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I know this may seem stupid to ask, but there are many different views on how much to feed your fish.

I have a 90 gallon with:
7 upside-down catfish
6 congo tetras
1 BN pleco
2 Angels
1 German Ram
1 RTBS
1 Black ghost knife
2 zebra danios

Should I follow the recommended amount and keep feeding for about 5 minutes, or is about 1 minute enough for the setup I have(I usually do even less than this)? The fish eat very quickly and the food is almost gone instantly when I put it in the tank, but it still seems like a lot...

Also how many Hikari carnivore pellets should I feed my BGK? I usually feed him 1 a day, sometimes 2.

Appreciate your time,
fishnewbie

Last edited by fishnewbie at 07-Sep-2005 16:50

I think that five minutes worth of food would be too much for your fish, and they likely wouldn't eat it all. One or two minutes is just fine, as long as all of your fish are getting enough. Do any of them appear thin, or look like they don't get much food? Then you'll want to increase either the amount or frequency of feedings. Otherwise, they're probably getting plenty.
You are the best judge of whether your fish are getting enough food, since you become familiar with their actions and how they look. Often the behavior or appearance of a fish will indicate when they are being starved.

How large is the black ghost knife? Also, does it eat all of the pellet/s that you feed it?

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

4 mins, but may i suggest u get colorbits, it is a slow sinking, and will get to ur BGK, as well as the other fish, and great for the bottom fish that u have

Complex answer to a complex question- feeding fish is simple when all the fish are similar or you only have a few. When you have a major community tank though the rules can radically change.

Generally its recommended that fish are fed as much as they can eat in two minutes- obviously a neon tetra can eat all it needs in about 5 seconds, whereas an angelfish may pick at its food for several minutes. Catfish and plecs may feed better after dark in secluded places and so on, they may also scrape away at their food for hours. Invertabrates will also complicate matters. You also have to take into account territoriality , rank order and size before assuming your fish may eat in a shorter or longer timespan.

The best way to define what your feeding regimen should be is quite simply to monitor the fish. Take time to observe them, see who feeds when, how quickly etc. Study how often they defecate and what consistency it is. Study lots of specimens either photographed or in the flesh to get a good idea about the normal morphology of the species you keep, their roughly ideal build and weight etc.

Surface feeders and bottom feeders have their own problems. Surface feeders and midwater fish will exploit food in almost every part of the aquarium, the bottom is rarely unaccessable to them, so overfeeding is likely. Bottom feeders often cannot feed in open water or at the surface - their mouth design often forbids it- so getting food to them might be a problem if you already have surface feeding fish. Specialist feeders like elephant noses and many mollusc eating species can present a problem too because while they can only eat a few types of food they could be outcompeted by more generalist fish who will enjoy eating their food as well as their own.

This feeding behaviour should be something considered when it comes to planning a suitable community. Often seperating difficult individuals is the only answer.

There are solutions - you can try offering foods in phases ie : flake foods , then wait 2 minutes, then offer live fare, then wait two minutes and offer algae wafers etc.

The generals rarely have willpower to wait and will go for the first available food, once full the live feeders then stand a chance and so on.

You can go for foods with different properties- flakes that float, granules that sink slowly or remainsuspended in the water, and then tablets that sink etc, live foods that live for a while in the tank etc. These may help a bit but are rarely a genuine solution.

Basically the "feeding fish as much as they can eat in a time limit " rules are basically a load of rubbish for unobservant people. These rules are largely made up by fish food manufacturers and very tired and jaded expert hobbyists who tire of giving out endless precise advice to the larger populace to try and somehow stem the rampant overfeeding that beginners are e to do.

It is far better to monitor the situation on a personal basis. If theyre fat, cut down , if theyre skinny step it up.I know that some fish will practically feed till they explode and others will just peck at food, but it still applies. It isnt rocket science.

People are often looking for massively abstract rules to govern the nutritional requirement of their fish- which is only ever something that can be accomplished by close observation, and being careful about the specimens you house together.

You ask if the one wafer a day is enough for you black knife - the answer is - how the hell would I know? Your real answer lies in its size, its individual metabolism, the temperatures you keep it at, the water quality, the size of the tank, the level of oxygenation, how much energy it expends on movement and respiration, and how much competition it gets. Assess it visually using other fish of the same species as comparatives, try to find out average growth rates for the fish- and if it isnt reaching them , feed it a little more. If its starting to look more like a sausage than a knifefish, cut down.

One thing I do know is id offer it a bit more variety than just wafers. Diet variety is at the heart of good fishkeeping.


The only principles you need to remember is not to pollute the water with old food , and to observe carefully and find an average method of feeding you can use for now. Remember as your fish grow ,become gravid, are affected by seasonal variations in temperature,illness and wound recovery etc you will have to modify your technique to suit.

Feeding is a constant process open to change and variation, and taking this on intelligently rather than relying on rules is all part of taking your hobby seriously. After all why watch fish when you can OBSERVE them. Its amazing how many people buy fish to look at them , and then moan that they actually have to pay attention to the fish to keep them in good health. Bizzare.


There is NO rule that covers everything, if anything. If you use general rules , you get general results and these can include obese , and starving fish.


Last edited by longhairedgit at 07-Sep-2005 18:54

Last edited by longhairedgit at 07-Sep-2005 19:03

As said before, the amount and time you feed your fish depends on the size and type of fish. Yet I have never even considered trying to 5-min rule....incredibly general and can cause serious problems. While this might not work for you, I have gone to one feeding every other day. From the advice from many experts here, I've found that this is completely safe AND healthy for my fish, yet I'm not sure about yours. I would try it though, and see how your fish act. Remember, fish ALWAYS look hungry. I have an angelfish that wil eat until it's belly potrudes, yet will still want more. With the once-every-other-day feeding, I've noticed that my fish have grown faster and have finer finniage than If I fed every day.
Hope this helps

Wow, thanks so much for the quick responces! (especially longhairedgit)

My BGK looks normal... maybe a bit on the skinny side. I'll try feeding him more and with some frozen bloodworms every now and then. The problem is getting them down there before they're eaten!

I'll experiment and see how it goes .

-newb

Last edited by fishnewbie at 07-Sep-2005 19:13

I'd second that, having worked in rescue situations ive seen fish the size or dwarf gouramies go weeks without food, and usually they recover weight quickly and survive just fine, probably even living longer for having the fat in their system temporarily depleted, thus avoiding fatty deposits in the liver.

While you wouldnt consider putting a fish on a crash diet you can certainly cut right back if youre worried. When I go on holiday i basically ask whos keeping the house while im away just to give the fish tiny amounts , this keeps them ticking over and stops the filters overloading in my absence, even though the food given to them may be one tenth of the usual amount. Point being that they lose weight pretty slowly, benefit from the odd diet and when i return home in a week or two they can regain lost weight in practically a day or two with a couple of celebratory bumper dinners .

Obviously some people keep marines that eat microfoods and the consequences for missing a few meals can be serious, but usually this doesnt apply to freshwater fish.

A black knife can get pretty big, and one in otherwise good condition might even survive a month or two without food, not that it means you shouldnt feed it at least every 48 hours to maintain its digestive health.Small amouts often is usually a good approach.

And its never a problem- just hope you found it useful.

ps knifefish have electrical senses and great night time hunting skills- wait till nighttime and put live bloodworm or similar in the water- something he can detect better than dead foods - then he becomes the biggest eater in the tank

Last edited by longhairedgit at 07-Sep-2005 19:20

Last edited by longhairedgit at 07-Sep-2005 19:24