How often should I feed these fish?

Question

I was at Petsmart today getting my water tested and the lady testing it said my ammonia was too high and she asked me how often I fed my fish and I told her everyday. She said to feed my fish every other day. These are the fish I have:

-Betta fish
-Cory Catfish
-Neon Tetras

How often should I feed my fish?

Thank mbuna for all of that input!

I have 1 betta, 3 cory cats, and 5 neon tetras in a 10 gallon tank and I do a 25% water change every week.

rosie, did you even read what I wrote?

Answer 1

I would suggest you feed twice a day, every day. Feeding often is not a problem, but feeding too much at once is. Feed only what they can each in 3-4 minutes is the best gauge of not over feeding.

Ditto to all the others on your tank cycling, that's the cause of the ammonia, not feeding daily. Unless you are over feeding of course.

MM

Answer 2

There's a lot more to your question than meets the eye! How big is your tank? How many fish do you have? What kind of filter do you have? These are all factors in keeping a tank healthy...
One rule of thumb my Dad taught me was one inch of fish to every gallon of water; ten 1-inch fish in a ten gallon aquarium or two 5 inch fish or five 2 inch fish...you get the idea!
Also, your filter will have a huge impact on your aquarium capacity. I love "Whisper" filters. You can buy them on line at DrsFoster&Smith.com. I think that's the right address. They are awesome filters and you can buy a twelve pack of filter cartriges very cheap! You change these once a month, the filter hangs on the outside of the tank and pours back into it like a waterfall. Very easy to change and clean...and it oxigenates the tank constantly. These are aslo "biological" filters, which means they use natural bacteria to break down the ammonia etc.
I have one ten gallon tank that has about 30+ one inch guppies in it. Way over what you'd expect to be able to put in it, but they are super healthy and even breeding! I think it's because I have two Whisper filter on this tank. One is a large and one a junior. I have them at each end of the tank. I also feed my fish daily. Sometimes twice! without any problems. It's also great to get one of those cyphins that clean the gravel. These are great for cleaning the food and waste out of the gravel and you can do a water change at the same time!
I hope this helps! Good luck!

Answer 3

If this is a new tank, or one that's had antibiotics used recently, the ammonia is from cycling.

While it's not wrong to feed them once or twice a day, you don't have enough bacteria built up in your tank to convert the ammonia (which is toxic to fish) to less harmful compounds. Until the ammonia and nitrite go to zero, it would be better to feed every other day - just the amount they can eat in 2-3 minutes. If there's any left over, use a net to remove it.

Here are some links to info about cycling, and what to expect:

http://www.qeok.com/fish/56-1-fish-3.html
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Answer 4

well are they all in the same tank
if not im asumming they are
feed one a day
i measure a nice pinch of food and you can feed your cory cats
the sinking pelets or put in a little extra food that you feed the betta and the tetras and let the cats eat the scraps
so like 2 pinches and 1/2 a day or every 2-3 days
or it could be that you overstocked and the ammonia coming
fromt the poop of the fish
ow many fish of each type do you have ? for every gal one
inch of fish
and about water changes i do 20-25% a week and my fish are healthy but only do more if nesscesary cuz the greater change might put your fish into shock

Answer 5

the general rule is once a day , a small pinch no more then the fish could eat off the surface of the water in 2 mins. if after 2 mins you have food left you feed them too much.

Answer 6

3 days a week. Your tank is cycling. Change 50-75% of the water to get rid of the ammonia.

Answer 7

i would feed them twice a day but feed them 1 pinch at a time and see how much they eat then siphon out remaining food. for your ammonia problem if you don't have a gravel vac get 1. they attach right to the siphon tube, and you can get them at wal-mart. just stick the vac in the gravel and it'll pick up any poop, food, etc.

Answer 8

Your tank is cycling and during that period you should feed very little. Here's a brief primer on the cycling process.

A Short Brief on the Nitrogen Cycle.

When you start a new aquarium it will go through what is called the nitrogen cycle.

The nitrogen cycle is a process which allows "good" bacteria to establish and multiple in the tank, thus breaking down the fish wastes.

Fish excrete ammonia as a waste product. Ammonia is highly toxic to fish and even small quantities in the water can kill your fish. The first bacteria that establish as part of the nitrogen cycle break down ammonia into a product called nitrites.

Nitrites are also toxic to your fish, but not nearly as toxic as ammonia is. As the nitrites start to rise in the tank the bacteria that feed on nitrites will start to multiply and consume the nitrites breaking them down into nitrates.

Nitrates are also toxic to fish, but only in very high quantities. The nitrates will continue to rise in your tank as long as you have fish and are feeding them. Water changes are used to reduce the nitrate levels.

How long does this process take?

Typically the nitrogen cycle takes between 4-6 weeks to complete. During this time it's recommended that you take samples of your tank water to the local fish store and ask them to test it for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates. The test levels will progress as follows:

Stage 1:

Ammonia zero
Nitrites zero
Nitrates zero

Stage 2:

Ammonia starts to rise
Nitrites zero
Nitrates zero

Stage 3:
Ammonia continues to rise
Nitrites begin to rise
Nitrites zero

Stage 4:
Ammonia levels drop
Nitrites continue to rise
Nitrates begin to rise

Stage 5:
Ammonia: zero
Nitrites levels drop
Nitrates continue to rise

Stage 6:
Ammonia: Zero
Nitrites: Zero
Nitrates continue slow rise

Tips to reduce the time of the nitrogen cycle.

The easiest way to reduce or eliminate the nitrogen cycle is to use a filter from an established tank. This filter already has the bacteria needed to breakdown ammonia and nitrites. By using an established filter you essentially bypass the nitrogen cycle.

Another easy way to shorten the cycle is to use "seed" gravel from an established tank. Simply take a few cups of gravel from an established tank and add it directly into the new tank. This gravel will contain a starter of the bacteria needed. If you don't want to add the gravel to the tank because it is a different color/stone than your gravel you can simply put it into a nylon stocking or cheese cloth "bag" and drop it into the tank. Using this method can cut your cycle time by 50%.

Finally there are live cultures of bacteria such as Bio-Spira (available at http://www.fishstoretn.com ) which will seed your tank with the bacteria needed. This product can virtually eliminate the cycling process.

Stocking your tank during this period.

During the cycling process you want to stock your tank very lightly. This is because if you have too many fish the ammonia will build up faster than the bacteria can break it down and your fish will die. I recommend only 1 or 2 hardy fish such as mollies. You want a fish that can tolerate the fluctuating ammonia and nitrite levels during the cycling process. There are many fish which should be avoided during this process including all catfish and any scaleless fish such as loaches.

Feeding during the cycling process.

I recommend that you feed your fish only once per day, and only as much as they will eat in 5-10 seconds. You should net out any food left over after feeding to prevent it from breaking down into ammonia. Once the cycling process completes you can double the feedings to twice a day.

Water changes during the cycling process.

If done correctly your tank shouldn't need any water changes during the cycling process. However should you find that your ammonia or nitrite levels are dangerously high during the cycling process you should do an immediate 25-50% water change to lower those levels. Water changes during the cycling process can extend the time it takes for your tank to cycle. Once the tank has completed cycling you should start your weekly 10-25% water changes to lower the nitrates in the tank.

Answer 9

i'll answer for betta only :)...
once/days its ok.... but if u want ur beta grow fast... you can feed them in the morning, day, and night.... and dont forget to change the water.... min 3 days u must change the water in ur tank :)

Answer 10

1 time a day is fine