Top 10 Live Foods to Feed Your Aquarium Fish
- Baby Brine Shrimp. When it comes to raising baby fish or encouraging adult fish to spawn, you can’t beat baby brine...
- Snails. Many fish — like puffers, loaches, and larger South American cichlids — enjoy eating live snails.
- Vinegar Eels. Typically, egg-scattering fish such as tetras, rainbowfish, and killifish...
What can you feed a fish besides fish food?
What Should You Feed Your Fish?
- Dry Food: Dry food is usually best for herbivore and omnivore fish, as it contains dried algae and plant matter that they need to stay healthy and grow.
- Freeze-Dried: Planktons, brine shrimps, bloodworms and krill are some of the favorites of omnivore and carnivore fish.
- Fresh: Just like us, fish prefer fresh food. ...
What "human" food can I Feed my Fish?
- Krill
- Brine shrimps or any shrimp (dried or frozen)
- Blood worms
- Small insects
- Fish flakes
- Tubifex Worms
- Larvae of different insects (ideal larvae are of insects that are found close to the fresh waters)
What fish are safe to feed with?
What fish are safe to eat depends on the area your fish is coming from. Fishing areas in the red zone include Cabrillo Pier, Seal Beach, White Point, Pier J, Belmont Pier and Point Vicente as well as the piers in Santa Monica, Venice, Marina Del Rey, Redondo and Hermosa Beach.
How to properly feed your fish?
- Dry foods. These are the most common types of foods, and can come in various forms including flakes, pellets, tablets, and sticks. ...
- Frozen foods. ...
- Live foods. ...
- You can also supplement your fishes’ diet with vegetables from around your home. ...
What human food can I feed my fish?
Cooked vegetables (peas, cauliflower, pumpkin, carrots, etc.), boiled or steamed, are great food alternatives to fish food flakes once in a while for your omnivorous and herbivorous aquarium fish. You can even feed some fish (goldfish and koi in particular) cooked rice or oatmeal.
What should a fish eat?
A well-balanced diet for pet fishGoldfish love chopped vegetables such as peas and spinach.Tropical fish vary in what they'll eat - frozen then fully thawed fish, crumbled boiled egg yolk and some lettuce leaf depending on the species.More items...
Is banana good for fish?
Yes, bananas are safe for fish. It is a very healthy diet for fish. There are several essential nutrients in bananas that are very important for the growth of fish. Fish can eat bananas as bananas are very soft, easy to eat, and easy to digest.
How do I know if my fish is hungry?
How To Tell If Your Fish Is HungryYour fish is digging around the substrate (searching for food).Waiting and the top of the aquarium (for feeding time).Behavior changes (aggression).Noticeable weight/size changes.Slow or sluggish behavior.
What to feed fish in aquarium?
Greens: If your fish are the type to munch on aquarium plants, such as anacharis, give them greens as well. Options include lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, and spinach. Clip the greens to the side of the tank or fasten them in place near the substrate, but remove or replace the uneaten vegetables within 24 hours.
What is the best food for carnivorous fish?
Freeze Dried: Tubifex worms and Mysis shrimp or other foods can be found as freeze-dried cubes. These are very nutritious and great for carnivorous fish. Live Food: Options include live brine or ghost shrimp, feeder fish (for larger carnivorous fish), crickets, and worms. Greens: If your fish are the type to munch on aquarium plants, ...
What to feed plecostomus?
Options include lettuce, cucumber, zucchini, and spinach. Clip the greens to the side of the tank or fasten them in place near the substrate, but remove or replace the uneaten vegetables within 24 hours. Fish such as plecostomus love to eat fresh greens. The biology of different fish means they often need different food.
How many fish in a large aquarium need the same amount of food?
Don't take the size of the aquarium as an indication of how much food is needed. Five fish in a large aquarium need the same amount of food as five fish in a smaller aquarium—just spread it out across the aquarium so everyone can get to it easily. Read More.
What do plecostomus eat?
Fish such as plecostomus love to eat fresh greens. The biology of different fish means they often need different food. Therefore, if you have a variety of fish in your aquarium, use a combination of food—such as floating foods, slow-sinking foods, and rapidly sinking foods—to ensure they're getting the nutrition they need.
Below-Average Food Brands
In no specific order, here are the brands of fish food you often see which I think you should avoid. These foods are typically cheaper and use more fillers and less, if any, premium ingredients. Often times, companies will use fillers like wheat to cut costs.
