bigfoot-daniel

Im not sure if Im overfeeding my fish or not.

Heres the situation. My auto feeder feeds an amount of food twice a day that is consumed by the fishes within a few minutes (3minutes at the most). I work crazily weird shift patterns, which is why I leave the feeding to the auto feeder so that they get their fill each day. The feeder feeds at 9am and 4pm. As im a bit sad and like to watch the frenzy that ensues whenever food is in the tank, i often put a few flakes (or bloodworm) into the tank if im in my bedroom before the tank lights go out at 10pm.

My fish go mad for it, and seem to want more and more when I give them some extra at night. There is never any food left over, so i know im not polluting the water with uneaten food. I only ever add a few flakes at a time and dont add anymore till they have eaten whats there - and i dont do this every night as im not always home to do it.

Doing what I'm doing, could I be overfeeding and end up throwing my water out of whack?

Shawnie

fishies will ALWAYS act hungry..just remember their bellies are as big as one eye...your water parimters will tell you best if you are overfeeding or not...I totally understand about watching them eat its fun...why cant you feed them in the am when you leave for work then feed them at night at 10 like you have been doing? then you can enjoy the show ?

Dino

What you are doing should not throw things out of whack.
Just remember, moderation is the key.

cognizant

Also remember that whenever you throw food in, whether it is eaten or not, it is going to be "waste" in the end.

bigfoot-daniel

Sadly, with my shifts Im out the door at 8am or before. Plus i read that i shouldnt feed them first thing in the morning when the lights have just come on? Hence the auto feeder for after Ive gone to work (although it was originally bought for when I disapear for a weekend and the family were overfeeding).

Thats what i was hoping would be the answer. lol. I only give them the bloodworms or extra flakes 2 - 3 nights a week.

LoL. oh how true this is!

With the whole stomach as big as an eye thing, do they not sense when they are full?

I think my biggest concern is that i got some blue king tetra's last week and they are quite hyper around the tank. My glowlights dont seem as interested in food as they used to be. And Ive noticed that when i give a little extra of a night, the blue kings are so frantic about the food that the glow lights dont seem to get a look in. I was kind of hoping that once the blue kings had had their fill, the glowlights would get the chance to get some. But the blue kings never seem to stop. lol. When it comes to the bloodworms, the glowlights will give the blue kings a run for their money though. The other night they were recreating a scene from lady and the tramp, a blue king clamped onto a bloodworm with a glowlight clamped onto the other end. It was amusing as they were at some sort of stalemate, both motionless in the water.

fintail

Like allot of people say. moderation is best. there will always be waste. but water changes are important too. I do small ones when I do them often.

Shawnie

im out the door at 630 am...a few days...then 3pm on others...your fishies will be fine being fed before you leave..then feed at night when you get home...auto feeders are like you said mainly great for vaca's of 4 or 5 days or more...under that they will be fine..but everyone has a way of doing things...just wanted to let you know you dont have to use an auto feeder and miss the fun because of funky shifts..as long as they can sleep at night and play all day, they are pretty adjustable when they eat

Chief_waterchanger

If you want to try to trick the pigs into letting the others eat also, you can try feeding originally at one end of the tank and about the time the pigs dart for that feed on the other end of the tank.

I think the others said it well... Moderation, many methods to pick from, and have fun with it!

bigfoot-daniel

That sounds like an interesting idea, one that i will most certainly try out. Sounds like a fun game, trying to outwit my ganits! lol.