# fish food feeding questions



## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

hello everyone, i have a couple goldfish they arent that big between 2"-6" each. i do know that goldfish doesnt have stomachs and need to eat more. unfortnautely im not home too much so they get fed once a day unless im home. i normally feed them goldfish flakes. on the days im home i feed them really small mini sticks. 

my question(s) are i want them to grow more. i want them to get bigger. is there something better to feed them to make them bigger? ive had 2 for almost a year now. and they maybe have only grown an inch.

i went to my lfs and he gave me a couple sample packets of seaweed blend. i also saw on the shelf superba krill. is both of this stuff ok to even feed goldfish?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

First of all, goldfish DO have stomachs. They are very small stomachs but they do have them. The reason they are so small is because they eat more veggies than meat. Vegetables are easier for their body to digest than meat is, so it does not need to stay in the stomach as long.

Also, because they eat algae and other plants, they don't eat meals. They graze on food all day long (in the wild at least). Therefore, they eat very small portions at any given time. This also leads to a smaller stomach. 

How old are your goldfish? A 29 gallon is a bit small for 2 goldfish. They will grow with a larger tank and more water changes if they have not been stunted.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

yea they constantly are moving the rocks to find food. and here we go with the tank size etc. i have a 29 gal with 4 goldfish. ive had 2 since feb. and 2 since august. i wish i can have a bigger tank but i cant. i still dont see y u need a 55 gal for 4 small fish. i know i wouldnt put 4 discuss in a 29 gal. they have plenty of room. i run 2 filters and do water changes every 10 days while altering cleaning filters.

my questions WERE can i feed them seaweed blend and superba krill?


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## Aquarion (Nov 16, 2011)

Tank does seem small. Probably won't be getting big in such a cramped space.

What temp is it? Goldfish are coldwater creatures, I didn't think they handled 75+ degree water very well.

As for a solution:
Buy an auto-feeder.
Place duckweed in your tank. It'll help with nitrates and keeping the water clean and goldfish will snack on it. They might eat all of it, though. Perhaps you could get one of those little breeder division things or one of the ones that are kind of nets that hang in your tank to separate fish and place some duckweed in there. It'll spawn off new duckweed very fast and keep some of it safe from being eaten (assuming it's a problem and your fish eat it all, anyway)

No idea on the types of food. Seaweed I imagine would be fine. Krill probably not.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

i keep it right at 69 degrees knowing they like colder water. idk if anyone can see my profile pic (its not that recent) but u can see they have plenty of space. they dont bump into each other or anything and they dont bother each other so i still cant see space being a issue at this point.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Your question actually was "is there something better to feed them to make them bigger?"
I was trying to help by offering a solution to your problem. I guess I didn't directly answer your question.

No, there is not something that you can feed them that will make them grow bigger. 

Space is very much the issue. They are small fish, but they are also messy fish. Do you have a water test kit? What is the nitrate level (hell, what is the ammonia and nitrite levels as well)? Goldfish produce a ton of waste. If you did a daily water change in that container they would grow bigger. Its not really space, but the water quality that counts. The smaller the space, the faster the water quality goes bad. 

If you dont have the Freshwater Master Test Kit, go and buy it and check your nitrogen levels. I bet they are a bit elevated.

Oh and this is why you will eventually need a larger aquarium.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

oh i know they get bigger then that. ive seen ponds in person with goldfish not koi just as big and vids online bigger then that. i run ammonia chips in my filters b.c carbon killed my initial goldfish and after reading i found out goldfish arent too fond of carbon. 

i do have a petsmart close by. i always bring them a cup b.c they test it for free. though i dont like goin there they at least tell me about that. i honestly dont know how to read nitrates and nitrites. but i know they push out a lot of waste and thats y i rn 2 filters. everyone does compliment on how clear and clean my water is when ppl see my tank. though i would like to know and understand nitrates and nitrites


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Go to the pet store and buy the API Freshwater Master Test Kit. It will run you about $30 in the US. 

You will get 4 test tubes and 7 bottles of liquids. Follow the instructions in the manual that comes with it, especially when testing nitrates. The water will turn colors and you test those colors against a chart that comes with the kit. You will be able to test pH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrate. 

I would not get the pet store to test it for you. Often times they only test pH or ammonia and tell you its ok. The ammonia could be 0 but the nitrates could be 180. That would be very deadly water.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

well when i took it there and then when the color changed in front of me it was all good colors. so then when i buy the kit and then depending on the numbers if its bad i will act accordingly. idk how but i guess i will find out in that way.

also ive heard that ppl feed their fish a bunch of human veggies. i know peas def helps but ive heard others. ive always been puzzled by this. do u have to thaw the frozen peas before u put them in? do u have to cook them first? and obviously i know to try and chop it up first. and should i soak it 1st before i put them in the tank?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

What tests did they do at the pet store? What did you consider "good colors"? What I mean to say is, what numerical values did the test show?

The best way to prepare veggies is to blanch them. Boil a pot of dechlorinated water. After the water is at a rolling boil, drop the veggies in. Cook for 2 minutes then remove the veggies. Drop the veggies in ice water. After 30 seconds your veggies are prepared and ready for your fish.

Blanching helps to soften the veggies so the fish can pull off pieces.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

the last time i went the ammonia was 0 and the nirites were was like a .8 so that was quite low and i dont remember the nirates. again idk what the numbers should be. im pretty sure just from minimal reading on here that like even 4 or something is bad for nirites.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

bought the api kit today. i havent opened it yet. my water change is tuesday. should i use the test before or after i do my water change?


