Bouncing Neons

Question
Hi!  I have a bi-orb for tropical fish and have a collection of Guppies and Neon Tetra.  I feed the fish maybe twice - 3 times a week a variety of flakes and live bait.  When I use the flakes the Neons start to swim in a downwards direction and almost bounce on their noses, this rights itself after a day or so and they seem to be ok, also the other fish do not have a problem.  It only seems to be when I feed them flakes, do you know why this may be?  I have checked the PH and nitrate levels which are normal.

Answer
Hey Alex,

Well, you're neons are displaying a typical gravel-picking habit in which they pick at whatever material is between the rocks. The fish are hungry! If you feed them once a day, they'll typically do this less often. I feed my fish twice daily, and usually i fill my palm about the size of a dime to a nickle in size (crushed flake). By feeding your fish more often, you'll find they wont be scavenging in the rocks as often! The reason they only do this with flake, is that guppies looooooove bloodworms, blackworms, and other things of that nature. Because their mouths are pointed upward, guppies are terrible at scavenging rocks, so they furiously eat while the flake falls. Try feeding them once a day, the size of a dime or so. If the habit continues, don't worry much. Just make sure that the food levels at the bottom of the tank stay at a minimum.