The Best Fish Foods
There are two brands of fish food that I’m comfortable saying all of their products are of the highest-quality and will readily try any of their foods. Those brands are New Life Spectrum and Omega One.
Your Average Community Fish
Many people have kept your common community fish at one point or another, these include but are not limited to, many Tetras, Angels, Barbs, Guppies, Mollies, Platies, Danios, Gouramis, Rasboras, Swordtails, etc. These fish usually aren’t particularly picky about what they eat and for the most part they’re omnivores.
Bottom Feeders
Things like Corydoras catfish, Otocinclus catfish and various plecos are often bought to act as a clean-up crew. However, it’s still very important to supplement their diet. My two favorite foods to feed my Sterbai cories and my plecos are Omega One Veggie Rounds and Hikari Sinking Wafers.
Cichilds
Often times people are more concerned about what their Cichilds eat than other fish for some reason. It will depend on the specific fish you keep but I keep Rams and Appistogrammas and I feed them primarily New Life Spectrum Cichild Formula . I supplement that diet with a variety of other foods including Hikari’s Bloodworms and Daphnia.
Discus
Discus are very expensive fish so I see absolutely no reason to feed them anything but the best, New Life Spectrum Discus Formula or Omega One Discus Pellets.
Bettas
I do however have plenty of experience with Bettas, personally, I prefer New Life Spectrum Betta Formula. If you prefer flakes, Omega One Betta Buffet is a good option. I’ve also used Hikari’s formula, I found that the colors and activity level in my Bettas increased when I switched to New Life Spectrum’s Betta Formula from Hikari’s.
What is feeding a pond?
Feeding is one part of managing a pond, to learn more about Pond Management check out another great article by Bob Lusk, Managing your Pond. A thoughtful feeding program involves taking care of different sizes of different species in their own niches in your pond.
What is the purpose of vibratory feeders?
In the shallow areas, adjacent to bluegill spawning beds, there are vibratory feeders, designed to dispense tiny feed for newly hatched fish. Peripherally, there are directional feeders which throw AquaMax 600, targeting larger bluegill and small feed-trained bass.
Do feed mills make fish food?
Quite a few feed mills make fish food. Those are good quality products, but it’s our job to figure out what will help you meet your goals. A few years ago, people would buy day-old bread and feed it to their catfish.
Can you feed catfish Purina game chow?
Filling a fish feeder with Purina Game Chow Photo by: Bob Lusk. If you are feeding catfish, they don’t need those high-powered, high protein feeds. They’ll do quite well with the grain-based feeds. But, if you want to put some weight on bluegill or feed-trained bass, don’t sell them short on their food.
What do fish eat?
As we all know, a lot of fish in nature feed on worms, larvae, many types of insects, and even other fish. Well, that is true for a lot of species of aquarium fish too. You can get live food for a lot of these fish.
What do fish eat in an aquarium?
This is what will be the primary diet of your aquarium fish. These processed dried foods are what most aquarium owners feed their fish. These come in flakes, pellets, cubes, etc. They also come in floating or quick sinking variety.
What is freeze dried food?
Freeze-dried food is mainly processed food for carnivorous species of fish. There are some worms and shrimps that come in a freeze-dried variety. These shrimps and worms are made into processed cubes for easier feeding.
Can herbivores eat greens?
It is a great practice to feed greens or vegetables to herbivore fish if you have access to the proper ones. If you have aquarium plants, then you might spot the fish nibbling on them sometimes. It is a good idea to provide these fish with fresh veggies.
What can you feed a fish instead of fish food?
So what can you feed your fish instead of fish food in such instances? If your fishes accept plant-matter (most tropical fish do), the best option is to feed them blanched vegetables such as zucchini, lettuce, spinach, cucumber, and kale.
What to do if your fish is meaty?
In case your fish only accepts meaty foods, offer them small pieces of seafood like fish and shrimp. White-fish-fillet, especially from tilapia, cod, and coley, is good, but avoid oily fish as that tends to be a bit too messy. One other alternative, albeit not being a food alternative, is to fast your fish until you can go out for supplies as most ...
What do goldfish eat?
Let me say you goldfish will appreciate almost as they would any other food if you place fresh food in the aquarium, which includes most vegetables that other tropical fish enjoy like zucchini, cucumber, spinach, and peas. As I mentioned before, remember to remove the peas cover before feeding them to your goldfish.
