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Okay, even though I've been doing this for about 2 to 3 years I have a stupid question.

Well, I recently(about 2 months ago) fell into the spell of Old Tank Syndrome. I quit doing regular maitinence and the Nitrate is SKY HIGH. I checked last night and it was 200+ ppm

So I did a 10 to 15% water c hange last night and I did about a 25% water change maybe 10 minutes ago.

My question is: Is it alright if I feed the fish once every 2 to 3 days? I don't want to keep the Nitrates high and I'm going to be devoted to my tank from now on(really). So can anyone answer this? thanks!!

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions

yes i fish can last up to about a week without food but you might want bigger feedings if its 2 to 3 days stop this (diet) if any fish looks bad

33 gallon 7 neon tetras-5 platys-3 bleeding heart tetras-2 corys-1 rainbow shark-2 L83 gibby plecos

Actually a few of your fish are little small to feed every 2 to three days for maximum health if its a regular egime, but it will do no harm for a few weeks while youre trying to bring the nitrates down.

Its better to feed them daily but in smaller amounts. The fish have a minimum requirement for food,and their gastrointestinal health depends on regular provision and passage of foods.

A fish especially a small one , just like a human will get cramps , wind , digestive acid fluctuations, gaseous stomach imbalances etc if put on a regime of infrequent feeding. Most tiny fish eat every few hours in nature, even if its only to take a mouthful of detritus in a vain effort to get some nutriment. On a 2 -3 day regime the fish will gorge themselves, going from an empty gut to a massively packed out one, and that often leads to organ compression issues and constipation. Exceptions to the rule are obviously larger fish, big predators, and those coolwater fish who run on a slower digestive metabolism. The once or twice a year starve week you would put a fish through will cause no harm, but a constant regime of starvation and gorging may do significant harm, probably shortening the life of the fish.

Its better for both the fish and the filter to expect a regular intake of food and waste. Its not the frequency of feeding that affects water quality , but the total amount of food and uneaten food that affects the nitrates. A low and consistant feeding level will actually , via regular levels of waste production actually ensure the bacterial filter colony fluctuates in size very little, and consequently becomes very efficient.

Possibly your tank may be overstocked? You didnt mention the size. Generally speaking , feed the fish little and often, give them what they need and just make sure you do enough water changes to keep up. Perhaps its the amount of required water changes that was underestimated , rather than a problem with the amount of food? Unless of course you were overfeeding.

If the tank is getting on a bit, it might help to remove some of the gravel and rinse it out in a bucket, and perhaps its worht taking out bogwood and rocks and giving them a good , hard scrub in hot water.

Overfeeding is an amount thing, not a frequency thing. Feed them regularly but avoid thoose urges to put too much in the tank.

So to sum up, id drop the amounts of food, but not the regularity with which it is given.Basically there is only so far you can push feeding tolerances, and its better to do the water changes .

I love Longhairs answers they are always informative with lots of cause and effects. It like going to fish college for free and I like free stuff.

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

wow longhair, very informative. I think I was kinda over feeding. I just started last night with the water changes. As I said, I fell into OTS and so I was lacking. Now I guess I'll feed them once every day at about 5:00 pm, give or take 0 to 10 minutes.

Thanks LongHair, I apperciate all help ^^

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions

Pleasure

Thanks again longhair

10G- 6 Zebra Danios, 1 Upside Down Catfish
20G- 1 Goldfish
72G(maybe95)- Need Stock suggestions