...but am i feeding enough

[NYCfishman]

I'm still an amateur with my two freshwater tanks. everything i read generally warns against overfeeding, and "feed enough that can be eaten in 3 mins...no more and 2 or 3x/day". my issue is that even feeding 3x/day (I usually just do 2x), the fish eat all the food in less than 1 min. i am trying to be careful, and now fully cycled (finally) i am doing water changes at least weekly w/ vacuum and testing water 2-3x/week. have started with hearty fish as im doing this with my young daughter and don't want to harm any fish (my second tank i did fishless cycle).
i now understand i'm a bit overstocked for 20g, but i have 5 buenos aires tetras, 2 white skirts, one female 3 spot gourami and a clown pleco for the algae. all are young so when they grow i will donate or get a bigger tank...but i'm well under the (cliche) 1"/gallon limit. but man...when i feed it is a frenzy. standard flakes are 2-3x/day, substituting dried bloodworms 1x/week and an algae flake 2-3x/week for pleco.
so - how do i know if i am feeding TOO LITTLE?

 

[BigManAquatics]

I would say probably enough. Fish tend to be quite piggish when food presents itself.

 

[imba]

I feed my fish once every two days, and they are all healthy and lively. I only feed everyday if I have fry or fishes that are still growing.

Give it a try, if you don't see any adverse effect, why not? Helps to keep water cleaner.

 

[Cherryshrimp420]

Father Fish youtube channel says with a planted tank using mineral supplemented soil you don't have to feed at all...

Using that as an extreme limit, I feed mine 1 bite of food once a day. Sometimes skipping a day.

 

[Perlumia]

I worry about this too, but I would also rather err on the side of under-feeding than over-feeding. Overfeeding leads to dirty tanks and snail population explosions. I think if you are judicious in feeding a variety of foods (i.e. some that float, some that sink) then everyone should get to eat at least some of the time!

 

[smee82]

Welxome to fishlore.

A lot of it depends on what fish you have. Most are omnivorous and will graze on the algae and biofilm in your tank but then you have others with specialised requirements and you will need to supplement their diets with something usually its veggies for algae eaters. With your stocking you dont need to worry about underfeeding if you feed 2x a day but the clown loach is a problem.