Proper feeding for my fish

[ThaddeusW]

Since I think my water problems could be related to over feeding, what is the proper to feed my fish?

Currently I feed them nothing but Tetra Cichlid, the large stick kind as that is the food the previous owner fed them. I do realize I have some smaller fish so I break the sticks in half so just about every fish can east them. The only fish that cant suck in a whole stick are the two small Blood Parrots.

My one concern is the Oscar who doesn't seem to be able to properly eat the sticks as he sucks them in and just breaks it up and expels it from his gills. This winds up helping the Blood Parrots as they eat the smaller chunks he spits out. Should I be feeding them something different? We bought a can of the dried krill but at nearly 20 bucks for a small can it doesn't seem like its worth while since the can was used up in about 5 days.

How often should they be fed? I was told to feed three times daily but its hard since the Pacu's bogart all of the food and then sink to the bottom. I wait until they are gorged and then again feed the others. This is our current daily feeding pattern:

Morning 10 AM when we open up shop: Feed with 7-8 sticks broken in half. Pacu's will eat mostly all of that and we wait until they sink to the bottom. Now we again feed the rest with another 6 or 7 halved sticks.

Around 2-3 PM we check up on them and you can see they are hungry again as they are all at the front of the tank near the top looking at you for more food. So we feed them about 8 halved sticks. The Pacu's don't eat as much as before so everyone looks as if they get a decent amount of food.

6-7PM when we are closing we throw in about 5 halved sticks and call it a night. Most of it gets eaten.

Are we over feeding?

I do realize the tank is an overstocked mess but until I figure out how to separate them I have no choice but to feed them together in the current tank. Those Pacu's are real hogs and quickly dart around the tank gulping down whatever they can find! And I hope the Oscar is getting enough nutrition because he seems to expel most of his food through his gills.

[jaysee]

I feed once a day, and only as much as they can eat in a couple minutes. Variety is important to good fish health. Yes the staple foods are designed for good nutrition, but they should be supplemented with worms and shrimp and such.

[-Lp]

I feed once a day as well, and fast my fish every Thursday. They receive a varied diet consisting of New Life Spectrum +Thera A, blackworms, & cucumbers. Feeding time is consistent @ 5pm everyday, except Thursday that is. As Jaysee mentioned, just enough that they'll consume it in a few minutes. And yes, my fish always appear to be hungry, but that's how they exist in the wild, sometimes going days without a meal. Makes for healthy fish and a lively tank.


Edit: BTW - Oscars are just messy eaters, if he's expelling it through his gills, he's getting what he needs.

[Taurus]

I feed once a day, and only as much as they can eat in a couple minutes. Variety is important to good fish health. Yes the staple foods are designed for good nutrition, but they should be supplemented with worms and shrimp and such.

This is a very good feeding practice jaysee and one I follow myself. Anymore feeding will just degrade water quality, increase the need for vacuuming and water changes. thumbs2:

[ThaddeusW]

Thanks for the replies!

It looks like I might be over feeding then, makes sense since the water discolors quickly. Once a day it is.

Anyone have an opinion on dried krill? Frozen is cheaper and I do have a fridge at the location but what other food should I try?

Oh and -Lp,

When you say cucumbers, you mean the vegetable we eat?

[fraggle]

Thadd that's how oscars eat, LOL, they are atrociously messy eaters. They do expel half of what they eat out their gills, but if they are expelling, then they are eating.

And like the others have said, once a day is enough for them, I know they act hungry all the time, they soon learn to beg when you go near the tank. But hold of and don't get sucked in, or you'll be doing water changes 2 times a day to keep up with the crap that end up in it:hmm3grin2orange: .

Cucumber is just normal cucumber that we eat, they'll eat other veggies too. (actually it would probably depend on the individual fish) I don't know anything about pacus or blood parrots or GT's for that matter, and I didn't have my JD long enough to learn a heck of a lot so I'm really only talking about my oscar here, but he eats carrots, I just cube them and steam them until tender, and zucchini (I didn't specifically put that in for him but for my gibby, which your pleco would appreciate too!) and lettuce and peas and canteloupe.
You can just weigh down the cucumber (cut in half length ways, same as the zucchini) and they'll have a go at it (you can scrape the seeds out if you want to, they do make a bit of a mess)
You're pleco with go nuts over them! If you put them in at night before you shut up shop, then if there is anything left in the morning when you open, take them out them or they'll start to foul up you water. The pleco feeds at night, so he's more likely to get it and not be bothered my the others. but they'll eat it if they want to as well.thumbs2:

[-Lp]

Yep, as Fraggle mentioned, the same cucumber we eat. I quarter it, then blanch it (boil for about 1 minute, put in ice bath) to soften it a little. My fish love it.