Along with proper tank setup, tank maintenance, and choosing the right fish, feeding your fish the right food is extremely important. Your fish need the right food for their particular species to ensure that they grow, stay healthy, exhibit the right color and to stimulate breeding. The following aquarium fish food tips will help you in making sure you are giving your fish the best food possible.
Probably the most important aquarium fish food tips to follow are to vary your fish’s diet and not to overfeed the fish. A high-quality fish food flake is a good starting place in proper feeding, but your fish will quickly tire of the same food and not feed as well. You also need to make sure your fish is receiving proper nutrition by giving them a variety of foods with different nutrients and just like other pets, they need different foods at different stages in their life. You should adapt the type of food you give your fish according to their age.
To give your fish variety in their food choices, there are many different types of food you can feed them. Here are the most common fish foods.
Flakes, Pellets, Wafers
These foods are the most common food that are fed to fish for several reasons. They are usually inexpensive, easy to get, and easy to feed. Flakes are best for smaller fish but larger fish will more than likely not be satisfied with flakes. Larger fish will enjoy pellets much more. Your bottom feeders and algae eaters will prefer wafers because they will sink to the bottom of the tank and the fish can graze off of them which is similar to their eating habits in the wild.
When purchasing one of these food types for your fish, be wary of the brands that say they offer complete nutrition to all fish. This just isn’t possible. All species have different food and nutrition requirements and they are not “one size fits all.” Your fish will live by eating these brands, but they won’t thrive, be active, and exhibit their best colors. Also, avoid the brands that use wheat flour filler and additives. These brands will be lacking in nutrition.
If your fish are herbivores, choose a flake, pellet, or wafer that is mostly made up from plants or algae. Herbivores will get sick if you give them a food that is high in protein and low in fiber.
Live Food
Your fish will love it if you supplement their diet with live foods. Some choices in live foods are Fruit flies, Daphnia, Brine shrimp, Vinegar eels, and micro worms. You can buy these at your local aquarium store but they tend to be expensive. Another thing you have to watch for is that some less reputable stores will sell feeder fish that are sick fish they have removed from their tanks. This will obviously introduce all kinds of bacteria and disease into your tank and make your fish sick, so be careful that you don’t save on live food by buying it from questionable aquarium stores.
If you want to feed your fish live food, but don’t want the expense, consider culturing Brine shrimp, white worms, compost worms, and wingless fruit flies at home. If you don’t like the idea of doing this, give catching live food for your fish a try. By checking puddles and stagnant water near or around your home, you can find mosquito larvae, and fairy shrimp that you can use to feed your fish.
Freeze-dried Food
Another useful aquarium fish food tip is to supplement your fish’s diet with live food that has been freeze-dried. Your aquarium store will have a supply of mosquito larvae, individual worms, blood worms, etc. These foods can be freeze-dried individually or in sheets and chunks, but because they are just one or two types of food, they don’t give your fish total nutrition. For this reason, you need to use these only as a supplement or treat.
Frozen Food
You can get a selection of frozen crustaceans, mollusks, insects, and fish from your aquarium store that are good treats to feed your fish. Your pet store will have them stored in a freezer for you to purchase. One small inconvenience about frozen food is that you must remember to thaw the food before you give it to your fish. To make it more convenient, you can thaw a batch and keep it in your refrigerator for several days so it is ready to use when you want.
Make Your Own Fish Food
Many aquarists like to have complete control over what their fish are eating. If you want to have this same control, the best way is to make your own food. This is relatively easy to do by buying food at your grocery store.
Herbivore fish need plenty of fiber to keep them from becoming constipated. For herbivores, buy vegetables like lettuce and spinach. All you have to do to prepare the lettuce and spinach is to hold it under hot water for about 30 seconds and it is ready to feed. Fish also like zucchini and eggplant which you can slice and boil and then give to your fish.
Buy frozen peas, Brussel sprouts, shrimp, crab, and clams at your grocery store, thaw, and chop into smaller pieces and feed. Make sure for your smaller fish that the food is chopped small enough and only put the amount in the tank that your fish will eat to keep your tank from becoming dirty.
Algae
Many aquarists pride themselves in keeping a meticulously clean tank and a clean tank is good. However, your fish will actually appreciate a little algae growing on the sides that they can grave from. Having a little algae in your tank encourages your fish to graze like they do in their natural habitats and it makes them happy.
As you can see, there are many choices when it comes to feeding your fish. By following these aquarium fish food tips, your fish can have a healthy and nutritious diet that will ensure they grow, stay active, and happy.