What’s for dinner?

[Sparky]

As I’m new to the goldfish game but know how picky my other fish are, what are you feeding your gold friends? I know what I have been feeding mine isn’t the best and I’d like to step up their diet for good health.

 

[addy1]

They either get nothing or some food I bought from the fish hatchery. Usually feed them very little.

 

[bagsmom]

I have some mini pellets I bought when they were small - last year. My pond is heavily planted and there is plenty in there for them to eat. I just give them a small amount once a week to keep them social. It's really fun watching them clean the algae off of everything. Seeing them jump up to get a bug is really exciting! I had one going after some little bug critters on the side of a rock - just above the water level. The fish was coming up and out of the water - vertically - to clean them off. It's fun to feed them -- but even more fun to watch them thriving in a natural (natural-ish) setting!

 

[Sparky]

I don’t believe my setup will ever establish enough to support much more than maybe small gups. It will soon enough start getting awful chilly in the overnights. Then the great shift indoors. So, this is a glorified outdoor aquarium with hungry mouths. A living water feature if you will. I know some folks that use a powder that mixes into cubes. These fish are on Tetra Koi and I’m sure there’s far better diet choices out there.

 

[sissy]

black water food

 

[bagsmom]

Check out Webb's Water Gardens online. The address is webbsonline.com.
I got the microbe lift summer pellets. The fish all seem to enjoy! I have heard of others giving their fish chopped egg and stuff like that. But that might be just for koi.

 

[ShawnInfirmity]

I feed my goldfish and Cichlids Omega One food and they seem to enjoy it quite a lot.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009POWM8K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[Somethin' Fishy]

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help as far as offering up nutritional information from one food to another, or knowing what's best for your cooler weather conditions. There's probably someone on here with a better background on that....

But, here's what I throw at 'em: Since the fish in our little pond are all small (comets and shubunkins - no more than 2.75" in body length), I've been feeding them Tetrafin goldfish flakes because they have a hard time with pellets at their size. I only feed them a little of it every few days, really just for our entertainment. The rest of the time they're grazing the stones/liner, and hunting for bug larva and frog's eggs. We have a couple larger fish in the big pond, around 5"-6" that also get the flakes, but since I wanted to eventually switch over to pellets for when everyone is sizeable, I went with Drs. Foster & Smith Koi and Goldfish Staple Diet for Summer, and their Spring and Fall formula for the cooler weather, as those shoulder seasons are a bit longer for us in Tennessee (and perhaps an option in your weather?). The pellets are pretty hard, and still somewhat large, so I've busted some of them up to feed the smaller fish. They all really go for it, but still have a time with the hard bits. I think I'll start soaking some pellets in a glass of pond water to soften them a bit before tossing it in, and I think that will help. These pellets are a floating food, even when they do get soft. There may be a debate about floating vs. sinking foods, for various reasons, but I personally prefer floating foods. A) It brings the fish to the surface not only so we can enjoy looking at them, but it also allows me to get a real good look at them to determine if they are in good health. (Inspecting for ick, fungus, raised scales, blood streaks, injuries, etc.) B) I am assured that what little I feed is all getting eaten at the time of that feeding.

If anything, Drs. F & S has an almost mind boggling selection of foods, with label information published, so it is easier to research different brands. The prices are reasonable too, and there's almost always some sort of free shipping deal going on.

Hope this helps @Sparky

 

[Sparky]

Thanks folks. We will be doing some sampling. I mean they will. Me, not so much.

 

[Tara]

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help as far as offering up nutritional information from one food to another, or knowing what's best for your cooler weather conditions. There's probably someone on here with a better background on that....

But, here's what I throw at 'em: Since the fish in our little pond are all small (comets and shubunkins - no more than 2.75" in body length), I've been feeding them Tetrafin goldfish flakes because they have a hard time with pellets at their size. I only feed them a little of it every few days, really just for our entertainment. The rest of the time they're grazing the stones/liner, and hunting for bug larva and frog's eggs. We have a couple larger fish in the big pond, around 5"-6" that also get the flakes, but since I wanted to eventually switch over to pellets for when everyone is sizeable, I went with Drs. Foster & Smith Koi and Goldfish Staple Diet for Summer, and their Spring and Fall formula for the cooler weather, as those shoulder seasons are a bit longer for us in Tennessee (and perhaps an option in your weather?). The pellets are pretty hard, and still somewhat large, so I've busted some of them up to feed the smaller fish. They all really go for it, but still have a time with the hard bits. I think I'll start soaking some pellets in a glass of pond water to soften them a bit before tossing it in, and I think that will help. These pellets are a floating food, even when they do get soft. There may be a debate about floating vs. sinking foods, for various reasons, but I personally prefer floating foods. A) It brings the fish to the surface not only so we can enjoy looking at them, but it also allows me to get a real good look at them to determine if they are in good health. (Inspecting for ick, fungus, raised scales, blood streaks, injuries, etc.) B) I am assured that what little I feed is all getting eaten at the time of that feeding.

