# Is it ok to feed my tiger barbs/danios as much as they can eat?



## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

I just today decided that since the greater part of my cycling process was over I could probably grant my little fishies a little bonus...in food, so I added a bit at a time for 5 minutes (all consumed, flake) so decided hey, they're still eating why not give them a little desert (bloodworms) they continued to eat...and then lol, just my barbs were having serious trouble swimming to the bottom.

Why was this? (assuming it had something to do w/ the bloodworms)

Anyway, me being me, still seeing the fish eating gave them a little bit more flake food, seeing them still eating it, and their stomachs getting a little large, stopped, so I was wondering...

Is it ok to feed them as much as they can eat if I don't let excess food drop to the bottom?

Just wanted to know if they could decide for themselves how much to eat, or not  thanks.


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## Burninator (Dec 3, 2008)

mine will actually stop eating once they are full

I do try and let some get to the bottom for my shark.

I normally feed twice a day. Morning flake and algae wafer then afternoon is sinking food and shrimp pellets

Every so often i switch out the afternoon for the bloodworms


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## Twistersmom (Dec 9, 2008)

I dont think my tiger barbs or danios would ever stop eating. I think they would let their stomaches explode first. I think it would be better to give them a few small treats through out the day, than let them eat all they want at one feeding time.


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## jeaninel (Aug 24, 2007)

I think it's healthier to slightly underfeed than to overfeed. Smaller feedings a couple times a day is better than one big feeding.


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

As much as they can eat in 5 minutes mine always look pregs after eating


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Mine could eat a whole package of food in 5 minutes if I let them. lol


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

maybe for one or two days but it catches up to them ..and goes right to their hips lol jk but seriously after a week or so you'll notice they won't eat as much


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

jeaninel said:


> I think it's healthier to slightly underfeed than to overfeed. Smaller feedings a couple times a day is better than one big feeding.


I have school/work so I don't know if that's possible but I'll try and work smaller feedings in as right now it's more of one medium size feeding, thanks.


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

FordMan said:


> As much as they can eat in 5 minutes mine always look pregs after eating


They definitely looked pregnant today after I fed them, first time I've saw that.


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

FordMan said:


> maybe for one or two days but it catches up to them ..and goes right to their hips lol jk but seriously after a week or so you'll notice they won't eat as much


This is interesting, so your saying just to let them eat as much as they want, and then they'll slow down?


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

yup thats how my danio's barbs and other cyprinids i've had are


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

FordMan said:


> yup thats how my danio's barbs and other cyprinids i've had are


So max them out 1,2, or 3x/day?


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I'm with jeaninel & twistersmom. Better to underfeed than overfeed.


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## veganchick (Jan 10, 2009)

dramaqueen said:


> Mine could eat a whole package of food in 5 minutes if I let them. lol


I thought you only had bettas?


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I DO only have bettas. lol But they'd eat the whole package of pellets if I let them, especially my female.She's a little pig. lol


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

once a day
i do 2 feedings one lights on and then a couple pellets for the noctornal bottom feeders like i said as much as they can eat in 5 minutes


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

FordMan said:


> once a day
> i do 2 feedings one lights on and then a couple pellets for the noctornal bottom feeders like i said as much as they can eat in 5 minutes


Alright.


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## onefish2fish (Jul 22, 2008)

i personally would also rather underfeed. your fish can survive a day or two without food. (unless its a sensitive species) 
i feed my saltwater fish every 2-3 days if theyre lucky. put it this way, even if 0 food is falling to the bottom the fish are still eating alot which then will equal alot of poop. im sure with that much food particles and peices will be falling to the floor too so water changes are going to have to be increased to maintain water quality.
i want to say the bottle of food says feed what they can eat in 2 minutes and i even think that is much. i would prefer to see you feed a pinch that fits between your finger and thumb at most 2-3 times a day. if you insist of feeding daily i would still skip 1 day a week to let them clear the digestive track. 
granted this is your tank your rules, this is just what i would do.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Overfeeding can cause all kinds of digestive problems. I fast my bettas one day a week.


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

fasting one day a week is good but keep in mind onefish2fish salt water fish are waaaay more sensitive to overfeeding besides there is no wrong way to keep cyprinids those fish are hard to kill


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

Yeah, fasting may not be appropriate for more sensitive fish.


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

there is no fish in existance that can't withstand one day a week with out food even discus


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

What's the fastest way I can get my fish to grow...what kind of food?


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

live brine shrimp and blood worms and a premium flake or pellet food


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Sj45 said:


> What's the fastest way I can get my fish to grow...what kind of food?


What's the hurry? It's the journey, not the destination


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Sj45 said:


> What's the fastest way I can get my fish to grow...what kind of food?


Depends on the food. You'lll have to vary it to enable the fish to obtain different vitamins. A staple food alone will not suffice.


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## Fishin Pole (Feb 17, 2009)

I agree with underfeeding than overfeeding..............I have 5 tanks and not all of them are fed daily..........My freshwater community tanks i feed sometimes 3 times a day and some days i skip feeding them at all........My fish seem to stay more active when they are looking for food and not waiting for the buffet at the waters edge....Dont get me wrong, i feed a variety of different foods........Cyclopes Crab, premium flake, and i crush some of my Bio Gold cichlid pellet food for the smaller fish in the community tanks.........It seems to me, the bigger the variety the more color i get from my fish.........I adopted some fish from a friend of mine..........Giant Danios, to be exact,,,,,,,,I already had 4 and added these 2 fish.........There color was nonexistant when added to my tank, now they are as colorful as the 4 originals in my tank.......I credit it to the larger variety of diet for them........


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

Fishin Pole said:


> I agree with underfeeding than overfeeding..............I have 5 tanks and not all of them are fed daily..........My freshwater community tanks i feed sometimes 3 times a day and some days i skip feeding them at all........My fish seem to stay more active when they are looking for food and not waiting for the buffet at the waters edge....Dont get me wrong, i feed a variety of different foods........Cyclopes Crab, premium flake, and i crush some of my Bio Gold cichlid pellet food for the smaller fish in the community tanks.........It seems to me, the bigger the variety the more color i get from my fish.........I adopted some fish from a friend of mine..........Giant Danios, to be exact,,,,,,,,I already had 4 and added these 2 fish.........There color was nonexistant when added to my tank, now they are as colorful as the 4 originals in my tank.......I credit it to the larger variety of diet for them........


When I bought my Danios, when they were introduced to my tank, they were very bland in color, w/ almost no blue stripes although...I sparingly fed them and within a day or two, they had all their color. I may not be correct but in my experience, they lose alot of their color from stress or moving to different places.


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## 00blaster250 (Feb 18, 2009)

i just tried seeing how much my giant danio's an red wag platies would eat in 5 min. and only the danio's would eat what i put in there. the platies didnt eat nearly as much.


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## FordMan (Jan 18, 2009)

yeah danios are pigs but look at how they swim all day compared to the platties they burn triple the energy so the eat to compensate i mean those are nuclear active compared to pretty much any other fw fish


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## 00blaster250 (Feb 18, 2009)

haha yeah that is very true. the danio's do nothing but swim and the platies just kinda roam around the bottom of the tank.


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