# Fasting your fish? What's your take on this?



## IronDoll

I've read it's a good idea to fast them once a week, I haven't done this. They all seem so ravenous, I don't have the heart besides, I really enjoy watching them eat. So what do you believe on this?


----------



## lohachata

fish do not eat all the time...they can go without food for 2 or more weeks...i fast my fish every week..monday through friday they get regular foods 3 times a day..on saturday morning i feed them all spirulina flakes.....and no food on sunday...on sunday i do water changes...


----------



## Bettawhisperer

I fast my fish once a week. Especially the Bettas. They tend to bloat very easily.If I do have one that I think looks like it is bloated I will fast it for 5-7 days then give crushed up peas.


----------



## AvocadoPuffDude

Overfeeding is the #1 cause of fish illness; it's the "beginner's mistake."
You can barely starve a fish, they eat algae and plants and little bits of schmuck around, not enough to sustain themselves long-term without additional foods, but I feed mine only enough that there is food available for a minute or two every other day.
I feed a variety of very high-quality foods, including frozen, freeze dried, pellets, flakes, tablets, to suit the various feeding habits of the fish I have (top-feeding, mid level feeding, bottom feeding, and night feeding.)
Yes, watching them eat is one of the most fun things about keeping fish, but if you want to keep THEM happy, feed them a little less. You can easily skip feeding every other day even.


----------



## emc7

Agree. Many fish have natural times of year when there is little to eat. Mouthbrooding Mbuna hold for 3-6 weeks and some mothers don't eat at all during that time (others suck in a few flakes) and bounce back quickly once they release. Fasting can also be the safest way to handle a trip as you will be not be there to change water or remove dead fish. 

I wouldn't overdo it, but an occasional missed feeding or even missed week won't kill your fish. And it is entire appropriate to fast a fish that is bulging from overeating. I once had a synodontis and a goldfish split a batch of mbuna fry that got under a divider. Something like 35 5/8" long fish turned to 2 "weebles wobble but they don't fall down" bellies. You can bet I fasted those gluttons (and re-homed them).


----------



## kay-bee

I fast my fish a couple of times a week on a random basis, sometimes on consecutive days. I've been feeding some of my SW fish once every 3 days for years.

As mentioned most fish can go without food for quite a while. As emc stated, mouthbrooding african cichlids go weeks without feeding for weeks. I once had a yellow lab mouthbrood for 36 days and I didn't feed her that entire time.


----------



## Cichlid Dude!

Haven't heard of fasting fish before, I do sometimes skip a day here and there, but I've never really tried made it a major thing.


----------



## IronDoll

It's good to have this confirmation. Why do they act like they are starving? They go nuts especially the cichlids! They're like piranha.


----------



## BV77

I don't usually feed mine every day. I skip a day or two in a row at times....out of laziness, not a desire to fast them. They do fine and tanks stay a bit cleaner because then they have to scrounge around for any uneaten bits of food.


----------



## Mr. fish

I feed once a day and skip on Sundays...

IMO it reduces a lot of risks not over feeding..


----------



## kay-bee

IronDoll said:


> ...Why do they act like they are starving?


I surmise they're instinctively wired that way because in the wild there may be no telling when their next meal is, so when food becomes available, they'll eat as much as they can.


----------



## emc7

They are training you to feed them. Just like my cat does.


----------



## AvocadoPuffDude

It's cause and effect, folks. The fish can recognize that food drops in when someone approaches the tank. That's all it is. They're not stupid!


----------



## lohachata

Pavlov's dogs....


----------



## Mikaila31

Rainbow fish are easy to overfeed. You can feed them regularly then you can feed them again 15min later and they will eat just ask quickly as they did the first time. 

I normally forget to feed at least once a week.


----------



## kay-bee

AvocadoPuffDude said:


> It's cause and effect, folks. The fish can recognize that food drops in when someone approaches the tank. That's all it is. They're not stupid!


That's true as well. My african cichlids can differentiate from when I approach the tank to observe them and when I approach with a fish food container in hand (the latter causes them to get excited). They also get excited when they see me feed the other tanks (I have four tanks in one room and they can see what I'm doing with other tanks and anticipate their turn).


----------



## Trout

Fish are SOOOOO cool that way... They're smarter than most people are led to believe :/


----------



## baileysup

i skipped feeding my fish yesterday, and went to feed them today, and they finally feed like they should. normally they don't pay an incredible amount of attention to the food, but after skipping a day, they looked like they were actually hungry. there were instant strikes, and all of the food was eaten in about 4 minutes (i net anything else out at that point). i've become a big fan of not feeding every day, and may just feed my fish every other day from now on.


----------

