feeding your fish

[Rocksor]

It's really interesting to see everyone's responses to this as I've been wondering the same thing.

Being a new fish slave, I have wrestled with the "as much as they can eat in 3 minutes" instructions on most of the packaging. Sometimes my cories don't even notice the pellets or wafers within that time frame, depending where in the tank they fall. I never take the sunken food out and it is all gone by the next feeding, so I assume all is fine. (Water parameters are not an issue, anyway.)

I've been feeding twice a day, morning and evening. Part of my rationale for that is that all of my fish are juveniles or less than fully grown, and I have assumed that they need more regular feedings for healthy growth just as children do. Does that logic hold with fish?

Are you feeding 3 times a day, as much as they can eat in 3 minutes?

Here's a discussion on what overfeeding of fish is.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/fo...le-times-a-day

Article discussion is based on

http://www.sisal.unam.mx/labeco/LAB_..._Ecology-1.pdf

The discussion pertains to cichlids, but you can easily surmise the same thing is happening with other fish. Basically, most people overfeed their fish.

Up to you to decide if your fish are overfed.

[butterbean]

small amount A.M & P.M. Dried AM frozen shrimp or blood/red worms PM

[Indian Woods Angels]

Twice a day, I go through around 300lbs of tetramin in a year.

[A&W_Fish]

I do less than once a day. Not because I forget, but sometimes more than what I planned on falls into the tank.

The label instructs me to do MULTIPLE times a day, yet does not state what multiple is. I don't like this modern school of thought as I don't trust advice from companies who have monetary gain into you over-feeding. Especially since fish 99.9% die from over-feeding, not underfeeding.

[richberstler]

I'm a slacker, I have 2 Eheim auto feeders set to feed twice a day (flake) and add treats whenever I'm in the mood like frozen brine/spirulina and/or pellets. My shrimp tank I feed once every day or two.

[ijankrom]

Once a day, evenings after work.

[tiffykubi]

I feed once a day and skip one meal every week or so. When I have babies or juveniles I feed 2-3 small meals a day until the fish are coming close to being mature.