question for goldfish owners

how often do you feed your goldfish?

I have one goldfish in a simple tank with no filter. i give him lettice to nibble and feed him once a day.

it says on the fish food packet to feed him twice a day but if i do that he still only eats once a day and the food makes the water gets all dirty.

A website i went onto about goldfish care says to feed them every other day or every two days.

so my question is:

how often should i be feeding poor Mr. Bubblesworth?

keep in mind, the package wording is designed to make sure you have to buy more food.

I say, feed him as much as he will eat, and if that's once a day, that's fine.

i never thought that they would say that to encourage you to waste the food.

Also, is it true a goldfish will eat itself to death if given the chance?

I've never known any fish to eat itself to death.

Why kind of goldfish do you have? Fantail, or comet (plain colored carp)?

i feed my betta once a day and hes a fatty.. sometimes if i think he looks too bloated ill skip a night. lol

Just a run of the mill regular goldfish. he was a 'rescue' fish, saved from being flushed when his owner no longer wanted him.

Twice a day myself, but I have a filter,
so I think you will be ok with just
once a day or even every other.

I fed my goldfish once a day or once every other day. She lived for eight years so I must have been doing something right!

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

Also, is it true a goldfish will eat itself to death if given the chance?

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Not sure, but I do know that you should not feed him an entire hostess cupcake....don't ask!

oh dear!! lol

my bf wont believe me not to feed his tiny goldfish twice a day and he has to clean ot his bowl every two days now.

Originally Posted by maverick_kitten

Also, is it true a goldfish will eat itself to death if given the chance?

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Unfortunately - Yes

A couple of months ago I bought 2 goldfish to entertain my cats (looky no touchy!) and the packaging on the goldfish food said 'feed twice a day - as much as your fish will eat within a couple of minutes'.

Crush died 2 days later (luckily Dude was fine) - when I told my sister about the "mishap" she was horrified by how much I had been feeding them! Now I only feed Dude once a day - and he is thriving! He lives in a fishbowl without a filter, and he's a happy little critter!

Juli

N,

Goldfish can go a week or so without food! They only eat so much when they get fed because they are greedy. I suggest that you feed your goldie a very small amount once a day.

I have had two goldies in a filtered bowl since January and they only get fed once a day to every other day. A sign that your water is cloudy is that your goldie is not eating the food and therefore it is rotting and poluting the water, which in turn will poison your fish.

well i have 12 fishies in my small tank so i feed between 1 - twice a day.
They know when they are getting fed becuase i open the lid and they all swim up the top madly, Its the best tv time for teufel!
That reminds me i should clean it now
Then again i have a filtered tank, but ive asked my mum to get me a large fish tank for my birthday even though bf does NOT agree!

Originally Posted by Gilly

N,

Goldfish can go a week or so without food! They only eat so much when they get fed because they are greedy. I suggest that you feed your goldie a very small amount once a day.

I have had two goldies in a filtered bowl since January and they only get fed once a day to every other day. A sign that your water is cloudy is that your goldie is not eating the food and therefore it is rotting and poluting the water, which in turn will poison your fish.

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i started feeding him once a day becase i felt gilty about doing it once to every other day and the waters dirty already.

hmmmm - when i get back from travelling i'll buy him a nice, big tank with a filter and some fish friends.

As Gilly said, if you overfeed, he won't eat the extra, and the water becomes polluted; uneaten food causes ammonia spikes, which will kill the little guy. Feeding him once daily—or even twice—is fine; you just need to cut back on the amounts. The most common feeding mistake that people make with their fish is overfeeding. Remember, your fish's stomach is probably about the size of his eye.

Another thing to remember is that the more your fish eats, the more he will poop. This will also pollute the water, especially because you don't have a filter. I'm glad to hear you're planning on getting one.

I feed my goldfish twice a day but a little at a time. He seems to be pretty healthly although I've only had him a couple of weeks now. He's in a ten gallon with filter though so that may help and I have to say he eats everything I give him.

I'm planning on getting a couple more gold fish in the next month or so. But I have a 40 gallon tank I can move them into when they get too big for the 10 gallon so they'll have plenty of space.