Goldfish and LIVE Foods?

Question

What live foods can I feed my Goldfish? I have fed them mealworms and tried to feed them an earthworm I found outside just a few but they didn't eat it and how easy is it for Goldfish to digest food? Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Answer 1

Goldfish don't have stomachs...just a digestive tract. This accounts for constipation and swim bladder issues in many of them, as well as death from overfeeding. They always seem hungry :)
I wouldn't use earthworms to feed any fish as they live in soil that has normally been chemically treated (weed & feed, crabgrass killers, etc) and can be poisonous to your fish.
Goldfish will eat live brine shrimp, though, and you can purchase a kit and raise your own to feed to your fish.

Here's an article on feeding your goldies:
Flake food intended for goldfish will provide a good staple around which to build your goldfishes' diet. The Goldfish Society of America in its book, The Official Guide to Goldfish, (TFH 1996) advises goldfish enthusiasts, that if they feed only dry food, to feed two or three different kinds to provide variety in their fishes' diet.

Pellet food usually comprises the same matter as flake food but is compressed into pellets. Like some flake food, some pellet food contains only one type of ingredient, such as brine shrimp, which is meant to be a treat food rather than a staple. Check the labels before purchasing.

Goldfish enjoy live food, but few pet stores carry more than live brine shrimp. Cultivating live food is best left to the expert, as it can carry diseases which can harm your fish.

Frozen food provides your goldfish the benefits of live food with the added protection of being free of the diseases sometimes associated with growing live cultures. You can get frozen brine shrimp, daphnia, tubifex worms or mosquito larvae at a pet store. Frozen food comes most often in different-sized flat slabs, bits of which can be broken off and hand-fed to your goldfish without thawing the whole package. Store the unused portion in your freezer.

Homemade food or household foods give your goldfish variety and offer fresh nutrients to its diet. Some simple foods can be added relatively safely without danger to your fish or the risk of polluting your tank. If you are inclined to cook for your goldfish, a recipe for “gel food” is described below. Two of the easiest items to give your goldfish are lettuce and peas. Although goldfish will eat other types of lettuce, red leaf lettuce is easy for them to chew and unlikely to cause digestive problems. Rinse the lettuce in warm water then attach it to a lettuce-clip inside the tank. Don't cook the lettuce, however, as the lettuce may come off in strands and get caught in the goldfishes' throats.

Cooked baby peas are an excellent addition to your goldfishes' diet. Cook the peas until they are soft and refrigerate them. When it's time to feed a few to your goldfish, pinch off the skins, then slightly mash the pea between your fingers and drop it into the aquarium. Wait until your goldfish eats one pea to offer another. If you feed your goldfish peas that are too hard, he may develop bloat or other digestive problems.

How to Feed

How you feed your goldfish is as important as what you feed. Even flake food has to be “prepared” before dropping it into the aquarium. When a goldfish eats food that is floating on the water surface, it ingests air along with the food which often causes constipation, or impaction, from the food absorbing water in the intestines. Place the flake food in a small paper cup, dip the cup into the tank and fill it partially full of tank water. Swirl the food around a bit to saturate it causing it to sink when you drop it into the aquarium. Food that falls to the bottom will be ingested by your goldfish as it sucks material from the aquarium gravel.

Pellet food can easily become stuck in your goldfishes' digestive tracts, especially if you have fancy goldfish with rounded bodies such as an oranda, black moor, ryukin or other exotic varieties. Soak the pellets for 5 to 10 minutes until saturated before dropping them into the tank.

Recipe for Success

As a special treat, make your goldfish “gel food.” Gel food is easy for you to prepare and easy for your goldfish to digest. Feed your goldfish the gel food only in conjunction with goldfish food that has been formulated for their nutritional needs.

All that is needed are: a packet of unflavored gelatin, an empty ice cube tray, and a 2.5 oz jar of baby food in a vegetable flavor such as carrots, peas or green beans.

Pour 1/4 cup of cold water in a small sauce pan. Pour the packet of gelatin in the water and stir over low heat until the gelatin dissolves.

Add 3/4 cup of water, continuing to stir until blended. Add the baby food and stir until it is mixed thoroughly. Pour the mixture into an ice cube tray and let it cool for about half an hour.

Refrigerate the mixture. It will solidify in a few hours. When you are ready to feed your goldfish, take out a cube and cut it into small strips. Your fish will probably take it right from your hand.

One tray is more than enough for two 4- to 5-inch goldfish for a week. Discard any leftovers after a week to prevent spoilage.

Answer 2

Either one of those is usually a good live food for goldfish. It can take several times before they know it's food though, especially if the are in a tank and used to prepared foods. Goldfish digest food quite well but almost continuously. A good staple prepared food like pellets should form the backbone of any fishes diet and that includes goldfish. There are other things you can and should feed them as well.

Goldfish are omnivores and require a fairly well balanced diet. About 40% protein, 25% fat and 35% carbohydrate. These should come from a variety of sources to give a proper balance of vitamins, minerals and micro nutrients.

Most any vegetable is good goldfish food assuming you soften it enough for the fish. Green veggies are particularly good.

Sugars are not really needed in a fishes diet and can basically be ignored. They are biologically cheap energy, but the fish will get all the quick energy it needs from the carbohydrates in the veggies.

As for fats and proteins, the best source is from things that grow in freshwater. Cold blooded animals need and store different amino acids than warm blooded animals and therefore things such as insect larvae, aquatic crustaceans and freshwater fish will offer your goldfish the best balance of fats, proteins and amino acids. Beef, chicken and pork should all be avoided if possible in favor of the more digestible and better balanced sources of proteins.

Hope that helps

MM

Answer 3

Brine shrimp is great for goldfish. Or you can freeze brine shrimp and then warm it a little bit so that it's easier for your goldfish to digest. Otherwise, I wouldn't stick with live foods. Vegetables such as boiled peas are great for your goldfish's diet.

Answer 4

I have owned goldfish and koi for years and I guarantee they will survive. They can go two weeks without ANY food, that means no scavenging at all. And longer if they scavenge. Most of the time when fish die people think it is because they stopped eating and starved, when in reality they were just sick. For some reason people forget that fish can have just as many illnesses as humans.

Answer 5

y would u want to feed them live food? its not live gold fish are aggresive.

Answer 6

Try live brine shrimp.