How often should I feed my cold water fish?

Question

I have a tank, about 50 litres in volume, with a filter and have two medium goldfish, one celestrial fish, one medium fish I don't know the name of but its very colourful, two wether loaches and two small crayfish but am unsure how much to feed them?
I have had them for about three months and started feeding them about half a tea spoon twice a day, then a friend of mine said to feed them half a tea spoon once a day and I went to a pet specialist in town about a week ago because the water was very coloudy all the time and she said she feeds her fish about half a teaspooon three times a week maximum,
That seemed very little but I tried it and the water has cleared nicely but I am worried I am starving them?
Any one know the right ammount to feed them all?

Thankyou ! ! x x

Hi, I have ordered a bigger tank for my fish, when I purchased them the guy showed me this tank I have and said all the fish would live fine together in there, I can see how it is a little small for them and have ordered a bigger tank with filters and all the things fitted in there,
Thanks for the answers so far though!

Answer 1

Glad to see the added comment about getting a larger tank! Rather than measuring out the amount of food, you should measure the time it takes your fish to eat what you give them. They should be able to eat what you give in 2-3 minutes, otherwise you're overfeeding them. Any food left after 2-3 minutes should be removed with a net to keep it from fouling the tank. You want to feed the amount they eat in 2-3 minutes twice a day, although it's okay to divide that amount up if you want to use 3 or 4 feedings.

Since your tank is still fairly new, you will probably see some cloudy water for a while, which is perfectly natural. When your fish produce wastes, some ammonia is created, which is toxic to your fish. There's a type of bacteria that uses the ammonia as an energy source and converts it to nitrite (also toxic) and another group of bacteria that converts the nitrite to nitrate. As long as there's more ammonia and nitrite in the tank than the bacteria can use, they'll reproduce, and this rapid reproduction (called a bacterial "bloom") also makes the water look cloudy. Since you want these bacteria to remove the toxic waste products, don't try and clean the tank too well to get rid of the "cloudy water" - you'll only make the cloudy appearance last longer. Once there are enough bacteria in the tank to remove all the amonia and nitrite, the reproduction will slow down and the tank won't be cloudy anymore. Usually this only takes 2 months or less, but if you've been "overcleaning", the tank may still be in this process (called cycling).

Given the size of your tank, and all the animals, you have, there will be quite a lot of ammonia being produced. So you don't lose any of what you have, move the gravel and filter to the new tank when you set it up. The more bacteria you have to start, the faster you'll get to the number you need. You will probably need more gravel and a larger filter for the second tank, but it's okay to let both filters run on it for a few weeks.


NOTE: I'd also be careful keeping the celestial with the other fish/crayfish. The way their eyes are oriented, they have problems seeing well (and in other directions than "up"). If the other goldfish don't have some type of vision impairment (bubble eyes, telescope eyes) the celestial may have trouble getting enough to eat. Crayfish will grow, and they may prey on slower moving fish, especially after the lights are out.

Answer 2

First let me reassure you your fish are all compatable and the goldfish and loaches as well as the cray fish are all fine living together.

As for food, do not go by teaspoon. Goldfish have no stomaches so they need fed differently than the loaches. They need fed 2-3 times per day. Remember when feeding, only feed what your fish will eat in a few minutes 3-4. this will get rid of the excess foods however the crayfish usually would eat that up.

You tank is fairly new and could be going thru a bacterial bloom, however I believe it is more than likely the waste load working against the biofilter.

It is a good thing you are thinking of the size of the tank for them. Remember when you do a water change no more than 25% of the water once a week.

A good judge as to how much they will eat is the food for each fish would fit into something the size of their eyeball. To help keep your tank from clouding you can stretch out the food. by feeding 4 times per day 1/2 teaspoon in the morning 1/2 teaspoon in the afternoon, 1/2 early evening and 1/2 before bed time. Less food more often is better than a lot of food less often.

Answer 3

I have a 55 gallon tank and i have 15 fish in the tank. I only feed them once a day and not quite a half a teaspoon. They are not starved either. they have been alive for over a year now. Gold fish however should not be in a tank with any other fish as gold fish carry many parasites that can cause illness or death to other fish.

Also as said above not more then consumed in 3 min. is a good rule to follow.

Answer 4

Goldfish only should be housed with goldfish and nothing else. Half a teaspoon twice daily is way too much especially for small fish. Feed all they can eat in 3 to 5 minutes once a day. Its hard to starve fish. You should do a little research on your pets. This is not a good situation at all.

Answer 5

Feed them twice a day, and only as much as they will eat in 2-3 mins, And your tank is way over stocked, You shouldnt keep goldfish in small tanks, They need atleast 20 gallons each

Answer 6

Just feed them a pinch or so of flakes every other day. The tank is probably going clouding due to over feeding.

Answer 7

Depends how many u have. I have one goldfish so I give it 1 flake three times a day, or 2 flakes twice a day. Fish always act hungry so be careful you don't over feed them otherwise they'll die. Good luck

Answer 8

once a day should be enough a small pinch of food is enough,feeding to much raises your nitrate levels in your tank and makes the water go cloudy

Answer 9

You should feed them a pinch of food in the morning and a pinch of food at night,no more than this otherwise you will be over feeding them.

Answer 10

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