If anything, Drs. F & S has an almost mind boggling selection of foods, with label information published, so it is easier to research different brands. The prices are reasonable too, and there's almost always some sort of free shipping deal going on.

Hope this helps @Sparky

I'm afraid I'm not going to be much help as far as offering up nutritional information from one food to another, or knowing what's best for your cooler weather conditions. There's probably someone on here with a better background on that....

But, here's what I throw at 'em: Since the fish in our little pond are all small (comets and shubunkins - no more than 2.75" in body length), I've been feeding them Tetrafin goldfish flakes because they have a hard time with pellets at their size. I only feed them a little of it every few days, really just for our entertainment. The rest of the time they're grazing the stones/liner, and hunting for bug larva and frog's eggs. We have a couple larger fish in the big pond, around 5"-6" that also get the flakes, but since I wanted to eventually switch over to pellets for when everyone is sizeable, I went with Drs. Foster & Smith Koi and Goldfish Staple Diet for Summer, and their Spring and Fall formula for the cooler weather, as those shoulder seasons are a bit longer for us in Tennessee (and perhaps an option in your weather?). The pellets are pretty hard, and still somewhat large, so I've busted some of them up to feed the smaller fish. They all really go for it, but still have a time with the hard bits. I think I'll start soaking some pellets in a glass of pond water to soften them a bit before tossing it in, and I think that will help. These pellets are a floating food, even when they do get soft. There may be a debate about floating vs. sinking foods, for various reasons, but I personally prefer floating foods. A) It brings the fish to the surface not only so we can enjoy looking at them, but it also allows me to get a real good look at them to determine if they are in good health. (Inspecting for ick, fungus, raised scales, blood streaks, injuries, etc.) B) I am assured that what little I feed is all getting eaten at the time of that feeding.

If anything, Drs. F & S has an almost mind boggling selection of foods, with label information published, so it is easier to research different brands. The prices are reasonable too, and there's almost always some sort of free shipping deal going on.

Hope this helps @Sparky

I will be looking at food on Drs. F and S.

 

[Panzer13]

I have goldfish only. I started with tetra pond flakes. Now I also feed them small pellets, as they are getting larger. I try to find food with a high protein content, as their is plenty of algae to nibble on in the pond.
I have tried feeding the lettuce and other treats but they are not interested in those at all.
I feed mine twice a day, they are fat little things. But their only five of them, and between the bog and a ton of plants and filtration the water quality is great.

 

[sissy]

well thank goodness you corrected that ,we don't think you could or would want to eat fish food every day

 

[Lisak1]

Through circumstances beyond our control (haha! Home remodeling - just don't!) we found ourselves unable to get to our supply of fish food in the garage so we headed to the local pond store for some "in the meantime" food. They sold us food from Kloubec Koi Farm - not cheap by any means - but our fish LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. They've always been enthusiastic eaters, but this stuff has them practically climbing out of the pond. We noticed right away that it's more oily than our regular food and has a much stronger odor. Whatever is in this stuff, they sure enjoy it! They call it medium pellets, but they are tiny compared to our usual food - like BB sized.

 

[Panzer13]

Through circumstances beyond our control (haha! Home remodeling - just don't!) we found ourselves unable to get to our supply of fish food in the garage so we headed to the local pond store for some "in the meantime" food. They sold us food from Kloubec Koi Farm - not cheap by any means - but our fish LOVE it. LOVE LOVE LOVE it. They've always been enthusiastic eaters, but this stuff has them practically climbing out of the pond. We noticed right away that it's more oily than our regular food and has a much stronger odor. Whatever is in this stuff, they sure enjoy it! They call it medium pellets, but they are tiny compared to our usual food - like BB sized.

The oil is most likely giving the food a higher fat content. You are feeding them deep fry. Lets be honest who doesn't like a good deep fried something?

 

[Lisak1]

You've got a good point there! I can't wait to see how they react when we switch back to our regular food - we may have a revolt on our hands!