# Feeding practices



## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

In reading some of these posts I started thinking about how people feed. I read about bloated p's and left over food and have never had any experience with either. 
Here is my feeding method for my 8 pygos, ranging from 4"-8":

1) I take out either frozen giant shrimp, filet, smelt or beefheart.
2) I break off an amount that looks ok.
3) Stick in water to thaw.
4) if it is shrimp I peal them.
4) Open a beer.
5) Toss in food.
6) Watch them eat the food with in a minute.

That is it. I do this at different intervals, sometimes daily, sometimes every other day, sometimes once every 3 days. I have never....I mean never...had any left over food to take out. They shred anything i put in that tank instantly. I hear about people with feeders that last a day or 2....when I put in feeders, I dont even have time to close the lid and step back and watch before they are gone. I think the reason my guys go so nuts over food has something to do with them not knowing when the next meal will be. I have no pattern so when food goes in, they tear it up because the next meal might not be for a few days.
My fish are health and look great. They are not underfed, but not overfed either.

This is how I feed my fish and how they react to food. 
Do you have different methods with different results?


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

I'm mainly feeding my reds shrimp lately: all I do is continue tossing in shrimps one by one (starting with large chunks, and slowly reduce the size), until a couple of pieces make it to the gravel. That's the sign I need to stop feeding: the left-overs will be taken care of by the resident catfish.
Smelt, other meaty and fishy foods, and since short even pellets are fed in the same way: I never toss in a large quantity at the same time, only to net out what's left uneaten later.

Advantage of this method (feeding one piece by the time), is that everyone will get its share: the more dominant ones will eat first, and when they're satisfied, the lower-ranked fish can eat at ease, without having to compete with the tank's bad-asses.

I feed my fish daily, and try to be as consisitent as possible when it comes to feeding time (ie. in the evening). Nowadays, ny reds start to get restless at about nine pm, and watch me closely, following me around wherever I go. As soon as I open the lit, they all come up to the surface, and when I start tossing in food, one will grab it, and swim away, to eat it in peace. As soon as one has left with a piece of food, I toss in a new piece, but make sure that I don't throw in that much that pieces will remain unnoticed...

This method seems to be working out very well for me, since all fish have great coloration, are healthy, have a good appetite, and have a slow, but steady growth rate. I also think this way of feeding may reduce agression, because they 'know' when it's feeding time, and all get their share. Feeding sessions are hectic, but with little agression, since the dominant fish stake claims first, while the 'lesser' fish patiently wait until its their turn.

The feeders I buy them from time to time are not instantly killed, but are usually gone within a few hours (maybe my current feeding regime makes them a little lazy: it's a treat, and they seem to treat it that way...) But lately, some goldfish lived considerably longer, and I decided to cut back on feeders, until all are gone.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Interesting Jonas, 
When it comes to feeding, I really dont have a dominant fish. I will have 4 fish on one filet, each taking out chunks. My tank is a frenzy when I feed them.


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

There's usually no real feeding frenzies in my tank (although sometimes more than one fish will fight a little over a piece of food), and feeding sessions are usually hectic at 'best', but I don't mind that. Like I said before, it seems to keep agression levels during feeding at a minimum (my tank is already pretty over-crowded, and they're still growing fairly rapidly), causing very few battle wounds, unintendedly inflicted during that moment (the worst I experienced once was a half bitten-off lower lip).
I've witnessed my fair share of carnage in my tank, and that was good fun to watch, but my main concern is keeping my fish healthy and happy (and thus myself...) I'm not sure your method would work out in my case, since the fish are pretty much conditioned to this kind of feeding. Might be an interesting experiment, though...

btw: I recently noticed that my biggest red usually fasts for a couple of days, and then decides to stuff himself completely. At those moments, there's no doubt he's the ost dominant fish. The smaller ones seem to be hungry all the time, and will eagerly accept their share every day...


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

With my spilo school I almost make it a point to over feed. This is done solely to keep them satisfied so they do not turn on each other. I do however promptly remove any uneaten food after 15minutes. This gives all my fish equal chance to scavenge a portion for themselves. I dont really have a dominant fish in my school, however there are 2-3 smaller fish that usually wait till the others take first crack. Other then that, feeding is pretty much a frenzy. I put in a fish fellet and 3-4 fish are trying to pull it in 3-4 different directions. I dont overfeed to the point were there is alot left over either. When I fish out uneaten fish fellets, it is the size that probly could have been finished in another 2 bites. I pay close attention to the amount that my fish can consume in one sitting, and then add slightly more.