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## Fishpunk (Apr 18, 2011)

Before so you know what to expect. If anything is really high, might test again after.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

ok tested the water and then did water change.

my numbers were before:
ph 6.0 (the manual did say goldfish like higher ph like 7.5 though)
Ammonia 0.25ppm
Nitrite 0ppm
Nitrate inbetween 40-80ppm. thats quite alarming. it was hard to tell the difference between 40 & 80 but it was def. red.

now i do feed my fish after a water change just to make them feel more comfortable. i do use tap water when i do, do water changes and i have water conditioner from top fin i put in the water beforehand.

i will let them eat and then in a couple hours test nitrate again. 

now in the manual it did suggest buying things to accomendate to high or too low out of the 4. is dumping those chemicals (like nitra-zorb, ph-up etc.) bad for the fish?


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## phlyergirl (Nov 6, 2011)

Don't bother with the chemicals. Just fix your parameters with water changes if needed. I'd do another one because you shouldn't have ammonia and your nitrate is kind of high. I'd change at least 50%. Also with that many goldfish in a smaller tank, water changes will help them grow more because there's a theory that they put out some kind of growth hormone blocker so if that builds up, no growing. I read about an experiment with two ponds, same size, same fish, etc., but one had a constant supply of new water and one just had filtered recycled water. The fish in the one with new water grew much larger.

On the growth thing, I'm wondering why you want them to grow if you aren't willing to get them a bigger tank. But what do I know, I have five fish in a 55 gallon with two filters. :

Edit: Sorry, I didn't see that those numbers were from before your water change.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

phlyergirl said:


> On the growth thing, I'm wondering why you want them to grow if you aren't willing to get them a bigger tank. But what do I know, I have five fish in a 55 gallon with two filters. :


Stunting fish can be dangerous to the fish's health, and will shorten the lifespan of the fish significantly.

http://www.allabout-aquariumfish.com/2010/05/stunted-fish-condition.html


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

oh i will be willing to get a bigger tank if ever need be, just i dont have space for it. i got have 2 filters on my tank now. one is submerged, one is a hanging for a 30-50 gal tank. i do use ammonia chips in both filters.

when i do my water changes i do less then half id say about 40%. like i said i use tap water but with a water conditioner. i will start doin more frequent water changes.

i just tested nitrate again (7 hours later still about 40ppm) it wasnt as dark though. 

i hear everyone use the word, parameters. what is that?


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

*pa·ram·e·ter* [puh-ram-i-ter]
characteristic or factor; aspect; element: a useful parameter for judging long-term success.



> Just fix your parameters with water changes if needed.


While that wasn't exactly the correct use of the word, what this person means is "Fix your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate values with water changes."


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

bmlbytes said:


> Stunting fish can be dangerous to the fish's health, and will shorten the lifespan of the fish significantly.
> 
> http://www.allabout-aquariumfish.com/2010/05/stunted-fish-condition.html


that website looks very informative. i will browse through that over time. 

so the best way to fix everything is just more frequent water changes. i will start to do that. because like i said i was doin it every 10-14 days. i will aim for 7.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

Yeah, water changes will help. If the fish have reached maturity and are stunted, don't be surprised if they dont grow. If they are still young enough, they will grow with good water.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

question....my brothers father in law has a pond. he went to petsmart bought feeders goldies and put them in the pond. now most feeders are really small in that nasty tank. seems like 1 out of 10 of them die. he put them in the pond and they were getting harassed. so he bought a tank at petsmart (25 gal) and put SIX (6) of them in there. 6 fish in a 25 gal? doesn't seem right. 

well in 2 months they grew bigger then mine already have. he has done 2 water changes. explain that? b.c its hard for me to understand it. MY ONLY THOUGHT IS...he has live plants in his tank. AND the water he put into the tank was water from the pond. (i don't have live plants in my tank)


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## Guest (Jan 9, 2012)

6 goldfish in a 25 gallon? Now that doesn't seem right at all. He should have kept them in the pond, or made another pond to put them in. I had three goldfish in a 55 gallon tank then moved them into a 10 gallon because the biggest goldfish was messing with my clown loach who was sick then I donated them to Farmland. They now have a better home with Farmland.


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

i know thats where i confused. 6 goldfish in a 25 gal that started out smaller then mine and in 2 months they grew bigger then mine. idk y when ppl say they need lots of space.


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## bmlbytes (Aug 1, 2009)

How big are yours? Those fish in the 25 will still become stunted. They will still grow to the size the tank allows, then they will get stunted. It's possible the fish you had before were stunted when to you got them, so they dont grow anymore. The question isn't why your dad's got so big, its why do yours remain small.

My family keeps goldfish as well. They were several inches big when we had them in the aquarium, but when we threw them in the pond they grew to almost a foot. I'll bet if you put them in the pond now, they would grow even bigger.


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## DwarfCichlids7 (Jan 9, 2012)

*Your goldfish*

In my experience of keeping goldfish i normally fed them sinking goldfish pellets and had only a ten gallon with two of them. They were just carnival goldfish and I didn't expect them to last a long time but they lived to be 6 and 8 years old. Another option would be get automatic feeders its like a disk that lets a little bit out at what ever time you have it set to. well good luck!!


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## fishtales (Mar 27, 2011)

well once they get big enough then he puts them in the pond. thats what I'm gonna assume that they were stunted before i got them


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