conditions and sold to the stores sick (some stores will actually sell you sick fish). Buy
feeders like you would buy any other fish; if they don't look healthy and the water doesn't look
good-WALK AWAY. You could lose your fish and end up scrubbing or replacing EVERYTHING if you
introduce a sick fish to your tank.