Can you feed goldfish regular earthworms?

Question

Our goldfish is starting to hate the flakes we feed him and we're looking for home remedies such as earthworms. I know they can have frozen bloodworms but what about regular everyday earthworms?

are tomatoes ok?

the goldfish is about 6 inches long....pretty good size.....tomatoes also? i know i can feed it veggies and how do u tell if its a boy or girl

Answer 1

Once or twice a day is fine, it's really a matter of how much you give them each day not how many times. Feed them only as much as they can eat in 3-5 minutes.

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.

The flesh of a tomato would be fine, but carefully avoid the skin, jell and the seeds. Also, remove any uneaten part within about 20 minutes to be sure it doesn't affect your water quality.

Sexing goldfish is not easy unless they are in breeding condition. Here's a helpful link with some photos on how to do it: http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/sexing-fs.htm



MM

http://books.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=2115&page=R1
http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/feedingfish/a/nutrition101.htm
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/FA096

Answer 2

The following site has all the information you'll need for raising goldfish. If the answer to your question isn't there, drop them an email and I'm sure they'll tell you what you need to know.

http://www.goldfishconnection.com/

In my personal experience you can feed goldfish ordinary earthworms, but you run the risk of introducing many sorts of microbes into your tank. Best to keep to commercially available goldfish food that has been sterilized. As you are providing your fish with an artificial environment, it is ultra important to keep it clean and disease free. It is quite expensive to rebalance a tank once it is contaminated. In fact, once you have a tank with diseased fish it is much cheaper to dump the whole lot, sterilize everything, and start over .

Answer 3

Hi Bitchy, I'm not surprised! flakes all the time to a Goldfish is like us eating plain crackers for every meal every day. I wouldn't risk giving him earthworms, instead he will love cooked, shelled peas diced small, cooked broccoli, Romaine lettuce & sliced citrus fruit to nibble on but don't leave it in his tank for more than half an hour or it will pollute the water. He will also thank you to swop his flakes for ProGold or Hikari sinking pellets as his staple diet-these are the best on the market.

Answer 4

Hi, I remember we used to feed ours ant eggs. How big are the goldfish? The big ones in our garden get a ready mix- big flakes and worm shaped pressed pellets., they love it.
Feed only once a day what they can eat in 2 to 3 minutes.

Answer 5

You can, but you need to know, for a fact, that no fertilizers or pesticides were used anywhere near the area or receive runoff water from other areas that use pesticides or fertilizers. If you have even the smallest doubt, don't try it. If you're looking to vary their diet, try fruits and veggies. They love them!