Proper filtration and a good feed are all that it takes for your beautiful Goldfish to stay healthy and happy. Now the important question is what to feed your Goldfish. Goldfish require a good amount of protein, along with minerals and vitamins in their diet. The fat content should be less.
Today you have a wide variety of formulated goldfish food available, such as TetraFin Goldfish Flakes, Wardley Goldfish Pellets, Wardley Total Goldfish. You get them in both flakes and pellets form. All you need to do is choose which would be best for your Goldfish.
Apart from these formulated foods you can also give them leafy vegetables, brine shrimps, bloodworms or earthworm flakes. This would be different and your Goldfish would enjoy it.
Post Navigation
Feeding Goldfish
Whatever food you choose to feed your Goldfish, offer just a small quantity. Do not feed them in excess. Splitting the feed into several smaller ones than a single large one is better. Goldfish have a unique digestive tract. So avoid feeding them to much.
After a feed make sure you remove all the excess food. If not, it would decay in the water and pollute the water.
Goldfish love to eat and will very quickly learn to zoom to the top of the tank to beg for food when they see you pass by.
Goldfish are omnivorous and should be fed a variety of foods. They must have a balance of both protein rich foods and vegetation. Too much protein in the diet will not be utilized and will result in excess waste.
Goldfish should only be fed once a day (more often for babies and fry) and only as much as they can eat in 2 minutes. If there is left over food in the tank, in the gravel or floating around you are feeding too much!!! Cut back so you don’t cause water quality problems with rotting uneaten food. One day a week of fasting, or not feeding anything is recommended by many fish keepers to rest and clear out their digestive system.
Food specifically formulated for Goldfish will have a higher carbohydrate and lower protein content.
Trails of waste that hang from your Goldfish is a sign of overfeeding or constipation. A proper and varied diet will prevent this.
I recommend pre-soaking all dried foods in a small cup of tank water for 2-3 minutes before pouring it slowly into your fish tank. This is because fish can overeat dry foods and then become bloated as the dry food absorbs water in their intestinal tract. It is also important to do this so that your fish does not swallow large amounts of air while eating, which can lead to swim bladder disease.
Choosing Good Goldfish Food
Goldfish always appear hungry and will automatically eat if you constantly feed them. Overfeeding can lead to discomfort and illness for your little fish. If you notice a string of feces trailing behind your fish as it swims, this is a sign that you are overfeeding it.
Only feed them twice a day at the very most and only put in as much food as they can consume within 2-3 minutes. Goldfish are cold-blooded creatures so they don’t need to metabolize a huge amount of food to create energy.
So what exactly should you feed your new Goldfish? This is an extremely simple question to answer because goldfish love variety. They are considered to be omnivores. This means that they will eat anything they can find. The most common foods can be picked up at any local pet store.
Dry Food for Goldfish
Dry pellets are a fine choice but you should remember to soak them in the tank water for about 3 minutes to let them expand before the fish eat them. If you don’t, then they will expand inside the fish and this could cause constipation. It is recommended that you feed your fish approximately 5-10 pellets per day.
Dry pellets can also cause problems with the fish’s swim bladder. The swim bladder is an organ that fills with air that allows a fish to rise and sink in the water. Dry food pellets can block the swim bladder and cause the fish to swim sideways or upside down. Most fish foods come in the form of flakes and the Goldfish also enjoy dining on frozen, live, and gel based foods.
Bloodworms and Brine Shrimp for Goldfish
Blood worms and brine shrimp are tasty treats that your Goldfish will. You should not feed your fish these delicacies too often as they are very high in protein and could cause digestive problems. Also opt for the freeze-dried varieties portions rather than fresh as there is less chance of introducing parasites into your fish’s environment.
Vegetables for Goldfish
Vegetables are a favored cuisine as long as they are blanched. This means that they should be partially cooked or steamed and then cooled before feeding them to your pets. Romaine lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, peas, and carrots are some healthy choices to add to your fish’s diet.
Bad Food for Goldfish
A fish’s digestive system is not equipped to break down foods containing lactose, such as cheese. Other foods like ground beef are also not a good food choice as it doesn’t contain the necessary nutrients for your goldfish.
If this is what you decide to feed your fish it will become malnourished and then eventually die. Even if your fish don’t eat this food, they can develop infections by the bacteria and germs that are introduced into the water.
Types of Goldfish Food:
Flakes:
- PROS: Easy, inexpensive, large variety.
- CONS: Processed, lots of varieties contain large amounts of filler, fish swallow a lot of air by eating from the surface which over time may lead to swim bladder problems.
I recommend putting your flakes in a small cup of tank water for 3 minutes to soak before pouring them slowly into the tank. This ensures that the food is already moist and it will slowly sink rather than floating at the surface.
Pellets:
- PROS: Easy, better than flakes for large goldfish.
- CONS: Should be soaked before feeding or it can be hard on digestion over time.
There are both sinking and floating pellets, and small and large sized pellets available. Pellets are a good overall staple food.
Freeze Dried:
PROS: Easy, its a whole food item
CONS: Should be soaked before feeding or it can be hard on digestion over time.
Freeze dried Tubifex, Krill, Plankton, Brine Shrimp, and Blood Worms provide high protein foods.
Frozen:
- PROS: High quality food for superb health, convenient compared to fresh, growth and color
- CONS: Expensive, messy, time consuming.
Frozen foods are available in both blister packs and solid slabs. I recommend the individual serving sizes in the blister packs over the single frozen slab because its much easier to grab what you need.
Fresh:
- PROS: High quality food for superb health, its a whole food item
- CONS: Time consuming, expensive
You can feed your Goldfish fresh chopped leafy greens, chopped fresh peas (will outer skin removed), chopped fresh earthworms and night crawlers, chopped fresh mealworms, and hatched brine shrimp.
Providing your fish with a proper diet will allow them to live longer and ensure that they are healthy. You will be able to enjoy observing your beautiful pet for many years to come.
