When is the best time during the day to feed goldfish?

Question

I have 3 fantail goldfish and I was wondering when the best time to feed them is. I don't think it really matters but I was just wondering.
Is it better to feed them in the morning or at night?

Answer 1

I feed mine every morning, or when I turn the lights on the tank. And I usually feed them again at night. About once a week I don't feed them at all.
I have heard the opinion of a show goldfish dealer that she believed it was better to feed in the afternoon, not early and a few hours before lights out. Say at 4 or 5 o'clock. She had about 100 tanks so I'm sure she didn't want to over feed any of them, that explains once a day. She told me it was because dissoved oxygen is highest at that time, the fish could digest better, and a lot of the food would go to growth since it was mostly being absorbed at night when the fish were sleeping.
People at that level can be quite opinionated. Just feed once a day when ever you get to it, all they can eat in about 3 to 5 minutes. Don't worry if you skip a day or even a few days. It won't hurt them.

Answer 2

Goldfish are notorious beggar pigs, but it is true. You should only feed them once a day and only what they can eat in 5 minutes, no matter how hard they try to trick you into thinking that they are absolutely starving to death. In fact, you also should fast them one day a week. All of this strictness about feeding goldfish has to do with how their internal organs are structured. Goldfish have been so genetically altered that they actually do not have a stomach. The food goes right to their intestines and then straight out their body. So, there is no larger area for the food to sit and digest. If too much food gets into these long, thin intestines, it will back up and cause bloat and swim bladder disease. So, don't feel badly when you tell them no! No food! It's for their own good. But, as a treat 2-4 times a week in lieu of the fish pellets or flakes (which should also be pre-soaked so that it doesn't swell inside their little bodies), you can give them a wide variety of fruits, vegetables and protein-based treats such as brine shrimp, daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex worms, insect larvae, krill plankton, chopped earthworms carefully selected from your yard where no pesticides or fertilizers are used and chopped cooked eggs. Also, almost anything from the produce section in your supermarket. Romaine lettuce (no iceberg please), cooked fresh or thawed frozen shelled peas, melons, cucumber, grapes, oranges, spinach, parsley, dandelion leaves, broccoli, zucchini, strawberries, bananas. Parboil your tougher foods such as broccoli and carrots. Don't use anything that has been salted or flavored. Otherwise, try absolutely anything at all. They are very adventurous in the food department. You can also make them a gel food by combining baby food, such as strained peas, peas and carrots, spinach, bananas, etc. and mixing it with unflavored gelatin. With regard to the taking up gravel in their mouths, goldfish are also notorious interior decorators. They would do this even if they were as full and happy as they could be. They love picking up gravel and moving it around the tank. I have heard of stories where the owner comes home from work to find every single piece of gravel in the tank picked up and put in one gigantic pile in one area of the tank. This is what they do for fun; as a hobby and really has nothing to do with being hungry. And finally, goldfish have excellent memories. One of the best of aquarium fish. Testing has shown that goldfish can remember things for months and months on end, and even constantly if the memories are regularly reinforced.

Answer 3

You can feed any time in the day, and it most certainly does not need to be the same time every day. you can feed them at different times on different days, you can feed a different number of times on different days, and you can skip days altogether. The only 'rules' are the ones people make up for themselves.

As long as the fish eat everything you put in the tank, and as long as you compensate more feedings with less at each, then it doesn't matter.

Answer 4

I don't think that it would matter what time it was as long as you're consistent in feeding at a certain time. I feed my fish every morning when I wake up and sometimes again at night if they seem hungry. Remember that gold fish will eat as much as you're willing to give them, so don't over do it. They release more waste than other fish so the more you feed the more often you will need to worry with the maintenance of the tank.

Answer 5

I used to feed the one we had in the morning for the simple reason that during day light they can see more .

Answer 6

Probably in the morning, so they can use that energy and swim around all day! In my fish lab they get fed twice, but so long as the feedings are at least three hours apart, they'll eat at any time of day. But my fish seem hungrier in the morning (maybe they just expect food then).

Answer 7

better to split what they take and feed then in the morning and at night

[meaning that if they get 10 pebbles of food per day; split 5 morn / 5 eve]

but i guess it would be ok to just give them some at noon as a snack (like we give dogs treats in the day)

Answer 8

I feed my goldfish, in the middle, of the day, at noon.
Good Luck

2N!$H

Answer 9

Well, fish should be fed 2-3 times a day. I would suggest as soon as you wake up, and when you are getting ready for bed.

Answer 10

whenever is fine but just as long as u feed them around the same time every day!