The following post may ruffle a few feathers, but I speak from experience after decades of being a tropical fish hobbyist, as well as being a former manager at a pet store and an aquarium design and maintenance business, and then running my own aquarium design business as well for a while. This was a few decades ago.
The facts are these... (Boy, is this guy bold!)
Pet store and LFS owners, managers and employees would be very grateful if you were to spend your hard-earned cash buying fish food all the time -- particularly expensive brands such as Hikari pellets -- which is what I feed my Malawi cichlids.
But, if the truth be told, as a few posters here have noted, your fish do
not need to be fed every single day, and much less several times a day.
We tropical fish hobbyists are so indoctrinated by long-held traditions which have become anchored in the tropical fish business: Surely you must feed your fish several times a day. Surely you must change your filter pads and buy new ones every single week. Surely you must do this, and surely you must do that.
But tell me; who is profiting most from all of this? Your fish, or business interests?
The truth is, I now feed my fish once every other day, and sometimes even once every four days. Not only does it result in the tank staying cleaner, and the water purer, but it also ensures that they have a good appetite when I do feed them.
My fish have not suffered in the least as a result of this practice. I started out with five mbunas in April of 2009, and now have dozens in the tank, and the females are still breeding all the time, the males are still posturing all the time and digging their mating pits, the fish are still displaying brilliant blue colors, etc.
So that is my take on the feeding situation. I feed once every three or four days using standard Hikari mini pellets, and Hikari Gold -- the red pellets -- when I have them on hand. I stock up for months at a time.
I hope this helps someone; and I am not looking to debate. I am just sharing my personal experiences.
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