Giving peas to fish?

Hi, Everyone, I'm a newbie to keeping fish I have heard that you can give peas to your fish. How do I know when to give them a Pea? Can you give them as a treat? Does it have to a fresh cooked pea? can you give cooked frozen? canned? how long do you leave it in the tank? ???
I have 6 platties, one dwarf grommie, 2 cory cats, 6 ghost shrimp.
Susan

 

OK - idk if its the same but I have bettas and I give them a frozen pea (cut up, thawed and pealed)

I take a small container of very hot warm dechlorinated water and put them in it nd when they aren't frozen peel them, cut them and give them to them. Miley

 

yep that's how I do mine also. Or if we're having canned peas for dinner I rinse one off and break the peel and drop it in and the loaches will pick them up and swim all over the tank while they eat them. Then I have to remove the peel LOL
carol

 

Peas are kinda overdone, honestly. They are a good occasional fish food, and natural laxative for the fish. However, in my opinion feeding them to a fish on a weekly basis religiously is overkill. Again, in my opinion it is like taking peptobismol (the pink mint stomach relaxer) even when your stomach isn't upset. But again, that is my opinion and others probably will and are more than welcome to differ.

 

I thaw frozen raw peas and peel them before adding them to the tank. My mollys and ottos seem to like them more than other fish do- but then they are both fish that need green in their diets. I consider them to be an occasional addition to a varied diet.

--R

 

Peas are kinda overdone, honestly. They are a good occasional fish food, and natural laxative for the fish. However, in my opinion feeding them to a fish on a weekly basis religiously is overkill. Again, in my opinion it is like taking peptobismol (the pink mint stomach relaxer) even when your stomach isn't upset. But again, that is my opinion and others probably will and are more than welcome to differ.

mmmm.. pepto bismol milkshakes.. a daily treat!

 

I see this continue to come up, but I can't think of when a fish would get a pea in the wild. I mean, isn't the reason that we spend all this money on tank set up to emulate a more natural setting? I can't see how giving tropical fish peeled peas is natural.

 

That's not natural

they may not get peas in a natural setting but no matter what we do, an aquarium isn't a natural setting. we do things and feed things to compensate for the differences and peas are part of that compensation.

 

I can't see how giving tropical fish peeled peas is natural.

Fish in the wild have access to other sources of vegetative matter in the water they live in, like decaying leaves, plant seeds, etc. A pea is nothing more than a plant seed, so while it may not be native food to the fish, it's certainly natural.

Unless, of course, you plan on flying all over the world and gathering your own fish food from the lakes and streams where your fish come from. ;D

 

Fish also do not eat processed flake food or freeze dried anything in the wild... nor do they stay in glass boxes stuck with stuff from different continents... or stay that close to one another, unless they are schoolers, in which case they stay in much larger numbers than people normally keep them in the hobby...

If we are to knock one thing for being unnatural to the fish, please knock it all. Or of course vise versa.

 

Fish also do not eat processed flake food or freeze dried anything in the wild... nor do they stay in glass boxes stuck with stuff from different continents... or stay that close to one another, unless they are schoolers, in which case they stay in much larger numbers than people normally keep them in the hobby...

If we are to knock one thing for being unnatural to the fish, please knock it all. Or of course vise versa.

Word.

 

I give my fish peas once a week, to help keep them regular. Hey, we eat fiber daily for it, so...

It's not natural but it's also not harmful. I mean, they might not eat peas in the wild, but they'd find something to compensate for it...and I'm compensating for what ever they are eating.

 

something about peas appeals to them.. every fish we have goes wild for them.

 

Most likely because it fills a niche in their diet that would otherwise be void. You know, research shows that children and animals who have deficiencies in their diets will eat dirt, poop, grass, or other normally "unnatural" just because they know, by instinct, that it has what they are missing.

 

You know, research shows that children and animals who have deficiencies in their diets eat poop.

Lol. Stop denying your children the poop they need! (hehe, couldn't resist)

 

true.. when we have kids, I'll have to remember to feed them enough poop. ;D

Lol. Stop denying your children the poop they need! (hehe, couldn't resist)

 

I'm gonna start feeding my fish peas after one of my guppies became constipated. She's better now but to prevent it from happening again I was wondering if I can feed them peas regularly along with flakes and how often. Also how long will the peas last If I put them in a plastic bag after warming them?

 

I'm gonna start feeding my fish peas after one of my guppies became constipated. She's better now but to prevent it from happening again I was wondering if I can feed them peas regularly along with flakes and how often. Also how long will the peas last If I put them in a plastic bag after warming them?

