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I know most folks feed sinking food to goldies, but I've always fed floating pellets because I know it's bad to leave food at the bottom of the tank and the silly, silly fish never seem to find it when I have tried foating/sinking or sinking. If it's floating then anything they don't eat (though that's not much of a problem with goldfish - but sometimes they don't see it) I can just pull out.

I know my fish need more variety in their diet, and like to eat from the bottom - and I'd like to feed more veggies and stuff. How do I transition from floating to sinking? What if I put in a little bowl to keep stuff from dropping into the gravel? I have big gravel (a thin layer of polished rocks the size of a small flat egg) and stuff falls in between them.

In a store I saw a little clear tube with a tray at the bottom - so the sinking food would always be in the same place and the fish could find it more easily.. has anyone used those?

I feel like somewhere I saw a picture where the person had a section of the bottom of the tank gravel-free - perhaps that would be a set-up to try? Then at least I could see clearly anything uneaten (but I'm not sure it would stay in that section because I've got pretty good filtration).

I've also seen the veggie clips with webbing, but it seems like anything small enough for the fish (mine are little) will go right through those holes. If I put in spinach or something will they pick pieces off? If I want to give them peas, won't the shelled peas go right through those little holes in the bag and still end up on the bottom of the tank? Can a little 1.5 in goldie pick bites off half a pea, or is it too big for their little mouths?

Do I just need to keep the gravel vac handy for a few days until the fish figure out how to find the sinking food on the way down, or are there other things folks have tried?

I and my goldfish (them more than me I'm sure!) will thank you kindly for advice, perspectives and ideas....

Melissa

Hi Melissa,

I feed my fish are variety of foods and most of them float. I love the Hikari brand, in particular. I feed things like Oranda Gold, Hikari Lionhead, etc.

Now, with floating pellets comes the potential to bring on a bout of SBD (Swim Bladder Disorder), if your fish are e. They either float for much of the day after eating, or be unable to lift from the gravel. You can soak them for a minute in tank water, then put them in and they still float on top, but at least they pick up moisture first.

I follow that meal with a small, roughly 1x2 or 1x2 inch square of SeaVeggies or Seaweed Selects. It is marine macroalgae, which is fine for freshwater fish and the goldies absolutely love it. Whats more, is that it pulls lots of moisture into the gut as it soaks in water quickly. You just stick it to a veggie clip (not the netted kind, but its a clip with a plunger).

I put it in the tank as they are eating the Oranda Gold, or the Hikari Krill, Bloodworms, Ocean Plankton, etc. These are all freeze dried and in convenient containers. One day they get pellets and algae, the next day they get Plankton and algae.

Never keep food more than 90 days once opened as it rapidly looses key nutrients once the air hits it.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4303&N=2004+6000

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=11462&Ntt=seaweed&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7368&Ntt=seaweed&Ntk=All&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

Now, with the veggies - stick with the green, as opposed to red or purple. Also, you will find several brands, from Julian Sprungs Sea Veggies to Seaweed Selects and Seaweed salad. I can find them at Petco, but not all stores, so hunt around. YOu'll enjoy watching your goldies eat.

How big are they and what size tank are they in?

With the gravel, I too have large gravel as was recommended in the book Fancy Goldfish. It is about 1/2 inch. I put about a layer and half, but may thin it out a bit. If it is a single layer, you won't get too much trapped. Also, I gravel vac weekly and pull out all my fake plants every few weeks to get it really good. It's amazing what comes up.



Last edited by Cory_Di at 05-Mar-2005 14:30

Last edited by Cory_Di at 05-Mar-2005 14:31

Thanks Cory_Di

I have two 1-1.5 in baby fantails in a 29 gallon with a BioWheel Emperor 280 filter.

I tried them with some spinach - I put it in the freezer for a bit and then took it out, let it warm up and put it in the tank. For the longest time they picked at it but they don't seem able to *eat* it really.

Another thing I tried (I also have a Betta) is I hatched some baby brine shrimp - so they would swim around. The shrimp swam to a corner of the Betta tank with the most light and the Betta (Guido) is having a blast snipping them up. The Goldfish (Miyako and Nugget) are such dorks about finding food they failed to notice anything. Eventually I turned the filter back on and that was it for the brine shrimp in the goldfish tank.

I will look into getting sea veggies - I am also hoping to find ways to feed them peas and cheaper stuff . The layer of big gravel isn't deep, but big gravel makes big holes between gravel. I do vac well when I water change, but is it ok for food to sit down there for a week between changes? How quickly do I need to get it out if it falls between the rocks?

Floating food won't get down in there. At least, none of mine does. You shouldn't put more food than they can eat in a few minutes with it floating and that takes care of any chance of it sinking. Goldfish will eat until they bust, so you have to cut it off.

Do get the sea veggies or seaweed select or seaweed salad (green). It will last you a very long time - I'll bet 6 months. Unlike some of the other foods, this stuff I don't pitch out after 2 months. They get good vitamins in their main food and the algae sheets I need just for the fiber and moisture.

The seaweed works better than anything I've ever tried, including peas.

BTW - I hope there are plans for a bigger tank in the next 6 months to a year. I can't keep up with the nitrates in my 36 gallon with 30-40% weekly water changes. I need to do them twice weekly and am now testing Nitrazorb. Nitrates must be kept below 40ppm and should be measured weekly before water changes. They will creep up slowly over time.

When you can no longer keep the nitrates below 40ppm with weekly water changes, you'll know it is time to upgrade. My problem is that I need to get out of my tiny condo so I can upgrade.

Last edited by Cory_Di at 12-Mar-2005 13:13

Thanks so much Cory-Di ...

I know the floating food won't get in the gravel (that's why I use it so much!) but I worry bits of pea or spinach will get caught down there.

I will definitely try the seaweed. I HAVE gotten them to eat some spinach - I cut it in ribbons and put it on a clip (after freezing it for an hour) and didn't give them any pellets at all for a day - the next morning they had eaten tons of the spinach!

It makes sense that if you use the seaweed for fiber and moisture that you don't need to pitch it so quickly. I can definitely get some if I don't have to replace it every month. Much thanks for the idea!

Thanks for the warning on the tank as well... so far - with about 10 gallons of water per one inch of fish and 10x per hour filtration I've had no problems. At this point I'm only testing nitrates monthly (before water changes) but they are so low (I've never tested above 10) that I'm not worried yet. As they rise I will test more often and when the time comes I will move into a bigger tank. Honestly, I might move into a bigger tank sooner just because I'd rather have 3-4 goldies together than just 2... but of course that will need to wait for the finances : )

Thanks again! I will get some seaweed soon! Melissa

I don't really feel that time should dictate water changes and gravel vacs. I think two things should govern when they are done on a regular basis.

1) "Nitrate target" of either 20ppm or less, or 40ppm or less depending on species. Some species may need even less.

2) Waste level that needs to be dealt with. I can't imagine not gravel vac'ing a goldie tank less than once weekly with the amount of waste they produce.