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I have a serious problem…


Rita
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Hello, my name is Rita… and I’m a chronic over-feeder. The first step to recovery is admitting I have a problem… but I may need a support group to keep me straight, who’s with me? 😂 (pic of one of my bettas for attention)

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i have the problem i but have adjusted my feeding habits with feeding

feeding less pinch’s  plus l feed every other day  instead of daily

I  found out my nitrates from tap is high and feeding every other day helps a bit to control the nitrates  ,,  and my fish are still happy and healthy 

Edited by Bev C
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I’m a chronic over feeder. I like to think of it as continuously conditioning for breeding and making sure my snails get plenty to eat because that sounds so much better 🤣

I massively over-filter and over maintenance to compensate. 
You have a Beautiful betta. 

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I don't think there is a fish keeper who hasn't done this at one time or another, so welcome to the group, you're not alone. I feed mine every other day. I tend to feed food that sinks to the bottom quickly, so I put it in little dishes at bottom of tank. This does mean that I have to get my full arm soaked to reach the bottom but the food stays put and I can remove the uneaten portion in the morning. Everything comes to the bottom to eat (I'm primarily stocked with endlers) because they are hungry. I do give pinches of nano foods at the top. 

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Ah, the ongoing internal battle we have with ourselves on a daily basis - “I think that’s too much, I should feed less.” … “Is that enough? Are the snails, shrimp and bottom feeders getting enough? Maybe I should feed more.”… “Nope, too much. Clearly my fish need to go on a diet, they are getting fat, I’ll feed less.” … “Oh my gosh, I think my fish are starving! I’ll have to feed more!”… “oh no, I’ve got algae everywhere! I should feed less!”… and back and forth, on and on… it never ends.

Edited by FLFishChik
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I’ve had good success keeping and using foods that are outside the ideal range for fast eaters. So in a tank with say guppies and cories, I feed a few big cichlid pellets, late in the day or just before lights out. The guppies get plenty to eat from the pieces that flake off as the cories break the pellets down. Or at the opposite end of the spectrum I’ll feed powder food to bigger fish. It slows their intake rate right down. I mean the # of bites per second can still be crazy high, but they can feed for 5-10 mins straight and not be bloated. 

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I have the same problem. I am definately the nurturer who just wants to love everyone to death....baking for the hubby and kids, treats for the dog and cats, and the tanks as well. I am currently setting my first neocaradina tank up and I'm pouring over feeding videos to control myself, lol! I know shrimp can be a bit more sensitive to overfeeding than fish/ snails.

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On 1/7/2023 at 6:32 AM, JJenna said:

This does mean that I have to get my full arm soaked to reach the bottom but the food stays put and I can remove the uneaten portion in the morning. 

You can use a tube to place the food directly where you want it.  Most fish stores carry replacement undergravel filter uplift tubes (or for whatever purpose you want) that you can cut to the length you need.  They come 36” long from tiny airline tubing size up to a couple inches in diameter (not everybody carries the biggest ones).  A 1” tube would be a pretty good size for this and pretty cheap.  Cut the length to about the same as the depth of your deepest tank and you can target the food right into the dish.  Then use a turkey baster or coral feeder to suction up left overs if needed.

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I bought a set of small measuring spoons for cheesemaking, and found that they are perfect for feeding my fish.  The spoons stop me from "over pinching" when feeding.  The spoons range from 1/64 of a teaspoon, to 1/4 teaspoon. Perfect for feeding nano fish and dry Repashy.  

 

Edited by PaigeIs
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When I was a kid I killed several guppies from over feeding, or so I thought. Finding out that actually it was the ammonia from the food decomposition at the bottom of the tank was kinda hard to contend with, cleaning the bowl could have saved my fish?! 
 

When we decided to get into fish I started researching because I didn’t want my kids 3,5 to have the same experience and disappointment I had.

 

I really think the most important thing to teach is the nitrogen cycle to people new to fish, rather than teaching add minimal gravel and make your aquarium perfectly clean I think it is 2009403D-6620-4B02-B1E4-75F4C3866EAF.jpeg.a448ee9f9da04fc71d69c8316c360f82.jpeghelpful to teach about beneficial bacteria etc. This is one thing aquarium co-op does so well!! It made this hobby so accessible!! Balancing fish with plants and filters and light means when our kids over feed I have resources to manage the ammonia spike, or the algae bloom, the nerite snails mopping up the glass and plants helps too. Also when we were buying our tetras for our little aquatic feature the sales guy reminded our kids how little these guys are and how just a couple little nano food particles would be enough for each of them! It was so cool that it was broken down throughout the whole process into little bits that made it so easy to set up a thriving system the first try! 

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On 1/8/2023 at 12:05 AM, Odd Duck said:

A 1” tube would be a pretty good size for this and pretty cheap

This is a great idea, thanks! Been wondering as well if my dog's pill plunger will work, it has a silicone tip that will hold a pinch of food. 

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As Cory said in a video, you will buy too much fish food. You will overfeed. I'm standing over here raising my hand - yep that's me. I'm so worried my Habrosus Corys and Otocinculus won't get enough to eat I've managed to raise some great snails. This thread is a reminder to ease up - no one starves in this house!

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Been reading some of the posts here and it seems like everyone who has ever had fish has had this problem. Even I admit that as a fish keeper with some experience that I have done it a time or to. That’s what these forums are for people make mistakes in this hobby and people learn. 

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On 1/8/2023 at 11:16 AM, Pepere said:

And Mister Rogers did us no favors growing up when we always saw him feeding the fish by shaking the food container like a salt shaker.   I watch Mister Rogers Neighborhood weekdays with my grandsons.  I never see any food in the water column.  The fish go to the surface out of habituation….

I do feel that as with most things in life if you use pop culture or media to make decisions or set your habits without further research you are going to be disappointed by where you end up. 

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This is such a good post for me to read through as I have the same addiction to overfeeding.  Having them group at the glass screaming at me how hungry they are....it's tough to ignore.  This is where my "big brain" is supposed to kick in reminding me that I am doing them harm.  So I've instituted a weekly schedule mixing types of food and adding a fasting day.  With any luck scraping algae off the sides will also remind  me that plants alone can't fend off my foolishness .  There.  I've gone public with this.  Good first step.

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On 1/8/2023 at 12:19 PM, Bev C said:

Even though i cut down to every other day  feeding and smaller pinches i will admit my  mystery snails, shrimp and bristolnose still gets feed very well still with the vegetables 🥗 🥕 🥦 

Same here - they got broccoli last night, zucchini the night before, and red pepper the night before that.  Starting to think they eat better than I do!

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