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Author Topic: Help with feeding!  (Read 961 times)
Nossie
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Help with feeding!
« on: February 06, 2010, 04:11:41 AM »
I'm usually feeding my fish with floating pellets, which they are used to and appreciate.
But I've also got a bag of sinking pellets, which they are missing most of the time as they are looking by the surface for their usual food.

So far I have tried to give it as slowly as possible so that they'll have time to eat the pellets before they sink. But there are still a few sinking to the bottom. One of my fish seem to enjoy the sinking pellets, as he usually eats the ones that have sunken a little. But not even he manages to catch all of the faster sinking ones, and he eats them from the bottom instead. And then my two other fish aren't getting as much food as he does since they're noticing them sinking much later!

I'd like to make it more evenly distributed among my fish...
Any tips on how to make them more used to the sinking food?
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Katarine
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #1 on: February 06, 2010, 04:12:37 PM »
Perhaps try suspending the sinking food. As a sort of inventor Id see if you can get a net or something that you can hang on the edge of your aquarium, and just put the sinking pellets in there, submerge it in water and wait to see what happens. Perhaps if you pick up a couple long hooks, maybe shape them diferently, and then attach the net (or cheesecloth), and then if you put the sinking pellets over the net/cheese cloth they should fall into it, giving an equal opportunity for all your fish to try it. Mind, Thats just me. I'm really used to making things work even in the most impossible odds.... Hope this sort of helped.
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Mindemae
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #2 on: February 06, 2010, 04:20:54 PM »
There are fish feeders that attach with suction cups onto the side of the tank or maybe can float freely.
They collect the food when you drop it in and then they have holes on the sides for the fish to feed from.
They are funnel shaped.  You might be able to find one at your favorite aquatic dealer or maybe online.
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Katarine
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #3 on: February 06, 2010, 04:23:13 PM »
That works too. Grin
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Nossie
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #4 on: February 07, 2010, 03:24:24 AM »
Katarine: I would rather avoid the part with the net, sorry d: I would have to use a very small net, or the net for catching my fish in, and that feels like more trouble than necessary, and wouldn't the pellets dissolve very much in that? I don't think they'd like eating from it in the first place, but thanks anyway (:

Mindemae: Ah, yes, I've seen them (: I'll read some more about the subject and see if that may be the solution, thanks! (:

Still, you think it would help feeding them more often with the sinking food slowly enough for them to notice? I mean, would that make them more used to it? Or maybe it isn't a very good idea in the first place to combine sinking and floating!
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Mindemae
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #5 on: February 07, 2010, 01:40:38 PM »
Nossie,
I feed my fish a variety of foods, sinking food one day, floating the next, freeze dried, fresh, frozen...that way I'm sure to not only meet their nutritional needs but it gives the fish variety and also helps the slower swimmers have a chance at finding the food if they didn't get enough the previous feeding.  I feed my fish twice a day and have always done so. Once in the am and then in the evening.  Some people feed more often than that.  I always went by the rule more food, more waste, more often to clean.  Not sure if you have live plants or not but goldfish can nibble on live plants and algae and are good at finding bits of food that have fallen to the bottom and in between the gravel.
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Nossie
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #6 on: February 08, 2010, 02:36:44 PM »
I've got live plants, yes (: And I feed my goldfish with two kinds of pellets (plus the sinking food when I feel like trying) and bloodworms and tubifex. Occasionally peas, and I lately thought I'd try with some lettuce Wink

So how are your fish acting about the sinking food? Are all of them noticing it?
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Tek
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #7 on: February 08, 2010, 03:07:10 PM »
It's just natural for the goldfish not to spot some of the sinking food right away. If you have a bare bottom tank , it won't take long for the food to be noticed, but if it has some sort of gravel or sand then it could take a little longer.

You could try hand feeding them some of the sinking pellets, that way you don't have to worry about the pellets staying at the bottom.
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Nossie
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2010, 04:22:03 AM »
Thanks (: I have some pretty big ceramic grovel and pretty many pebbles, but I notice that they do go there and look pretty much. I'm just worried that some may stay on the bottom between the pebbles and pollute the water somehow D:
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Katarine
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2010, 12:43:51 PM »
If they rest at the bottom I'd suggest just taking a siphoning hose and pulling it up. I think thats really all you can do...
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Peppa
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2010, 12:33:40 PM »
sometimes it just takes them a whiel to adjust. Its best to give a vaired diet but beofr you start that get them used to the sinking pellets first. It depends on what type you have but for example fantails are more suited to sinking pellets but common and comets will soon adjust to these anyway. The sinking pellets dont have air and assist in avodiing your fish bloating and avoid constipation better than flaoting pellets

Dont do anything. Put them in, let them sink. Work out over a few feeds how many they will eat and then going forward just put in that amount. Once they realise that is all they will get they will soon adjust - trust me they will not go hungry and will eat what they are given! for the first few days avoid the rule of removing uneaten food as they need a bit longer to adjust. Keep an eye on water during this time

Its just a change for them. After a few days of only being given the sinkng pellets they will soon adapt and you will have no worries
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Nossie
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #11 on: February 11, 2010, 04:17:50 AM »
Katarine: Yeah, I guess (: I usually don't give them much of the sinking ones since it's harder for me to see about how much there is on the bottom, and then I leave them there. Because I noticed that they got more into the digging-on-the-bottom behaviour Wink It's getting better! I feel like it would be rather... a pain to give them too much food and then have to clean it out! Shocked But maybe I'm just lazy ;p

Peppa: Thank you! I tried giving them some peas yesterday, which sank right away, but they actually noticed them and ate every single one that was on the bottom (: So I guess they're getting used to it already! (Last time I gave them the sinking pellets they seemed to react more on them as well)
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calaguas
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #12 on: February 11, 2010, 09:07:47 AM »
sr. the best pellets is sinking than floating.. sinking pellets are high protein and less flour than floating... and your fish can got swimbladder..
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Katarine
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Re: Help with feeding!
« Reply #13 on: February 13, 2010, 01:57:40 AM »
Swim bladder is not necesarily caused by what food the fish eats. it has to do with the nutrients in a fish's diet. that's why most people roccomend a varied diet for fish.
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