I buy a cheap bag of frozen peas and prepare 1 at a time blanching and de-shelling it serving a very small piece about the size of their eyeball to my bettas once a week to help them stay regular. I've since switched to daphnia because I got tired of preparing the pea. I wouldn't prepare them and save them though, just as you intend to use them.

 

I buy a cheap bag of frozen peas and prepare 1 at a time blanching and de-shelling it serving a very small piece about the size of their eyeball to my bettas once a week to help them stay regular. I've since switched to daphnia because I got tired of preparing the pea. I wouldn't prepare them and save them though, just as you intend to use them.

Okay thank you.

 

Variate in food as well. That's a better prevention.

 

Variate in food as well. That's a better prevention.

What is that? Can you link me to it.

 

What is that? Can you link me to it.

I don’t think it’s a type of food, I think double Dutch means that you should feed them a variety of different foods.

 

I don’t think it’s a type of food, I think double Dutch means that you should feed them a variety of different foods.

Oh okay. What types should I try? I don't want to do live because I live far from my lfs and I don't want to have to restock often. I'm open to all types for smaller fish like guppies and bettas.

 

https://cafishvet.com/2018/07/07/the-green-pea-myth/

 

https://cafishvet.com/2018/07/07/the-green-pea-myth/

Interesting. What do you feed your fish?

 

Peas are a good supplement to a guppy's diet to add variety.

You can blanch a whole bag of them, spread them out on a baking sheet spaced out, and freeze them so they won't clump together when you store them in a bag or tupperware. Then you can move a few of them to the fridge (the amount you'd feed in 2-3 days) to thaw them and peel/squish them a bit when you feed.

 

Peas are a good supplement to a guppy's diet to add variety.

You can blanch a whole bag of them, spread them out on a baking sheet spaced out, and freeze them so they won't clump together when you store them in a bag or tupperware. Then you can move a few of them to the fridge (the amount you'd feed in 2-3 days) to thaw them and peel/squish them a bit when you feed.

How often should I feed them? Any other foods that aren't live?

 

https://cafishvet.com/2018/07/07/the-green-pea-myth/

I'm not really sure why that link was shared, are you trying to say it doesn't work or..? Some clarity on that would be nice instead of just throwing out a link.

 

How often should I feed them? Any other foods that aren't live?

You can get frozen cubes from Hikari (my personal choice) that have brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. Just chunk off what you want to feed and defrost it in tank water.

Personally I rotate brine shrimp, daphnia, Bug Bites, and New Life Spectrum so they get something different every day as well as from the previous day.

 

You can get frozen cubes from Hikari (my personal choice) that have brine shrimp, daphnia, etc. Just chunk off what you want to feed and defrost it in tank water.

Personally I rotate brine shrimp, daphnia, Bug Bites, and New Life Spectrum so they get something different every day as well as from the previous day.

Okay. When I go to the lfs on Saturday ill pick up some frozen brine shrimp and bug bites. Do you think peas, bug bites, frozen brine shrimp, and tetra flakes is a varied diet or should I add more? My main concern is preventing the fish from being constipated.

 

Okay. When I go to the lfs on Saturday ill pick up some frozen brine shrimp and bug bites. Do you think peas, bug bites, frozen brine shrimp, and tetra flakes is a varied diet or should I add more? My main concern is preventing the fish from being constipated.

As long as you feed in proper proportions you should be ok. But yes 3-4 options is a fairly varied diet, pellets and flakes as a staple and frozen/live foods for nutrition/treats. I prefer daphnia as a natural laxative for bettas and it tends to be a bit more tasty and nutritional but peas should do just fine. I would say at least once a week.

 

We’ve had good luck feeding all our fish mainly Omega One brand foods.. the majority of our fish are guppies but we also have a lot of other types throughout 7 tanks. Guppies a Gourami couple types of tetras couple types of plecos tiger barbs a pea puffer otto cats a betta green albino and pepper Cory’s and lots of MTS and ramshorn snails Frozen foods- bloodworms, daphnia, mysis shrimp, carnivore, brine shrimp. Tropical color enhancing flakes. Shrimp pellets. Algae wafers. Betta buffet pellets. Frozen zucchini thawed in hot tap water. Also on a rare occasion if I make hard boiled eggs I will give them a tiny toothpick tip worth as it’s a great protein source but too much can cloud the water slightly. We don’t eat hamburgers everyday, why should they right