How much should I feed my goldfish?

I have 2 fancy goldfish, both about 1½" each. I bought some Omega One (or whatever it's called) sinking pellets for them. I bought the medium size, they're about O <-- that big.

How many pellets should I feed them? Also, should I feed them twice a day or just once? I know goldies are little piggies.

 

How many times you feed them depends on your personal preferences - I feed my fish 2 small meals and one large meal per day.

To find out how much, you basically need to feed them an amount, wait until they eat it all, and then add a bit more. What doesn't get eaten up in 5 minutes is 'wasted' and ends up increasing ammonia levels, so aI'm at that. Then just give them that much.

Also remember that fish are cold blooded, so they don't waste as much energy as we do - so you don't need to feed them THAT much.

 

Two feeds each day is the standard with one fast day, (no food), each week. Feed no more than your fish can consume in 2-4mins. A fishes stomach is only about the size of it's eye & fish food swell when it's exposed to stomach acids. Remove excess food if there is any. The fast day will help keep the fishes digestive tract in good health.

Can you fill out your aquarium info please as it will help members assist you in future posts.

 

Basically a fishes stomach is the size of one eye. That will help you decide how much to feed at once. Yep they will just keep on eating but what their body doesn't use just winds up as waste. Since Goldies are such waste producers anyway they don't need any help (over feeding) to make more
Carol

 

How many times you feed them depends on your personal preferences - I feed my fish 2 small meals and one large meal per day.

To find out how much, you basically need to feed them an amount, wait until they eat it all, and then add a bit more. What doesn't get eaten up in 5 minutes is 'wasted' and ends up increasing ammonia levels, so aI'm at that. Then just give them that much.

Also remember that fish are cold blooded, so they don't waste as much energy as we do - so you don't need to feed them THAT much.

Well, I know goldies are little pigs. Would feeding them as much as they can eat in 5 minutes be too much?

Two feeds each day is the standard with one fast day, (no food), each week. Feed no more than your fish can consume in 2-4mins. A fishes stomach is only about the size of it's eye & fish food swell when it's exposed to stomach acids. Remove excess food if there is any. The fast day will help keep the fishes digestive tract in good health.

Can you fill out your aquarium info please as it will help members assist you in future posts.

I have a betta already who fasts once a week, so I was going to keep the goldfish on the same schedule.

Also, I don't understand why my aquarium info isn't showing! It's been filled out since I started coming on here in October. I just checked the settings and it was all filled out. :/

Basically a fishes stomach is the size of one eye. That will help you decide how much to feed at once. Yep they will just keep on eating but what their body doesn't use just winds up as waste. Since Goldies are such waste producers anyway they don't need any help (over feeding) to make more
Carol

Well, these pellets are about the size of their eye because they're still young. Would that be enough or not enough? I feel like it might not be enough for those pigs. Haha.

 

I had the same problem with the aquarium info myself for awhile. I think it is geared to only show specific responses. I tried just filling in that I had 37 tanks so there was no point to me trying to detail them all & it wouldn't display it for me. Only when I filled out all the details for my 3 favourite tanks would it show up.

If the pellets are about the size of their eye, then I would probably just feed one or maybe two at each feed time for each fish. I owuld think the 5min rule would be too much in your case.

 

I had the same problem with the aquarium info myself for awhile. I think it is geared to only show specific responses. I tried just filling in that I had 37 tanks so there was no point to me trying to detail them all & it wouldn't display it for me. Only when I filled out all the details for my 3 favourite tanks would it show up.

If the pellets are about the size of their eye, then I would probably just feed one or maybe two at each feed time for each fish. I owuld think the 5min rule would be too much in your case.

See, I haven't changed my aquarium info in a while and it was showing up. I just changes my nitrates and stuff for my 20 gallon on there and it's still not showing. :-/ Hm.

Thanks for the advice. I'll try giving them 2 pellets each twice a day and see if that's good or if that's too much. They're goldfish so they'll probably be fatties in no time. Then they can have more pellets.

EDIT: Okay, there goes my aquarium info! I guess I didn't have anything in the dropbox for what kind of tank my 20 gallon was.

 

Ah, there it is!! It seems to be a bit funny at times about what info you have to have & what you can leave out.

Make sure you post some pics of the fishes for us. I'd love to see them in your new layout.

Edit: Oh, you already did. Looking good.

 

That is probably enough food nutritionally but fish never seem to think they are full
Carol

 

Hello!!
I have one common goldfish who is about 2 inches long, not counting his tail. I feed him Omega One small sinking goldfish pellets. How many should I feed him each day?
Thanks!

