New Goldfish - how much to feed?

MsFifers

I have a new family member since yesterday afternoon - a little goldfish that has the cats fascinated. (Don't worry they can't get near it!)

I really can't figure out though how much to feed it. I got a tub of flakes from the petshop and it says to feed as much as the fish will eat in 5 mins. But I found it took fishy about 5 mins to notice there was a flake in the tank.

Would one or two larger sized flakes be about right, a couple of times a day?

Also a couple of websites say to give goldfish a leaf of lettuce or spinach every now and then. Any advice on this? Is this in addition to the flakes or instead of?

And finally - the fish goes a bit hyper every now and then swimming at the glass of the tank. I think it sees its reflection. Is this normal behaviour? I dont want an upset goldfish!

The_Conductor

First of all- you are far better off underfeeding than overfeeding your goldfish.

When you say you have a tank- have you set it up properly- and do you have an airstone?

Vis-a-vis a lettuce leaf- what I find is getting some pond plants (such as elodea) a very good idea- they can nibble to their hearts content- and it may even grow (while helping oxygenate the water).

Personally I hate flake food- as it tends to foul the water far too quickly. I'd recommend some pond sticks (you can get small packs of them) instead.

Best wishes,

Shane

siobhan.murphy

I was feeding mine twice a day following directions on the tub,but when we went away a neighbour was feeding them and we came back to find 1 less fish.
So talking to a friend of mine who has kept fish for ages,she said only feed then 2 flakes each and only feed them twice a week.
We went way on Friday for the weekend gsv the fish a a small pinch of flakes (two each)and we came home to find them all alive without food,so now i think I will only feed then twice a week with the two flakes each.
hope this helps some little bit as I'm new to keeping goldfish as well.
Siobhan

MsFifers

Thanks Shane. Its a v. small tank - 14lt - but I think I've set it up properly - cycled & tested the water and it came with a filter & pump so I think air should be getting into it. Maybe I should get an airstone too?

I'll look into getting pondsticks and a pond plant in the future, but I don't want to waste the food I have bought already. So - do you reckon the one or two flakes twice a day would be about right?

I posted here recently about getting the tank ready and you gave advice then - thanks v. much! I've looked at the irishfishkeeping site - but t.b.h. its a bit too advanced for me. I just want to keep one goldfish! Having read everything now, I think it might actually be easier to get a big aquarium than to have a small tank.

The_Conductor

MsFifers wrote: »

Thanks Shane. Its a v. small tank - 14lt - but I think I've set it up properly - cycled & tested the water and it came with a filter & pump so I think air should be getting into it. Maybe I should get an airstone too?

I'll look into getting pondsticks and a pond plant in the future, but I don't want to waste the food I have bought already. So - do you reckon the one or two flakes twice a day would be about right?

I posted here recently about getting the tank ready and you gave advice then - thanks v. much! I've looked at the irishfishkeeping site - but t.b.h. its a bit too advanced for me. I just want to keep one goldfish! Having read everything now, I think it might actually be easier to get a big aquarium than to have a small tank.

If you'd like a larger tank and have all the accessories already- pop me a PM and I'll sort one for you (I've a spare one here that I'm not using that could do with a good home).

S.