aecw

What can I feed my freshwater community fish other than frozen bloodworms, sinking shrimp pellets, food wafers and flake and/or crisps? I (and my fish like to mix it up a bit)
I truely don't think I can do live food so are there any "human" foods other than zuchini and lettuce (that my snail and pleco love) that is good for the fishies. I'm thinking mostly of my big tank. The fishies are big and maybe they can benefit from something other than flakes/crisps and pellets.

And for that matter is their any nutritional difference between flakes and crisps. I tend to like the crisps because they are bigger and all the pieces seem to get eaten. I worry that the flakes leave too much uneaten "dust" in the tank.
Any opinions anyone?

Big tank - 150 gal
2 tinfoil barbs, 4 gouramis, 1 angel, 1 blood parrot, 1 silver dollar, 1 bala, 1 chalseus, 1 pictus, 1 unknown type of catfish that looks like a shark, 1 knifefish, 2 goldfish (I know, I know they don't belong - but they love their tank and don't want to leave!)

Chief_waterchanger

A lot of those fish mentioned, at full size, would eat things like goldfish or angelfish, but as far as something to intentionally feed them you could try small chunks of banana, grapes, bits of melon, dark leafy greens (kale, spinach, etc).

Also, I'm not meaning to be confrontational at all, but by saying that the goldfish "love their tank and don't want to leave" what you honestly mean is that you love having them in there and don't want to move them. The goldfish have needs that differ from those of tropical fish, that is why there are classifications for temperate and tropical temperatures rather than having a blended group of the two.

Thank you for trying to expand your fishes' diets, as it is true that a well rounded variety of foods really benefit the well-being of your fish.

sirdarksol

I agree with CWC on the goldfish. Most that are kept in constantly warm water will lose the color of their scales over time. This is not a sign of a healthy fish. It's also something that's permanent. A goldfish of mine was once kept in a tropical tank, and it became a pinkish color (really beautiful, but not his natural coloring). He has been in a temperate tank for the past year, and has not regained any of his color.

But...
That's not what you asked about.
I have made my own food from spinach, bloodworms, shrimp, zucchini, spirulina, and gelatin (to bind everything together), blended in a Magic Bullet, then frozen. Slice off little bits a bit before feeding time (to let the stuff thaw), and drop in the tank when it's ready.
Nori is a good supplement. Very high in some vitamins and minerals.
I'll feed my fish nearly any veggie I have around, and this is in addition to Omega One betta Flakes, herbivore Flakes, Sinking Goldfish Pellets, Hikari Koi Pellets a leftover bottle of Tetra Color Enhancing Food, bloodworms, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, and freeze-dried daphnia. The betta gets mostly Betta Flakes, with the others as supplements to his diet. The goldfish and koi get mostly Goldfish and Koi Pellets, with other stuff as supplements. The Community gets a pretty even mix of all of the food. And the murdering molly gets mostly Herbivore Flakes with other stuff as supplements.

aecw

I hear you on the goldfish and I totally respect what you're saying. Here's my problem - this tank came from my husband's music studio. He's highly talented at producing and mastering music but a bit "fly by the seat of your pants/hope you land well" when it comes to fish. This is the man that bought his son a 20 gallon for xmas , filled it with water and added fish the next day (my defense is I knew nothing about fish and aquariums at the time - I could only watch in ignorant horror) I have since educated myself and when it came time to move this 150 gallon I tried to convince him to let the Fish store guy (who was housing the fish for the week during the big transition) keep the goldfish because they were not tropical fish. He really thought they'd be fine and truthfully so far they do look great - growing, eating like pigs, colorful....of course the tank is only like 77-80 degrees. Alot was happening at that time - having to move the tank and our son going through a serious surgery and I just didn't have the heart to deny him his goldfish (they were the first fish he bought for the tank)
I will for the sake of the goldfish try my argument again - I appreciate all your concern.
As for food - what exactly is that recipe - is it equal parts of spinach, bloodworm, shrimp, etc. and is any of the ingredients cooked or parboiled or is it all raw?
Any opinion of flakes over crisps?

sirdarksol

Not judging, just explaining. My first tank came to me as a tropical tank with a goldfish in it, and it took me many months to get to the point that I could move the goldfish and koi (which I bought in my own moment of uneducated stupidity that was fueled by an equally uneducated Petsmart employee) into their own tank.
They are going to be getting a 200g tank sometime in the near future (I just need to find the time to get it from my friend's place), and should be much happier then.

I used all raw, and roughly equal parts of the main ingredients, with a little bit of spirulina for nutrition, and I played with the gelatin amount to get it the right consistency.

I use flakes mostly because that's all that's available where I get my foods.