What to feed your fish? If you are a new to fishkeeping and just learning the art, that is the prime question that you may come across, when feeding your fish. With a huge list of fish food available in the market, finding the right fish food may not be that easy. More so, if you are a new aquarist. We thought of helping you find the right fish food so that your pet fish would thank you!
When deciding what fish food to feed your fish, there are a few factors that you may need to give a thought to. the factors that decide what type of fish food should you choose would depend on the fish type you have, the nutrients they require and the portion size you regularly give. You can choose from among pellets, algae wafers, and fly larvae. Larger fish would be fine with sticks and chips, while smaller ones would like flakes, pellets, tablets or wafers.
What Fish Food should you Feed Your Fish?
The type of fish food you feed your fish would be largely dependent on the factors such as type of fish, the nutritional requirements of the fish you have kept and the portion size needed by your fish.
Types of fish based on the eating habit
There are three major categories of fish based on their eating habits.
- Top or surface feeders – These fish have upturned mouth and will need the food that flaots on the surface.
- Mid feeder fish – These have a straight mouth and can easily eat the food in the mid section of the tank
- Bottom feeders – They have downturned mouth or have their mount on one side.
Anotehr classification of fish based on eating habits includes
- Herbivores – These fish eat only plant food. These fish would eat algae, aquatic plants, wood, and fruit. Some of the fish that belong to this category include silver dollars, bristlenose plecos, Chinese algae eaters, and parrot fish.
- Carnivores – These fish feed on aquatic insects, crustaceans, snails, and worms. Fish belonging to this category include bettas, angelfish, oscars, and tetras.
- Omnivores – These belong to the category that can consume both meat and plant food. Some off the fish that belong to this category would include barbs, goldfish, guppies, koi, mollies, and cichlids.
Types of Food
There are different types of fish food available in the market. Based on what you or your fish prefer, you can feed the right type of fish food to your pet fish.
Flakes
This is the most common types of fish food. They are very simple to use. Whenever it is the feeding time of your fish, you can simply sprinkle the food on the surface and your fish will swim up and eat it.
The flakes are made for the fish species. There are specific flakes available for freshwater and saltwater fish. You can even flakes meant specifically for gold fish or cichlids. The flake fish food is good to add fiber and protein to your fish diet.
Pellets
The pellet type fish food is meant for larger fish varieties. They come in different sizes. Pellets come with the same constituents as in te flakes, but are made in a different form. Some of the pellets stay afloat and attach the fish, while some others sink to the bottom and are best for bottom dweling fish.
The pellets are best suited for the fish species such as catfish, groupers, oscars, and large cichlids.
Freeze dried
This fish food can be an excellent alternative for live food. Since live food is perishable, the freeze dried fish food can last several days or months. It is made from the plants and insects found in the natural habitat of your fish.
The fish food that belongs to the freeze dried variety is typically made from insect larvae to spirulina. Freeze dried food should not be fed as the primary diet and should not be used sparingly.
Dried seaweed
Dried seaweed typically consists of spirulina and is considered to be the best fish food ever. It should be the excellent pick for anyone who has a tank full of herbivorous fish.
You can even give the dried seaweed as the best food and a treat to your fish. It would provide your fish with Vitamin C and other similar nutrients.
Wafers
Wafers can be a excellent option to provide your fish with a consistent supply of food. It typically dissolves in the water really slowly and your fish will have plenty of options to eat.
The wafers are designed to sink to the the bottom and dissolve very slowly. They will begin breaking up as the fish nibbles at them. Wafers are best suited for the bottom dwelling fish such as plecos.
Live food
Maybe you will feel a bit strange, but live food is what comes as quite natural to the fish in your tank. There are some fish varieties that eat only live food.
Some of the best options would include live brine or ghost shrimp, feeder fish (for larger carnivorous fish), crickets, and worms. However, make sure that you do not buy substandard or low quality live food as that can harm your fish. Ask your aquarists club or get a tip from the experts.
Frozen food
Frozen food is an excellent alternative to live food. However, frozen foods can be a little messy when compared to the freeze dried foods. They contain a lot of moisture.
Frozen fish food can be quite a good pick if you want your fish to have a high fiber diet. However, when you are feeding frozen food to your fish, it may be a good idea to change them every week.
Food That You Should Avoid feeding Your Fish
There are some foods that you should never feed your fish with. Fatty meat or serving the meat in your fridge is not a good idea. Foods like bread and crackers are also not the right choice for your fish. These dry foods can expand and clog their digestive track.
You should also not feed your fish with any prepared food such as s french fries, cooked meats (fried chicken, hamburger, hot dogs), pizza, processed meats (deli or canned meats), and vegetables with seasoning, dressing, or sauces.
How Much Should You Feed Your Fish?
Ideally, you should feed your fish once or twice per day. The right away to feed your fish is to serve the food that they consume within two minutes. Overfeeding your fish can make the water to get cloudy. Your fish may eat more than what is necessary and this will increase the excretion. This can further cloud the water.
Overfeeding the aquarium fish can increase the amount of ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate levels. You can feed your fish once a day at the same time everyday. You will also need to adjust the amount of food depending on whether you gain or lose fish in your tank.
In Conclusion
Each type of fish would need differential need for food. Based on what fish you have kept in your aquarium, you can choose the right fish food for your fish. Makee sure to customise your fish food based on your individual requirements of your fish. Your pet store should help you take a proper care in handling your fish food requirements.
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