 

Were you aware that a goldfish had no stomach? Different parts of their intestines have to do the work!Breaking down food.. absorbing the nutrients & all that! Just wanted to throw that out so you know... You should feed your goldfish a couple times a day instead of only once a day! how much.. I have absolutely no clue. Depending on the size I would say maybe a pellet per serving? 3 servings a day I suppose... I would start with that & go from there I suppose? Hopefully someone with more experience can answer this in a more detailed answer! Remember... less is more! It won't starve to death if you do this I'm sure.. + the more you feed the more you will need to do water changes since they don't digest that well hehe!

 

I have to that same food and two similar sized comet goldfish. They are closer to 3" and 4" actually.

They seem to do good with 3 feedings a day. I put in enough so that they usually finish in about 1 to 2 minutes. Just a tiny pinch. Most of the time the clear up all the pellets in one minute. Man do they poop a lot tho.

You might want to get your common a buddy. They are known to be soical fish so a tank mate is good. But then you want to have a larger tank.

 

Were you aware that a goldfish had no stomach? Different parts of their intestines have to do the work!Breaking down food.. absorbing the nutrients & all that! Just wanted to throw that out so you know... You should feed your goldfish a couple times a day instead of only once a day! how much.. I have absolutely no clue. Depending on the size I would say maybe a pellet per serving? 3 servings a day I suppose... I would start with that & go from there I suppose? Hopefully someone with more experience can answer this in a more detailed answer! Remember... less is more! It won't starve to death if you do this I'm sure.. + the more you feed the more you will need to do water changes since they don't digest that well hehe!

Thank you!! Yes I recently read that goldfish don't have a stomach, but I was unaware that their intestines do all the work! Thanks for the information! Right now I plan to feed him 2 pellets, three times a day, and see how that goes! Thank you so much for your help!

I have to that same food and two similar sized comet goldfish. They are closer to 3" and 4" actually.

They seem to do good with 3 feedings a day. I put in enough so that they usually finish in about 1 to 2 minutes. Just a tiny pinch. Most of the time the clear up all the pellets in one minute. Man do they poop a lot tho.

You might want to get your common a buddy. They are known to be soical fish so a tank mate is good. But then you want to have a larger tank.

Thank your for the information! I want to get another goldfish as a friend for him, but his tank is 20 gallons, which is only right for 1 goldfish. I don't want to overstock it, and my mom won't allow me to purchase a larger tank. When it comes to feeding, I've been giving him 2 pellets three times a day, to avoid overfeeding him like I did at first. Is this too little? I've stopped using the 2 minute feeding rule because my goldfish loves food so much I think he would eat until he is sick.

 

I feed my 2 inch goldfish 5 pellets a day, 2 in the morning and 3 at night on days when I only feed pellets. But I try to vary their diet with frozen foods and boiled vegetables and homemade food.

20 gallons won't be big enough long term I'm afraid. Common goldfish can get up to 1 foot long and in my opinion they need at least an 80 gallon tank but then once they're 2 years old they really need a pond. They are surprisingly demanding fish!

 

I feed my 2 inch goldfish 5 pellets a day, 2 in the morning and 3 at night on days when I only feed pellets. But I try to vary their diet with frozen foods and boiled vegetables and homemade food.

20 gallons won't be big enough long term I'm afraid. Common goldfish can get up to 1 foot long and in my opinion they need at least an 80 gallon tank but then once they're 2 years old they really need a pond. They are surprisingly demanding fish!

Thank you for the information! I have realised that 20 gallons will be way to small as he starts to grow, and my mom has agreed to let me get a larger thank once he gets too big for this one, thankfully But for right now, this 20 gallon was all I could convince her to let me purchase. I never realised at first the size tank goldfish would need! I got him in July and had him in a one gallon bowl for a whole month, until soon after I read up on goldfish and found out they need way more space! He has been so much happier since he's been in his 20 gallon. He's always so full of energy!! At what size should I transfer him into a larger tank? Sadly I think I stunted his growth in the first month I had him (when he was in a bowl) because he has barely grown since then

 

Great! Really as soon as possible. How old is he? If he's over a year or 2 then his growth will be slower anyway so you could probably wait a month or so. It's a great excuse for MTS!

 

I already have MTS! I just got a betta fish and put him in a 10 gallon tank I used for the goldfish after his bowl. I don't know how old my Goldfish is, but I won him in July 2016 at a baby shower Honestly, I don't think my mom will allow me to get a larger tank until this my goldfish is a few inches larger. I work at a pet shop with great priced tanks though, so I might be able to convince her.