Goldfish Eating Plants

So I've had some plants in the tank for a few weeks now, and this morning there were some pretty good bites taken out of some of them. I know goldies have a tendency to eat them and I took the risk by adding them, but does it possibly mean I'm not feeding enough? Or maybe a diet deficiency? I'd like to keep plants in the tank and do what I can to make them seem less appetizing rather than removing them. They're nice hiding places for my shrimp.

 

Try feeding more vegetables and see if that makes a difference.
What kind of plants are they? My goldies leave tougher plants alone such as java fern, anubias and crypts.

 

I agree with bottom dweller. The ONLY plants my Goldie’s leave alone are anubias, Amazon sword, and java fern. All others are salad.

 

What are the best goldie veggies?

I have anubias, amazon sword, and java fern, and I noticed bites taken out of the amazon swords. The rest seem untouched for now.

 

Mine like peas best. If they are going for leaves you could try feeding leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce.

 

Mine like peas best. If they are going for leaves you could try feeding leafy vegetables like spinach and lettuce.

How many peas do you usually feed at once for a single 2-3 inch goldie? And do you squish them before putting them in so they don't choke or will they take bites out of them?

 

How many peas do you usually feed at once for a single 2-3 inch goldie? And do you squish them before putting them in so they don't choke or will they take bites out of them?

I cut them up really small before feeding. I don't have a specific amount I feed I just see how hungry they seem. I give them a little and if they eat it straight away I give them more. If they start to seem at all uninterested I stop. Make sure to take the shell off before feeding.

 

I have hornwort in all my goldfish tanks and they don’t touch it. You might just have to change out your plants

 

Sara and Maybelle love green leafy vegetables especially beet leaves. Beet leaves, being very high in potassium, and fish tank water, typically being potassium deficient, it is a symbiotic ($2 word) relationship betwixt the fish and the plants.

By the way, my girls are very reluctant to eat any vegetable that hasn't been cooked long enough to take the crunch out of it.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll see what he likes best

 

Relevant:
Thee Lady G on Instagram: “I love adding a big leafy veggie to the tank because it's food and entertain-- Copper, you're in my shot. Copper...Copper? Oh Copper...…”

Goldfish are pretty smart and very interested... They get bored fast and food gathering seems to be their main form of entertainment! They might not be hungry exactly... just messing with stuff. And then swallowing it. Like they do.

I put all kinds of leafy stuff in my tank, partly for food but also as a "toy." Check out my thread "stuff I've fed my fish so far"

 

Relevant:
Thee Lady G on Instagram: “I love adding a big leafy veggie to the tank because it's food and entertain-- Copper, you're in my shot. Copper...Copper? Oh Copper...…”

Goldfish are pretty smart and very interested... They get bored fast and food gathering seems to be their main form of entertainment! They might not be hungry exactly... just messing with stuff. And then swallowing it. Like they do.

I put all kinds of leafy stuff in my tank, partly for food but also as a "toy." Check out my thread "stuff I've fed my fish so far"

What is that in the video? I looks like celery to me. I've also checked out your thread before and plan to look again.

 

they're omnivores, and pretty much eat all day.

my comets nibble on water lettuce, not sure if they actually eat it.

the eat a little bit of the hortwort.

I feed them goldfish pellets in the morning and evening. lunch/early afternoon I get them veggie rounds made with spiralina. and the occasional frozen blood worms every other day.

 

They might not be hungry exactly... just messing with stuff. And then swallowing it. Like they do.

my comets nibble on , not sure if they actually eat it.

I don't understand these goldfish with dainty appetites. This morning Sara and Maybelle ate a collard green leaf the size of a newborn baby. And that was after a big breakfast.

 

My goldies love spinach leaves. I nuke them just a few seconds in the microwave until wilted and it's gone in short order.

 

The great thing about things like turnip greens, mustard greens, collard greens, large beet leaves, etc., is that the fish leave behind the "skeleton" of heavy veins and ribs. They won't completely finish those bones but they will go back and pick at them for hours. Lots of entertainment value as TheeLadyG said.

 

I have quite a few plants and I find that putting in 'buffer plants' like elodea and salvinia keeps them away from my main plants.

 

What is that in the video? I looks like celery to me. I've also checked out your thread before and plan to look again.

It's a stem of parsely! I didn't blanch it so they have to work at it, which is why it's not being eaten faster. This particular piece had some ferny bits at the top that they could get their little mouths around. Larger or tougher leaves I will blanch, sometimes I will cut little serrations in the edge so they can get started. After a day or two the whole thing gets soft and they start eating the stem also. What they don't eat the snails go for!