Feeding Goldfish

Feeding your fish is very important. They should be fed at the same time every day, preferably once in the morning and once in the evening. The food should always be placed in the same spot in the aquarium or pond, and the fish will soon learn to anticipate feeding time. Goldfish are always hungry but overfeeding is probably the leading cause of death. If they miss a meal, it will cause no harm to the fish, most fish can live quite happily for up to three or four weeks without being fed, and during this time they will obtain some nourishment by nibbling at the water plants and the algae growing in the pond or aquarium.

• Feed the goldfish as much as they can finish in two minutes, twice a day.
• Feed a good quality food and if it is dry food, soak it in water for a few minutes to moisten it before feeding.
• Supplement their diets with peas that have been popped out of their skins and blanched leaf greens.

Care should be taken when feeding live foods to ensure that harmful organisms are not being introduced. Dragonfly larvae, water boatmen, and other aquatic larvae do feed upon small fishes and can do a great deal of harm if introduced into an established aquarium. Many of these live foods are also available in as conveniant freeze dried treats and are an excellent dietary supplement for conditioning your goldfish.