Advice on fish diet

[redright28]

Please let me know what you would change about my goldfishes’ diet (two Orandas, one Common, and one Black Moors)…

Feed three times daily, 1-2 minutes per feeding. I stop the clock once I don’t notice any significant pieces of food left. The fish will continue to search the substrate looking for smaller pieces of food that broke up during feeding. My Black Moors and large Oranda will spend up to 90 minutes slurping the surface after a feeding. I was concerned about this, since this only began recently after changing their diet, but I read that they are probably slurping at the surface looking for nutrients from the food. This makes sense, since they do not looking like they are in distress.

I know AAP is not a big fan of NLS Goldfish pellets, but there aren’t many food options for my fishes’ needs. I don’t use small pellets, as they have a tendency to get lost under the substrate, and I’d like to limit flakes due to their tendency to create more digestive issues. I tried Hikari Brine Shrimp, but I can’t get this to sink without breaking apart and gathering at the surface. Please offer additional food recommendations where needed.



Sunday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

NLS Goldfish w/peas



Monday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

Aqueon Shrimp w/peas



Tuesday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

NLS Goldfish w/peas



Wednesday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

AAP Herbivore



Thursday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

NLS Goldfish w/peas



Friday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

Aqueon Shrimp w/peas



Saturday

AAP Herbivore

Spirulina 20

AAP Herbivore



Thanks,

[Carl]

what I woudl definitely stay away from with goldfish is shrimp. Think feeding a steak to a horse.

As for flakes, I extensively tested Spirulina 20 with goldfish many years back and had no issues. The main point with goldfish is to get the food to sink.
The goldfish will then root around looking for any bits of this flake (as well as the newer AAP crumbles).
This is very natural behavior for grazing fish such as Goldfish.
The only caution is that sometimes goldfish will get gravel stuck in their mouths, so make sure to use substrate goldfish cannot get stuck in their mouths (often I used bare bottom tanks with goldfish)

As for a better substitute over NLS or shrimp would be an old standby that I used for years, Hikari Gold along with Sanyu Goldfish Pellets

While their energy score is not perfect, nor is the fiber amounts, these are well digested and has optimized protein levels

www.americanaquariumproducts.com/HikariFoods.html#goldfish
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/SanyuGoldfishandKoiFood.html

Carl

[devonjohnsgard]

I would think they are grazing more, because the AAP food has less energy and more fiber, so they have food constantly moving through them, instead of being stored/slowing moving through them.

You're feeding schedule looks good to me... Do agree they don't need shrimp, since their herbivores.

Feeding a mix of lower energy food, then a little bit of higher energy food is fine. It is a bigger adjustment to go from high energy food to low energy food.

[redright28]

Thank you, both. I thought I read in an AAP article(s)that shrimp (Aqueon Shrimp), especially brine shrimp, was beneficial to a goldfishes' digestive track. I'll stop feeding them the shrimp, but now I am only left with AAP Herbivore, Spirulina 20 and NLS (which I'd like to replace based on your feedback).

I have the Hikari Gold (baby pellets), but the pellets are too small and have a tendency to get lost under the substrate. I noticed my substrate was noticeably dirtier than normal when using it. Do they offer a larger pellet size?

I will try the Sanyu pellets. I notice they offer a small and medium sized pellet. Is the medium sized pellet similar in size to NLS goldfish (5mm pellets)?

Thanks,
Greg

[devonjohnsgard]

The substrate is dirtier even with the long grazing times? I don't know if the pellet size will make a difference?

[Carl]

Generally for goldfish i prefer the smaller pellet, for either the Hikari or Sanyu.

As for shrimp, i definitely recommend Brine Shrimp as a supplemental part of a goldfish's diet as this helps with digestion. However Brine Shrimp are are otherwise relatively empty nutrition, unlike regular shrimp with are very high in protein and energy

The Fish Nutrition Article has a separate section for Brine shrimp from Shrimp & Krill

www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#shrimp

QUOTE:
BRINE SHRIMP:

Just over a centimeter in size, the adult brine shrimp (Artemia) is a common food source for fish. They can be purchased at many Pet Stores as adults, Freeze dried or even eggs.
The eggs look like a powdery brown substance but in reality the substance is thousands of cysts—eggs surrounded by protective cases. When added to water, these cysts will hatch into shrimp nauplii within a few hours.

As a food source brine shrimp are relatively limited (mostly because of their high water content). They are a good source of carotene for color and act as a natural laxative in fish digestive systems. The proteins they do supply are of high quality. Depending on the source they also can supply vegetable matter due to their consumption of algae.
As I noted, Brine Shrimp have a natural laxative ability and along with shelled peas makes for an excellent laxative for constipated fish.
Even better would be to combine a high content Spirulina Flake such as Spirulina 20 and make a thick soup and soak some frozen or even FD Brine Shrimp (frozen or live is slightly better) for a natural immune boosting/laxative that is excellent for Bettas, goldfish, etc.
Hikari also makes a Spirulina enhanced FD Brine Shrimp product that is excellent as well.

Carl

[redright28]

Thanks, Carl. I ordered the Sanyu medium pellet and Aqueon Goldfish pellet. This should provide a good rotation worth of food.

[devonjohnsgard]

If you're feeding the AAP food, I wouldn't use brine as well. The AAP is high fiber, so extra digestive aid is not really required.

[redright28]

Thanks, should I refrain from feeding peas too? I've been cutting their NLS with one pea cut into small pieces.

[Carl]

Oct 12, 2017 11:46:27 GMT -5 devonjohnsgard said:

If you're feeding the AAP food, I wouldn't use brine as well. The AAP is high fiber, so extra digestive aid is not really required.

These do both have similar digestive effects, but work differently.
One via roughage and the other by moving liquids (thinking softening of stools)
So while the Clay Neighbor's Custom is likely all you would need, the addition of occasional brine shrimp certainly would not hurt and may even boost the cleansing effect. An analogy is with Redox, while adding mineral Cations helps maintain reduction properties and rH numbers, having a UV Sterilizer works in conjuction to further improve the Redox balance by virtue of direct anti-oxidation properties

Carl