Pink Poogle Toy Forum

I just recently got two goldfish (pom pom goldfish and a red capped oranda), and I was wondering if anyone knew how much I should be feeding them.
I've looked online and asked people, but I've gotten mixed responses. I've heard once a day from some places, and twice from others. Some say a pinch of food, while others say that's too much.

Does anyone know how much and how often I should be feeding them?

Also I'm worried about them getting along. I was told at the store that they would get along fine. But I've found that the Pompom seems to be nipping at the Oranda. I don't know if this is because he gets in his way at times, or if he is picking on the smaller fish. He only does this sometimes when the Oranda gets close. Not all the time. Any comment or advice?

It depends on how large the fish are and what kind of food it is. I'd go with what it says in the fish food container, unless it's incredibly vague or seems way off the mark.

I was always told that you're supposed to feed twice a day. They should be able to eat everything you feed them within five minutes. If you get a lot of food on the bottom of the tank, you're feeding them too much. If they eat everything a little too fast, you can try feeding them more.

As for the bully fish, you could try putting them in separate tanks. My neighbor has had some success with rearranging the plants and stuff in the tank so they aren't as territorial. Beyond that, I don't know much you can do.

I hope that helped.

When we had fish, we always fed them once a day- in the morning. But we only had one at a time. So my guess would be twice a day, for you. You should ask Sandra, I'm pretty sure she's had goldfish before.

Yeah, like pudding said. Fish can be fine on one feeding a day though. I feed mine twice a day though, just for routine, because my cats eat twice a day, so it helps the routine by being the same. But I only feed them as much as they can eat in about 3 minutes each time then.

(Yes, i've had Goldfish, and you should call me ahoteinrun or Inrun please on the forum. Most people havn't a clue who "sandra" is)

How big is your tank? Goldfish can get very large and despite what people at pet stores may say, they will not grow to the size of the tank they're put in, and will grow beyond it. For three goldfish, to be honest, at least a 10 gallon tank is recomended if you want them to live for more then a couple years, and you should probably be willing to upgrade that at some point in time.
The other reason I can think of that your pom may be nipping at your Oranda is that your oranda may not be as healthy. How does it's fins look? Are they really upright and strait or are they kinda lopsided. Are there any little whie flecks on his fins or on his body? Or any of those flecks on the other fish?
Feeding questions have already been answered. It's up to you really, but what Pudding said should go. Fish in the wild eat all the time, but they do get full, so anything beyond that is a waste and can create an unhealthy environment in the tank.
Frankly, I was bad. I'd always overfeed my goldfish. *cringe* but they still lived for 10 years, and were rather large and rather fat. Two died of cancer and the last old one I had just died (he was a moor, I loved him, his name was Cobalt. *sniffle*)

The oranda seems to be healthy. His fins are upright and there are no spots on him. Although I've been noticing that my pompoms fins are going black at the tips (they had a bit of black when i got him, but now it seems as though there is a bit more now) and he seems to have gotten two darker spots on his back fin that I didn't notice before.

the black tipping is caused by nitrate poisoning, and it means you should do a water change. You didn't answer how big your tank is. Do you have a filter on it? What kind of water are you using? Are you putting in drops to avoid chlorine poisoning?

My tank is a 1.66 Gallon tank (I was told that 2 goldfish would be good in this size tank by the pet store). It has an under gravel filteration system.
I used tap water, and added dechloination drops as per instructions on the label.

The black tip that was on the tip of his back fin, seems to be a tiny bit of red now. :/

I hate to tell you this, but the petstore lied. And they often do to sell things. 1.66 gallons is way too small for 2 goldfish. There aren't many fish you can keep happily in a tank that small. One goldfish alone should have 2 gallons of water space for itself when it's an inch - an inch and a half long.

I'll have to echo what Inrun said Im afraid. There is a lot of debate on exactly how much space needed per fish per species, but I think you would be hard put to find anyone who isnt trying to sell you something that would disagree when I tell you that your tank is far far too small, mate.

And not just for the fish to move, but also for good water chemistry. The more water a tank contains, the more stable its water will be. Less water means that the levels of dangerous chemicals in the water such as ammonia and nitrates will fluctuate very quickly. As will the waters pH. Fast changes of water chemistry are actually far more dangerous for fish than slow but large changes.

I would advise at least a 10 gallon aquarium, and say to change 1/3 of the tanks water every 2 weeks.

You might also consider buying a different filter. Undergravel filters are, to be quite frank, terrible. They work ( quite badly in most cases ) by pulling dirt through the tanks gravel and holding it under the bed. This isnt a very good idea unless you have a good system to them remove it. Most people dont, and its not easy anyway. A better options would be a small cansiter filter, or even a sponge filter running on a small airpump. Both are reasonably inexpensive options, and will save you time, money, and possibly anguish in the long run.

As for feeding, the number 1 killer of fish by new keepers ( after stress ), is over-feeding. Once a day is fine, and so is twice a day. Even 3 times a day. The point is that in all 3 cases, the total amount of food should be the same. If you want to give them a decent feed in the morning and leave it at that then fine. This is what I do with all of my fish. You can split the ration into halves and feed them morning and evening if you wish, and some people believe this is a more natural way of doing so.

As for the amount, try not to go on the tubs directions. Ive seen some that advise the buyer to feed 5 times a day. These people just want you to use the product as quickly as possible and buy more. Sadly, as you will probably now notice with your tank and filter, this sort of attitude isnt uncommon when it comes to fishkeeping equipment, food and even fish.

The best way is to feed slowly a few flakes at a time unstill they dont want to eat any more. Some fish are just greedy ( Goldfish are famously so ), so use your judgment.

Thinks thats about it. Ive been keeping fish of all shapes, species and sizes for quite a few years now, and Im obviously not the only one on PPT. Dont worry, mate. We'll help you keep your friends swimming