What/how Much Should I Feed My Fish?

I recently bought five fish, all different species, but I don't know exactly how much I'm suppose to be feeding them. Everyone tells me to feed as much as they can eat in 1-3 minutes, but I stood in front of the tank for nearly 10 minutes before one fish even sees the flakes. Then the same for the next flake, and the next.

The Black Moor doesn't even seem to see it as food, and just blows it away when it gets near. He was interested in a Betta pellet though and ate it as soon as he saw, without spitting it out.
The Goldfish couldn't find the flake and scavenged at the bottom of the tank for nearly 5 minutes before he sucked up a part of it. I gave him a pellet too and he suddenly came up and ate it without any problems.
The Rainbow Shark I just couldn't get to eat anything. He never comes up for flakes, doesn't look for pellets, and is only interested in swimming around the seashell.
The Maingano Cichlid almost tried the flakes but spit it out over and over and over until he only got a barely noticeable piece, and then just left.
The last fish ate 2 whole flakes the moment he saw them without spitting, but "he" has a really, really big stomach and I'm wondering if it's pregnant or sick or if it's normal, (am I suppose to feed her more if she's pregnant?). The problem is I don't know the species, I had to google the species for every fish on my own. It has red, blue, and black patches and has the face and size of a regular goldfish. (can't really get a picture since I don't have my phone right now).

So feeding them "for 2-3 minutes" doesn't really work since I won't be able to tell if it's being eaten by one enthusiastic fish or all of them equally. How much am I suppose to be feeding them, around 2-3 flakes per fish or 1-2 pellets? And is there any way to get all of them to eat, besides just throwing in an extra flake/pellet and hope they get hungry enough to look around?

 

So it sounds like you have 1 black moor goldfish, 1 common goldfish, 1 rainbow shark, 1 maingano african cichlid, and 1 unknown fish. What size tank? (and is it cycled, what temperature do you keep it at, and will this be their permanent home?)

In terms of feeding, a healthy fish will never let itself starve - chances are (especially if you just bought these guys) that they were still full from the shop which is why they didn't really care about the food. However, that being said, the goldfish will probably accept both flakes and betta pellets. The shark will need to eat a sinking food (like shrimp pellets) and will only tough flakes if they fall to the bottom. The african cichlid will also eat flakes, but would do better with pellets (not betta pellets). And obviously I can't say about the unknown fish (just post a pic when you can).

That being said, you have some serious stocking issues that will lead to fish death. Please let me know if you want to discuss.

 

So it sounds like you have 1 black moor goldfish, 1 common goldfish, 1 rainbow shark, 1 maingano african cichlid, and 1 unknown fish. What size tank? (and is it cycled, what temperature do you keep it at, and will this be their permanent home?)

In terms of feeding, a healthy fish will never let itself starve - chances are (especially if you just bought these guys) that they were still full from the shop which is why they didn't really care about the food. However, that being said, the goldfish will probably accept both flakes and betta pellets. The shark will need to eat a sinking food (like shrimp pellets) and will only tough flakes if they fall to the bottom. The african cichlid will also eat flakes, but would do better with pellets (not betta pellets). And obviously I can't say about the unknown fish (just post a pic when you can).

That being said, you have some serious stocking issues that will lead to fish death. Please let me know if you want to discuss.

It's maybe a 5 gallon (?) tank, cycled, and at room temperature like the store told us. It's probably their permanent home since, well, I don't have anything else to put them into. Unless it breaks. But what did you mean stocking issues?

Also, thanks for the info on the food! I'll try to find sinking and floating pellets for the other fishes.

 

umm... okay. No offense, but none of the fish listed are suitable for a 5 gallon tank, and especially not with tankmates.

The general recommendation for goldfish is 20 gallon for the 1st fish, and 10 gallon for each additional fish. They grow to around 5 inches long, and have a heavy bioload given their size.
The rainbow shark will become VERY aggressive once full grown (around 6 inches), and needs around 50 gallons to live with other fish without killing them.
The maingano cichlid gets only around 3 inches and should be kept in a 30 gallon minimum. As a MalawI cichlid, it should ideally be kept only with other african cichlids, though there are a few other species who have done well with these guys.
And... still don't know what the last fish is

Basically most of the fish you have will outgrow your tank or can be very aggressive. I would advise returning/rehoming those fish and get some fish more suitable for your tank...

What about getting a Scarlet Badis (Dario dario), ChilI rasboras, or endlers? You could also look at some inverts, like the Mexican Dwarf Crayfish (CPO), Red Cherry Shrimp, or Pom Pom Crab. (or just a betta if you just want something easy to care for.)
You can check out more fish suitable for a 5 gallon tank here:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...or-5-gallon-freshwater-nano-aquariums.272334/

 

Welcome to the forum babyaquarium. Like fjh said; it sounds like you got some bad advice from your fish store. I’d also recommend returning the fish to the store and do a little more researching and certainly ask questions here. Not saying that sometimes you won’t get bad advice here; however this is a forum with a lot of very knowledgeable people. Again welcome aboard!

Here’s a link to calculate how many gallons you aquarium is. Research and patience are your best tools if you want to keep fish healthy and happy.

