How much to feed fish?

Question

There are 11 of them in a 55 gallon tank.
Here are some of the fish
An oscare
A pacu
4 rather big goldfish
2 small black fish
2 silver and black fish (small)
1 brown sucker fish
Please don't tell me none of those fish go together I just need to make sure I am feeding enough....I feed slow sinking bites 2-3 times a day at 1/2 capfuls at a time. Is this enough?

The oscar and the pacu are the same size as the goldfish.

Answer 1

Since I do not know how much 1/2 cap full is I cannot say if it is enough. I will however tell you since goldfish do not have stomachs you are correct when feeding them 2-3 times per day not just once.

4 large goldfish at one feeding can eat close to a teaspoon full of food. and need a high protein low fat diet along with veggies. (Which also won't hurt your other fish)

If your fish are finishing their food within a few minutes, I would add a little more food perhaps 3/4 caps If the goldies begin to fight the other fish for food, you will have to add a bit more food when feeding.

Answer 2

They should be able to eat the food in 5 minutes.
I'm sure your realize the size some of these fish are capable of growing too, the pacu alone will grow to 3ft and shouldn't really be sold to you or I. 4 big goldfish, they probably should be the only fish in there. The fact you've named them 2 small black fish and 2 small silver and black fish has me worried.
Let alone the difference in food demands by your fish, one would suspect that if your fish grow at there usual rates your small black and silver black fish will go missing in the next few months, your brown sucker fish had better be another tank buster because the Oscar will have that if it fits in his mouth, so in 6 months time you'll have a large Oscar, 1 pacu that's head is likely to be sticking out of the tank 4 goldfish, you have four corners they should fit in there and one poss pleco (maybe) who's probably trying to hide under all four goldfish in each corner.

Your filtration would have to be top notch, and i would suggest that you would probably need more than one large canister filter to mechanically filter your tank.

AJ

Answer 3

No, increase the feeding to a capful 2-3 times a day.The fish you have, like the oscar and pacu could grow real huge and the extra food would give them the nutrients to grow faster.

AND more importantly, suckerfish do not eat fast enough, the food sort of gets gobbled down by the bigger fish like Pacus, etc. before they sink to the bottom for the pleco(suckerfish).

So, the higher amount of food would balance the food amount for the big fish and the smaller and slower-feeding fishes.

Remember, even if you accidentally overfeed, just remember to bring out the leftovers before they pollute the water.(No harm to the fish, and the fish are thoroughly fed) Give them 5 minutes to consume their food before thinking of removing excess.

Answer 4

It sounds like enough to me. General idea on feeding is just enough food your fish will eat and eat entirely within 2 minutes. That Oscar is quite a pig though but even if you didn't feed him for a couple days, he's still be fine. The key, especially considering your population here, is don't over feed. I'm amazed you haven't come across water chemistry issues with those goldfish and oscar togeather. That's ALOT of waste production going on.

JV

Answer 5

If they eat it all when you feed them and there is none left. give them a little more till you figure out how much they need and make sure some gets to the bottom because the sucker fish like the food too...

Answer 6

Different fish eat different foods, are you offering other foods besides pellets? 2-3 times a day is fine! They should eat what ever you give within 2-3 minutes, if it's gone in less than 1 minute, give a little more.

Answer 7

Any food given to fish should finish within a few minutes. Anything more and u r overfeeding. Give variety, slow sinking, surface floating etc.

Answer 8

The goldfish do not mix well with the other fish. They are coldwater, and the other fish are warmer water. But to feed your fish, feed them as much as they can eat in 2 minutes.

~ZTM