[cichfeeble]

I am not sure I am feeding my fish often enough. I've heard a lot of mixed advice online and in LFS. Someone at an LFS told me that I should feed the equivalent of 1 pellet per fish per day. I don't know if he was referring to "baby sinking pellets" like I have, or larger pellets (I didn't take his advice, because it seemed low).

The issue I have right now is that my females have sunken bellies. Part of this is that they're constantly holding, and part of it may be that I'm underfeeding.

I use both NLS and Dainichi baby sinking pellets. Right now, my feeding is one large pinch, as much as I can pinch between my fingers, once a day. There are about 18 fish per tank. Smallest is 2 inches, largest about 4.5 inches.

Any suggestions on the following:

1. How much & how often should I feed, when using the baby sinking pellets?
2. How can I make sure the more timid, weaker females get enough food, without overfeeding the aggressive males?
3. Should I be considering segregating my skinniest females, perhaps on a rotating basis, to a hospital tank to a) fatten then up, and b) spare them from the mating dance?

Thanks!

 

[GTZ]

Feed enough so that all of the food is consumed within 30 seconds to a minute. You'll need to add it all at once to ensure that some gets to everyone. Use a measuring spoon if it helps and time how long it takes, then adjust the spoon size.

 

[DJRansome]

It helps to spread the food across the entire surface of the tank very quickly. The aggressive ones can't be everywhere at once. :thumb:

 

[dielikemoviestars]

One pinch for 18 fish seems very minimal. I used to feed my guys 3x/day, probably 1-2tbsp per feeding, with 1 day of fasting per week. Fatten those puppies up.

 

[DJRansome]

Two tablespoons???

In my 75G hap/peacock tank stocked with about that many fish I feed 1/2 teaspoon (heaping) daily with one day/week fasting.

I put in 1/4 teaspoon across the tank...make the rounds of the other tanks while they eat, and then do another 1/4 teaspoon. The fish get most of the pellets before they hit the substrate. I don't have any skinny ones. 8)

 

[cichfeeble]

Thanks DJRansome - I was hoping someone would give "quantitative" instead of the "as much as they'll eat in 30 seconds" rule of thumb

In fact, earlier today I was telling a friend that I wish I knew the mg/kg recommendation.

I decided I'll do a slightly under 1/4 teaspoon 2x per day and see how that goes. I have the same number of fish as you, but mine are probably smaller. My "pinch" was less than 1/4 teaspoon, turns out, so I was feeding about half the amount.

 

[Number6]

cichfeeble

2 things,

one: your option 3 can be a wise move, so do consider it.

Two: be sure to watch the tank for a long period of time after feeding to make sure the females have actually eaten. I've had female fish that would take in such a mouthful of food it was astounding only to find that a short time later, they spat it all out to try to take in less and chew it only to find that the cloud of food was immediately eaten by the larger and well fed tank mates.