Over-feeding + "Large Pellet" food

[Mercfh]

So I def. overfeed my tank, I think it contributes to a lot of my algae problems (and wastefulness) but it's so hard to determine how much since "as much as they eat in 5 mins" or w/e is kinda pointless when my bottom feeders take awhile to go find it (Pleco's/Catfish).

Like some examples:

1. I have 3 Pleco's (2 BN 's and a Clown) and technically a whiptail catfish that sorta eats the same stuff. Can they share a wafer (like an algae wafer, I rotate between 4 brands) or should I plop one in for each (They don't seem to fight)
2. Same thing but for my Raphael's. They eat at night but are both super fat so they are eating something. But I have no idea how much to feed them since they eat WAY later after I go to sleep.
3. For general fish like cories it's hard to tell too. I have 10 bronze ones and like sometimes they take awhile to eat so I don't know how much.

I am just really lost on how much to feed. I KNOW im feeding too much but just am having a hard time figuring out amounts. I feed every other day to sorta limit "waste" but always drop in 1 algae wafer at night for any scavengers regardless of the day. I also do protein rich on weekends (blood worms/shrimp for a treat). 1 cube typically feels like enough for my 55 gallon (but maybe I should do 2 cubes?)

[Tony s]

If it’s gone in an hour or so it should be good. I have the same problem. How much is too much. I generally break the wafers into pieces so they can have their own piece. Without adding too much extra feed.  They also make mini pellets that work 

[TOtrees]

I think its important to acknowledge just how flexible fish are in terms of diet quantity. Being cold-blooded their caloric or food requirement for baseline health is very low. Granted there will still be a difference bw grazers and gorgers, but my point is that if you mix things up you can cover all your fish's needs over time, and it doesn't have to be daily. To be clear, this is a maintenance approach, not a conditioning or fry-raising approach.

If you are feeding fish that are nocturnal, and that's all that's in the tank, how long that food sits will vary greatly depending on what time of day you feed. If you have a mix of fish, you can use that to your advantage. Basic example would be tetras and cories. If you feed flake food during the day, yes the tetras will get most of that, but some bits will persist and the cories will get some when they're (more) active at night. If you feed pellets at night, the cories will get most of it and the tetras might get some leavings, or bits that get chewed off and float around. So with just those two types of fish, if you vary between two types of food (flakes and pellets), and two feeding time options, you can choose and vary which fish you're favoring. Doesn't mean the less favored fish gets nothing, just means they get less, or a bit. Which if you're overfeeding at other times is not a bad thing. 

For myself, I use this strategy often and intentionally. I feed the large bug bite pellets late in the day, and I know my cories will have a good nom after I leave the room. And the guppies in the tank will get plenty, but not the majority (bc the food is in big pellets). Other days I feed flake on the top, and the guppies horse that down, and the cories get a snack on the leavings. 

Another option is to find foods that break down slowly, for the grazers. The best ones I've found for this are the Xtreme Scraper pellets. Another good option for bns and other grazers is canned green beans. Bns and other vegetarian and xylivores cats do great on these, but carnivores and omnivores tend to pass them over, especially if there is other food in the tank. Canned beans tend to foul the water less than protein based fish food, if they sit in the water for a time.  

Just some food for thought. LOL

[MattyM]

You can try some Repashy food too - the Bottom Scratcher was a hit for my cories, and goes right to the bottom. 

[Whitecloud09]

On 8/7/2024 at 5:13 PM, MattyM said:

You can try some Repashy food too - the Bottom Scratcher was a hit for my cories, and goes right to the bottom. 

I second this. Definitely a good one for my Cory catfish and other bottom dwellers

[AllFishNoBrakes]

@TOtrees nailed it, and said it very well. 
 

I was more curious of, how do you KNOW you’re overfeeding? That’s not me trying to be a jerk, that’s me being curious. I’ve always looked at my tanks as “if someone is going hungry, that’s not on me. There is definitely plenty of food available” yet my tanks are pretty balanced and dialed in. I feel like I “feed heavy” but years of the tank being balanced and testing confirming that things are where they’ve always been makes me feel like I’m not overfeeding. Are your nitrates super high? Is it a crazy outbreak of algae?

My thought is that maybe there is something you can do to help limit or control the algae, especially if it’s not coming from the food. 

Edited August 8 by AllFishNoBrakes

[Mercfh]

On 8/7/2024 at 8:08 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

@TOtrees nailed it, and said it very well. 
 

I was more curious of, how do you KNOW you’re overfeeding? That’s not me trying to be a jerk, that’s me being curious. I’ve always looked at my tanks as “if someone is going hungry, that’s not on me. There is definitely plenty of food available” yet my tanks are pretty balanced and dialed in. I feel like I “feed heavy” but years of the tank being balanced and testing confirming that things are where they’ve always been makes me feel like I’m not overfeeding. Are your nitrates super high? Is it a crazy outbreak of algae?

My thought is that maybe there is something you can do to help limit or control the algae, especially if it’s not coming from the food. 

I guess it's probably just from the Algae, and i'll occasionally just see pieces of leftover food. In general it's more of a "feel" thing. Like I feel like I just put wayy too much food in.

[Pepere]

On 8/7/2024 at 9:20 PM, Mercfh said:

general it's more of a "feel" thing. Like I feel like I just put wayy too much food in.

Well put in much less food and watch them for a few weeks.  
 

does it look like they are getting sunken bellies?  Increase feedings a bit…

I feed mine a lot less than I used to.

 

once a day feeding. Just a small amount of flakes some times.  Other times hatched baby brine shrimp, every few days half a freeze dried tubifex worm block.  Today I fed the hal block of tubifex worms and my Serpae Tetras were attacking it like they were Piranah… I might feed them a bit more for a bit…. Some days I feed nothing…. It varies …

[TOtrees]

On 8/7/2024 at 8:08 PM, AllFishNoBrakes said:

I was more curious of, how do you KNOW you’re overfeeding?

This is a solid question. Unfortunately there is no single answer. Also the best of the many many answers rely on experience (not a ton, just more than minimum/new). 

I'll offer this opinion: the classic wisdom of feed what they can eat in 2 mins or 5 mins or 30 seconds or whatever is not the start and end of what you need to know. I've known many a guppy who, if you feed a particular bite size, will overeat in the time it takes to stuff 3 bites in its mouth. Eg if a large piece of flake floats by, they'll eat the whole thing. [visions of Homer in hell with the donut machine]. How many of you have fed frozen bloodworms, and you see a fish swimming around with one sticking out of its mouth a few mins later? Do that once in a blue moon, not an issue. Do it 1-2 times every week or more, you're asking for problems. Who's seen "chesty" guppies? Classic overfeeding. And it spirals out of control, bc they eat such large portions they are literally expanding or distending their stomach and abdominal cavity, so they're able to eat more food at any one feeding. I put those fish on powder food, to make them work for it. 

Here's my top signs of overfeeding: 

1. [for floating food] 25% or more of the food you just fed remains floating on the surface or in the water column after the initial feeding frenzy. [bear in mind i'm estimating/picking a percent here, it's the principle that's important]

2. Visible uneaten food days after it was added (moldy food bits floating on surface, or on floor/substrate). This will be more common with tanks that have very few fish.

3. Snail population explosion.

4. I'm including algae with a BIG caveat, bc lots of things can cause algae to boom, not just overfeeding. Eg I'd be surprised if an overfed tank has an algae explosion WITHOUT one or more of the other signs of overfeeding.