This is just my experience which will differ slightly from those with pygo schools. There is less worry, in those cases, that they will make meals out of each other.

~Dj


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

InSinUAsian said:


> There is less worry, in those cases, that they will make meals out of each other.


 But it's always in the back of my mind: since day one, first thing I do when waking up or coming home is a head count......


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

Judazzz said:


> InSinUAsian said:
> 
> 
> > There is less worry, in those cases, that they will make meals out of each other.
> ...











I think that is where we are conditioned


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

grosse gurke said:


> Judazzz said:
> 
> 
> > InSinUAsian said:
> ...










LOL








Very true......


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

Yeah I know how it is to do a head count. For me since my fish are still fairly small compared to the tank they are in sometimes I might miss one. In which case a cold sweat comes over me, and I go into a mad panic to find that last one.

True we are very conditioned.

~Dj


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

I did a head count one morning in my Geryi tank and it took me probably 15 seconds to find one of the smaller guys....felt like 10 minutes. 
I feel your pain my brothers


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## tyourkie66 (Mar 13, 2003)

i thaw all my food in a sink........then i crack open a beer and throw them in........then if theings go well, ill blaze for awhile.


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## InSinUAsian (Jan 3, 2003)

tyourkie66 said:


> i thaw all my food in a sink........and throw them in........then if theings go well, ill blaze for awhile.


 HaHaHa, I wish I had enough time to do either or. I have to be completely blazed before I feed them. I would have enough time to take 1.5 sips or not even enough time to exhale before they were done. I wish I had a digi cam to make a video or something.

Anyone notice that your fish are more aggresive toward meat products as opposed to live fish. It takes a little longer for my fish to catch goldies. When I drop food in the tank, IF it does hit te bottom, all of them have already taken thier fill.

~Dj


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## Judazzz (Jan 13, 2003)

InSinUAsian said:


> Anyone notice that your fish are more aggresive toward meat products as opposed to live fish. It takes a little longer for my fish to catch goldies. When I drop food in the tank, IF it does hit te bottom, all of them have already taken thier fill.


I noticed exactly the same with my reds - their attitude towards feeders as well as food hitting the gravel (meaning the fish are done eating).
I guess the reason why they are reluctant to chase feeders is that they 'know' an easy meal will be served daily, so why waste your energy if it's not necessary (maybe a downside to conditioning...)?

Something else: usually, my reds are not very interested in pellets (probably because they are algae and sinking wafers for my bottom dwellers, so very low, if any meat-content...) But when I visited 'my' LFS this week, they gave me some sample-bags of two different catfish tablets, spirula (sp?) and meaty ones. Every time I toss these in, my p's are very interested, but seem to have trouble figuring out what to do with them (gulping them up, but spitting them out about 5-6 times before finally swallowing, if at all).
But yesterday, after I tossed in a couple of those pellets, broken into smaller bits (to suit my catfish), they all started searching and ploughing the gravel like mad... 
Looked great, six reds frantically scavenging the gravel like a bunch of oversized cories


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## SnowCichlid (Jan 10, 2003)

grosse gurke said:


> 4) Open a beer.


 Most important step.... gotta make sure the Piranhas are getting a varied diet


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

InSinUAsian said:


> Anyone notice that your fish are more aggresive toward meat products as opposed to live fish. It takes a little longer for my fish to catch goldies. When I drop food in the tank, IF it does hit te bottom, all of them have already taken thier fill.
> 
> ~Dj


 No, I dont see that at all. When I put in feeders for my pygos, which is rarely, they tear them up in record time....it is amazing. I usually only put in feeders when a friend comes over and wants to see...and let me tell you, it is a show. They are all over those dudes as soon as they hit the water. It is pretty much the same with any food I put in my tank, they just go nuts.


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## Grosse Gurke (Jan 3, 2003)

SnowCichlid said:


> grosse gurke said:
> 
> 
> > 4) Open a beer.
> ...


 absolutely


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