How to soften peas for fish?
First, put the veggies in boiling water for a minute or two and then cold water right after making sure they are sufficiently tender for your fish to consume. I recommend removing any seeds in the greens as well.
Can you feed fish peas?
Peas are an alternative as well, but make sure you pull the cover off before feeding them to your fish. As much, only give your fish one, maybe two peas through the week because too many peas can cause digestive issues in tropical fish.
Can bread kill fish?
Bread is made from wheat and contains yeast and preservatives all of which will cause bloating, constipation, and all sorts of digestive issues, which when not resolved will kill your fish. Be that as it may, a pinch of bread will tide over the most resilient aquarium fish until you get to the store for more fish food.
Can fish tell the difference between dog food and fish food?
I’m convinced that like bread, your fish cannot tell the difference between tiny chunks of dog food and fish food. This means that whatever your reason is for offering your fish dog food, the fish will most likely devour the food to its own detriment.
What are some good foods to eat with fish?
Kale, Spinach, Sushi Seaweed, Chard, and Romaine Lettuce offer a nutritious and rich plant base for any diet. Filled with minerals and vitamins, these leafy greens mimic the natural aquatic flora loved by fish species.
What do aquarium fish eat?
Most aquarium fish for sale are omnivorous. These fish will readily eat both plant and animal matter and both should be regularly fed for continued health. In general, though, omnivores normally like plant matter, thus animal proteins are typically limited to at least 20 – 40 percent of their diet.
What do aquarium alga eaters eat?
Although these fish may still eat meat proteins occasionally, the majority of their diet will consist of plant matter. In general, it is recommended that they get 60 percent plant matter ad 40 percent animal matter in their diet.
Is garlic good for fish?
It turns out that the pungent garlic is a superfood in the fish world. In addition to its ability to stimulate the appetite of even your pickiest eaters, garlic can also maintain good fish health as well as providing anti-bacterial properties.
Is a fish herbivore or carnivore?
Okay, before we get into the fish food making part, you first need to understand what kind of eater you have. Most fishes are herbivore, a handful of pet fishes are carnivores, while a lot of them are omnivorous.
Can you use organically grown vegetables?
For plant matter , you should strongly consider using organically grown veggies and plants. Since pesticide residues can have an adverse effect on microbial and aquatic life, it is best to forget about the conventionally grown produce.
Is an aquarium fish a carnivore?
Just like herbivores, there is a handful of aquarium fish that are actually known as true carnivores. For the carnivorous species, these fish should be fed with 60 – 75 percent animal matter, and the remaining 25 – 40 percent is plant matter.
How long should I feed my fish after the aquarium lights are off?
Most fish are awake during the daytime, so pick a fish feeding time that is at least 10 to 15 minutes after the aquarium light turns on. That way everyone is awake, alert, and ready to eat. However, if you have nocturnal species like kuhli loaches or plecos, make sure to feed them after the aquarium lights have turned off for the day.
How long can a fish go without food?
Adult fish can often go one week without any food, depending on their size, metabolism, and the water temperature. However, if you have a tankful of newborn fry that require constant feedings, it may be best to set up an automatic fish food feeder or find a pet sitter who can take care of their needs.
Why do betta fish have rounded abdomens?
Betta fish are prone to overeating, so feed them just enough food to have a slightly rounded abdomen without any excessive bulging. Overfeeding can ultimately cause health issues such as fatty liver disease, constipation, or bacterial and fungal infections from the poor water quality.
Can bettas eat frozen food?
However, they will also readily eat frozen and live foods. See our collection of betta foods for examples of what we feed our bettas.
Do fish gain weight when they eat?
So if you are feeding your fish plenty of food but they cannot seem to gain weight, they may need some antiparasitic or deworming medication to rid them of any unwanted hitchhikers.
Can you eat more food if you have a stuffed stomach?
Generally speaking, yes. When their stomachs can no longer expand, it is physically not possible to fit in more food until some digestion has occurred. However, if they eat until they’re completely stuffed every single day, obesity and other health issues can become a problem.
Do kuhli loaches eat in the dark?
Since the other fish are less active in the dark, this extra nighttime feeding gives them a better chance of getting enough food. Nocturnal creatures like kuhli loaches may be too shy to come out and eat in the daytime, so make sure to provide some extra food when the lights are off.