 

umm... okay. No offense, but none of the fish listed are suitable for a 5 gallon tank, and especially not with tankmates.

The general recommendation for goldfish is 20 gallon for the 1st fish, and 10 gallon for each additional fish. They grow to around 5 inches long, and have a heavy bioload given their size.
The rainbow shark will become VERY aggressive once full grown (around 6 inches), and needs around 50 gallons to live with other fish without killing them.
The maingano cichlid gets only around 3 inches and should be kept in a 30 gallon minimum. As a MalawI cichlid, it should ideally be kept only with other african cichlids, though there are a few other species who have done well with these guys.
And... still don't know what the last fish is

Basically most of the fish you have will outgrow your tank or can be very aggressive. I would advise returning/rehoming those fish and get some fish more suitable for your tank...

What about getting a Scarlet Badis (Dario dario), ChilI rasboras, or endlers? You could also look at some inverts, like the Mexican Dwarf Crayfish (CPO), Red Cherry Shrimp, or Pom Pom Crab. (or just a betta if you just want something easy to care for.)
You can check out more fish suitable for a 5 gallon tank here:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...or-5-gallon-freshwater-nano-aquariums.272334/

They had these fish all mixed together in 2 gallon tanks, I never even thought they could get aggressive like that. I don't think the store will let us return fish though, and I don't have any other tank to put them in. There's not anyone I can give them to either, fish isn't exactly a popular pet in this town. So is there any way to make it work, like putting a semi-barrier between the aggessive fish?

 

your fish are still small, but in just a couple of weeks they will be bigger, and will keep getting bigger. you'll most likely need a 55 gallon or bigger tank in a few months.

seems like the goldfish are used to pellet food. sinking pellets are recommended for goldfish, since gulping at the surface is one cause of swim bladder disease in goldfish. I used Omega One sinking goldfish pellets, and Omega One Veggie Kelp sinking pellets.

The last fish ate 2 whole flakes the moment he saw them without spitting, but "he" has a really, really big stomach and I'm wondering if it's pregnant or sick or if it's normal, (am I suppose to feed her more if she's pregnant?). The problem is I don't know the species, I had to google the species for every fish on my own. It has red, blue, and black patches and has the face and size of a regular goldfish. (can't really get a picture since I don't have my phone right now).

big stomach with red, blue and black coloring...i'm guessing its a calico fancy goldfish, like an oranda, fantail, ryukin, etc

 

I recently bought five fish, all different species, but I don't know exactly how much I'm suppose to be feeding them. Everyone tells me to feed as much as they can eat in 1-3 minutes, but I stood in front of the tank for nearly 10 minutes before one fish even sees the flakes. Then the same for the next flake, and the next.

The Black Moor doesn't even seem to see it as food, and just blows it away when it gets near. He was interested in a Betta pellet though and ate it as soon as he saw, without spitting it out.
The Goldfish couldn't find the flake and scavenged at the bottom of the tank for nearly 5 minutes before he sucked up a part of it. I gave him a pellet too and he suddenly came up and ate it without any problems.
The Rainbow Shark I just couldn't get to eat anything. He never comes up for flakes, doesn't look for pellets, and is only interested in swimming around the seashell.
The Maingano Cichlid almost tried the flakes but spit it out over and over and over until he only got a barely noticeable piece, and then just left.
The last fish ate 2 whole flakes the moment he saw them without spitting, but "he" has a really, really big stomach and I'm wondering if it's pregnant or sick or if it's normal, (am I suppose to feed her more if she's pregnant?). The problem is I don't know the species, I had to google the species for every fish on my own. It has red, blue, and black patches and has the face and size of a regular goldfish. (can't really get a picture since I don't have my phone right now).

So feeding them "for 2-3 minutes" doesn't really work since I won't be able to tell if it's being eaten by one enthusiastic fish or all of them equally. How much am I suppose to be feeding them, around 2-3 flakes per fish or 1-2 pellets? And is there any way to get all of them to eat, besides just throwing in an extra flake/pellet and hope they get hungry enough to look around?

We all think that our fish are starving because as soon as we get near the tank they come and look lovingly at us. Don't over feed, 1 min of eating is fine as long as they all get food. My dwarf cichlid learned to love flakes. But I also give .5 mm community pellets as well, they sink and blue rams and cichlid's like to pick them off the bottom. Cichlid's don't like to compete for food during a flurry of activity.
Put the flakes into the water instead of on top because fish can gulp air from the top and develop swim bladder disease.

 

We all think that our fish are starving because as soon as we get near the tank they come and look lovingly at us. Don't over feed, 1 min of eating is fine as long as they all get food. My dwarf cichlid learned to love flakes. But I also give .5 mm community pellets as well, they sink and blue rams and cichlid's like to pick them off the bottom. Cichlid's don't like to compete for food during a flurry of activity.
Put the flakes into the water instead of on top because fish can gulp air from the top and develop swim bladder disease.

I also feed frozen bloodworms once a week, all the fish go crazy for them, even the cardinal tetras and rasboras.

 

Everyone here loves the bloodworms, even the ghost shrimp.