FEEDING
Frequently Asked Questions

Some fish require even more infrequent feeding.  Certain meat eating fish like puffers, triggers, and eels only require food every 3 days or so.

Remember that overfeeding can be a huge problem.  If your tank is in an environment where many people want to "help" by feeding the fish, make it clear that only one person has this responsibility.  Husbands and wives have been known to double feed their fish, with one feeding in the morning and one feeding at night, each thinking the other had not done it.


How do I know when I have fed enough?  My fish always look hungry!

Fish will almost always eat, but this does not mean they still need food.  In the wild, fish do not always have food available to them, so they may engorge themselves to make sure they make it to the next mealtime.  In an aquarium, they will get regular food, but they don't know it and will usually eat more than is healthy for them.

Many fish will "look hungry" because they react when they see the person who feeds them walk near the tank.  This is a conditioned behavior and does not indicate a true display of hunger.


What food is the "right" food for my fish?

This is a tricky question to answer because different fish require different foods.  When you are visiting us at NorthSide Aquatics, we can help you with the very specific information you require.  There are, however, a number of general guidelines that we can offer in this forum.

1.  Food should be of a high quality and made from wholesome ingredients.  We recommend AquaDine flake and pellet food because it contains no filler and is made when we order it.  That means it does not sit on a shelf in a warehouse getting hot for months on end before it reaches our store.  Another good food source is frozen food such as Hikari and San Francisco Bay Brand. 

2.  Provide your fish with a variety of food.  Most fish require both meat and vegetables for their digestive systems to function properly.  Giving them alternate food sources regularly can help prevent potentially deadly digestive problems such as bloat and bowel impaction.

3.  Avoid live food, PERIOD.  Live food is bad for a number of reasons.  Feeding live food  tends to make fish more aggressive towards their existing tank mates and may make it impossible for you to add new fish at a later date.  More importantly, live food is often not well cared for since they are regarded as "feeder fish" and they often carry bacterial and protozoan diseases with them from their squalid holding tanks.  Remember:  Disease can be transmitted to your fish through its food!  Additionally, most fish that are used as feeder fish are not the natural prey of the fish that are being fed and do not represent a natural diet.  In fact some live food sources such as goldfish and rosy red minnows contain high quantities of thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys Vitamin B1 and when fed in large quantities cause nutritional imbalances.
 

What do I do if my fish doesn't like what I am feeding it?

Not all fish like all foods; however, there are a few tricks that may help you convince your fish to eat what you are putting in the tank:

One tip about how to feed fish successfully is to take a pinch of food between two fingers and submerge it in the water to wet the food.  This makes it sink and is more available to  the fish.  Some fish do not like coming to the surface to eat.

Some predatory fish need to be taught to eat frozen feeder fish such as Silversides.   The best way to do this is to use a feeder prong to spear the thawed fish and then wiggle it in front of the fish so that it looks alive.  Most fish will learn in a week or two what their new food looks like and will no longer require special assistance at feeding time.

Another suggestion is to buy a food such as San Francisco Bay's Saltwater Multi-Pack that contains several types of food in a single package.  That way you can determine what your fish enjoys without spending a fortune.


A few other tips regarding food:

Always be sure to thaw your frozen food in a glass of tank water before feeding.  Fish do not understand what frozen food is and could potentially cause damage to their internal organs by ingesting a large chunk of frozen food.

Do not buy more dry food than what you will use in a couple of months.  It does expire, so be sure to replace it regularly.

Don't leave your container of dry food sitting on top of your light or hood.  Heat can cause fats in dry food to go rancid and feeding that to your fish might lead to blindness.


What do you guys think about auto-feeders?

We think auto-feeders are a good idea in a number of situations, but they should not be used or relied upon entirely in every case.  Some fish require food (such as frozen food) that cannot be fed through an auto-feeder.  Also, some fish such as Tangs require extra vegetable matter like that of seaweed that must be fed every couple of days.  Auto feeders typically do work well for community fish tanks and they are usually a good idea for tanks located in offices where the fewer people involved in feeding the fish, the better.


What do I do if I go on vacation?

We find that the most common  cause of fish death when people go on vacation is overfeeding by the caretaker of the tank - and this is very common.  Here are some ideas to help you avoid this situation:

If appropriate for your type of fish, try an auto-feeder, but set it up a week in advance to make sure it functions well and that it is adjusted to feed the correct amount.  The best models are powered by a cord and not by batteries.  We suggest the Rena Auto-Feeder.

If someone will be feeding your fish, we strongly recommend divvying up portions of food into ziploc bags (or shot glasses for frozen food) and labeling them according to the day of the week in which they should be fed.  Then HIDE the rest of your food.  Many people will mistakenly think you are starving your fish and add more if it is available.  You can hide frozen food in a paper bag at the back of the freezer.