GoldFish? How much do they eat?

[MarkedClown]

I have a goldfish that my baby bro won and i dont know how many flakes goldfish eat. I have the Gold fish flakes and its a small gold fish so how many flakes should i give it. Hurry it has to eat soon!

[MagMan5446]

Just flush it down the toilet.

I'm sure it'll fend for itself.

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"A Hungarian mob realized that to be in power, you didn't need money, guns, or even numbers. All you need was the will to do what the other guy wouldn't. When they come in power, they go after Soze. They break into his house, and Soze comes home to find his wife and his kids screaming. Soze then showed them what will really was..."

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[shartley]

[Paintballer86]

Jut pit a small pinch in it's bowl once a day and it will be fine.
I mean SMALL...

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[cphilip]

Gold fish will not overeat. As some others will. So you can feed them pretty heavily...But excess food will soil the water quality. Gold fish can exist in pretty dirty water but it's not pleasant to look at or smell. So feed it a good little pinch twice a day and if you are gone for a few days they will not starve. Feed em a good pich before you leave.a nd forget em. If yoau re going to be gone a week or more put in a trip slow release type feeder. Gold fish also are very aggresive and will not tolerate new additons to the tank of any kind.

[cphilip]

<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by Whisky:
They don`t eat much, if you give too much it will kill it.
Give a small pinch once a day.

</font>

That is not true at all. Goldfish are members of the Carp family and they will grow as fast as they can eat. Check my info again Wiskey. They are not the same as some tropicall fish, some of which will indeed do as you say.

[Ni cD]

The snack that smiles back until you bite their heads off! I love that song...

When I had a Goldfish, I fed it twice a day. Once in the morning, and once in the afternoon. Just a few flakes.

[TW]

I usually only swallow 4 or 5 of the smaller fish only 2 if there big.

TW

[irbodden]

i had a goldfish that was like 2 feet long his name was Patoto, or something like that, it was spanish for something. We gave him to a local pet shop for their neato giant pond display. I'd feed it alittle, and see how fast he eats, he isnt going to starve. If you over feed it, the food will get really nasty and stick to the side of the tank.

-Rick

[Dubstar112]

i once had a gold fish... his name was float... then it went from that to floater and then to flushy.. i really miss him.

[Army]

How much do they eat? Well,you know all those attacks off Florida? Goldfish.....

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EIB

[Whisky]

They don`t eat much, if you give too much it will kill it.
Give a small pinch once a day.

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"Give me an inch... I`ll give you a bruise" -Andy Kopcok, team Image
Snap Snap
Bang Bang
You`re Out

[shartley]

[FaSSt]

<font face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by cphilip:
Gold fish will not overeat. As some others will. So you can feed them pretty heavily...But excess food will soil the water quality. Gold fish can exist in pretty dirty water but it's not pleasant to look at or smell. So feed it a good little pinch twice a day and if you are gone for a few days they will not starve. Feed em a good pich before you leave.a nd forget em. If yoau re going to be gone a week or more put in a trip slow release type feeder. Gold fish also are very aggresive and will not tolerate new additons to the tank of any kind.</font>

Actually, you may be wrong in some points.

In my experience, it depends on the individual fish, but some WILL overeat. And, as you pointed out, overfeeding always decreases water quality. Goldfish are inherently "dirty", since they produce a lot of ammonia.

The goldfish I have seen were not very aggressive, and my GF has added quite a few fish to her tank without a problem.

Her tank may not be the best example, since it seems to defy a good many rules. For instance, her goldfish (monster size) actually EATS feeder-fish (other goldfish!) weekly.

It all comes down to the individual fish. But as a rule, DON'T overfeed freshwater fish.

Also, some directions on food containers are just plain wrong, as they advocate feeding the fish WAY too much.

Take shartley's advice, and call a local fish store.

[cphilip]

Well...I will beg to differ some on that. And I did point out the real reason not to overfeed was water quality. But that depends greatly on your environmental controls. Filtration, tank size and population density. But these particular beasts will not over eat. And I did indeed point out that a lot of tropical fish will. These are not true tropical fish however.

I have 25 years of Veterinary Medical and Animal Care experience and all kinds of exotics, avian and aquatic animals. I ran Animal Research facilities and worked in private practice for a number of years too. Where we kept these kinds of things in large numbers. I think if you want Veterinary care advice I can qualify as an expert for that don't you think? I still hold the first State Veterinary Examining Board of South Carolina Certification in Veterinary Medical Technology. Still go to SC Veterinary Meetings. Also certified VT Nationally. Don't work in the field much the last 7 years or so. But I keep up.

Anywho...I think we are in agreement if you will re-read my first post as it was intended. I never intended to do him a thesis on the subject. But I could! And I doubt you will get this level of advice at any Pet Store. But go ahead...do as you like!



[This message has been edited by cphilip (edited 08-28-2001).]