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my girlfriend has 3 goldfish, 2 of which i got her.the 2 that i purchased for her started out as the 25Cent feeders which we got to cycle a large tank that she planned on putting an oscar in, well the plan fell through and now she loves the goldfish, so now my oscar doesnt get them as a snack.but anyways, we have done oranges zuchinni, cucumber, shrimp, blood worms,tubifex worms, alot of the basics. are there any really uncommon foods that would be fun to try and feed them?

Hi,
Drop the Oranges. NO citris fruits.
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

oh.ok but jw why is that.the goldfish love them and after 10-15mins any uneaten peice is gravel vacced out.my gf usually does it as a treat before a water change.also jw but is citrus fruits bad for the fish?

Have you ever gotten orange juice on a cut? Imagine that on fish gills! Orange juice = citrus acid = not good

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

idk, i beleive you im just saying they love it. if it hurt them that bad wouldnt they not want to eat it?ive heard not to feed it becaus eit is very messy and pollutes water.

I know you still ate the orange after it burned your cut too. Right! It's not like they can say get that away from me, it's not good for me.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

actually if it made my mouth hurt i wouldnt eat it, that must be why some of the most respected goldfish keepers, and the guy in the guinnesse book of world record who had a 47 yr old goldfish listed what it ate and citrus fruits were on there. obviosnly once again the question was unanswered which is typical for members of FP in the facts that they would rather snap at others and indirectly answer the questions or not at all. the question was if it hurts them that bad wouldnt they swim away from it and not want to consume the orange, i doubt if it seriously hurts them that bad that if they swim tot he other side of the tank the citrus still affect them.If you can answer the question and would rather be arrogant, how about just not replying to the thread.

Thank You, Have a nice day

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings in my reply.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

Somewhere.... In one of these threads.... Frank ... I think gave an answer as to why citrus fruits weren't good for the fish. I just can't remember where I read it. I know I saw it somewhere in a much, much earlier thread. You can read the earlier posts and I'll race you to find it!

I really do apologize if I hurt your feelings earlier. I was only teasing. I forget the internet doesn't interpet jokes well and not many people get or know my strange humor.

TTFN --->Ta-Ta-For-Now
Kelly ;o}

ok sorry kelly, just that post wasnt one i posted.this is a rarity for me.i do not keep goldfish or wouldnt want to however my girlfriend does and she wanted me to post it, i think you may have seen a thread like that earlier however it was not from me.if you find the thread link it into this thread.

CichlidKid,Citrus fruits are not good for fish, there is a scientific reason behind this and maybe someone like Marc can explain why.
Goldfish will also eat gravel, stones, small fish etc...dosnt mean its good for them.

well why?if its bad, then why do some of the best recomend it?could you maybe find me the reason why, that was the question.all your doing is telling me its not good and, not telling me why?there must be a reason.

who exactly reccomended to feed citrus fruits to your goldfish?

lots of people on this forum, except obviously in this thread.people at the lfs which is petsmart, and in various books ive read, the internet, and other things.all im saying is the "appear" to love them, to be honest i dont really vare i just wanted a simple explanation as to why. i dont even own a goldfish, my gf does and she is the one who feeds them that not me, i have nothing to do with that deal.

I think the explanation is simple. At least to me this would seem like a viable reason: Citrus acid is very potent and even in mouths and bodies of humans can be harmful. excess citrus acid can cause ulcers to for and can cause stomach problems. The thing is fish are opportunistic feeders and feed on what they can because in nature the next meal can be days away and if the chance isn't taken they might starve to death. also many fish aren't as smart as humans and they might eat something rotting or gross when a human would rather find something that is fresh or ripe. now if a fish eats nothing than citrus in a meal the acid might burn their gills and stomachs but they still eat the food as a matter of survival.

this is just a hypothesis. there are better things to feed and if some people are saying its bad maybe there is a viable explanation but the guy who had the ancient koi/goldfish might have fed the citrus as a means of immune booster and not as a whole meal but rather in small pieces throughout a week or something (Vitamin C).

So as an answer to your question there are many things fish (goldfish0 would love to eat. Try seaweed paper (Sushi Nori), guppy fry, blood worms, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, squash, lettuce, plant clippings, elodea/anacharis, etc. Just if you feed citrus do a bit of research first because many people think bettas are happy in a tiny cup but its kinda common sense that anything would love a bigger territory and will prosper a bit more... and many of these individuals broadcasting their false ideas work at LFS and post on forums/blogs.

Also do a bit of intensive research of your own to find an answer it seemed like you wanted the people to not give you a good answer like you wanted to make the site seem ignorant and arrogant form the start. also many people know the rules of thumb but not the scientific data to back it up so if you get that many responses of not to feed that then maybe there is a viable reason.

Sorry if this was bashing or not really of informational use, but just what I though after reading through the thread.

-Brandon

\\\\\\\"an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of the cure\\\\\\\"

no, it was very informative and i appreciate you trying to explain it more outright. that makes some more sense to feed in a small portion mixed in with another meal(cucumber and oranges) but i gave informed her not to feed citrus fruits and other non acicdic fruits instead.thanks

I work at a PetSmart and have never heard of anyone feeding oranges to their goldfish. But I won't delve too deply into the discussion just because, since I've never had goldfish, I don't have a lot of personal experience. I'd just keep giving them the cucumber. The fish in our tanks love, love, love it. Especially the feeder fish. We give them cucumber slicings every morning, and depending on how fast they eat it, sometimes another slice during the afternoon, and then a little bit of aquarium salt to soak in (although obvs, not recommended unless you're willing to do frequent water changes, but with a huge system like ours, it's not that big of a deal).

Hi,
It turns out that I may have been wrong - at least in
the case of Goldfish and Koi.

After reading the posts, I went on the Internet and did
some looking. While I cannot find anything about feeding
"regular" tropical fish, citrus fruits, I did find that
Koi and Goldfish, seem to appreciate a slice or two of
citrus fruits - Oranges in particular were mentioned.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Fishy-Foods-and-Koi-Feeding-Patterns&id=2412965

I think I recall a comment in an issue of the
Aquarium Fish Magazine along similar lines.

Everything I've read so far indicates that the fruit
should be considered a "treat" and not something
that is fed every day but rather once in a while.

Koi and goldfish are members of the carp family and as
such will eat, or try to eat anything it perceives as
food. I'm not a ichthyologist and know little of the
fish's stomach and how it processes food. In reading
the link, I'm guessing that the goldfish/Koi stomachs,
and needs, are different, than say, a tetra.

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I remember trying lots of different things with my goldfish, especially after reading some article where a lady fed her goldfish dog food!! Seems most people tend to think goldfish are dumb as dirt with no discerning taste, but since they don't try to eat each others fecal trails like Platys or Mollys do then I have to assume they know at least a bit about what is food and what is not food!!

I used to give my goldfish boiled lettuce and peas- cooked of course, and easy on the peas as they can lead to overproduction of the aforementioned fecal trails.. I remember giving them earthworms and mealworms and the odd beetle we used to find around the house. Spiders too! As long as you know there hasn't been any pesticides sprayed then they love to eat all sorts of creepy crawlies as long as the fish are big enough..

You can try things both raw and cooked from the kitchen to see if they'll eat it as we all know that cooking things changes the taste. Oh and algae pellets, they used to go nuts over those! I remember I even did try the dog food with my fish as well, but they really didnt go for it and it made mess- maybe it was the wrong brand? I believe they ate dog cookies though, just the cheapy ones from the grocery store..

Have fun!