feeding fish

Question
Hi there Chris!

I have a question on how much I should be feeding my gold fish. I have a 20 gallon tank, with a small oranda, a small black moor, and one medium black moor. I am currently feeding them twice a day (and vegies twice a week). Is that too much, or too little food for them? It seems like they are always looking at the bottom for more food. Also, I have noticed that my larger black moor looks like he is starting to get holes in his fins. My smaller black moor has been picking on his belly for the past day (so I tried feeding them more because I thought it was beacuse they were still hungry). His color is not as black as it used to be, but he is still eating and swimming around. If you have any advice I'd really appreciate it. Thank you so much for your time!

Sincerely,
DeAnna

Answer
Hi DeAnna;

The general rule of thumb for feeding flakes, pellets or any other packed food is to give the fish 5 minutes of actual eating time per day. If you prefer feeding twice a day, make sure all the food is consumed in two to three minutes each time. If you feed once per day, make sure all the food is consumed in 5 minutes or less. Veggies can be left in for hours at a time because they don't spoil like commercially-made packaged foods do. Goldfish are natural-born gluttons and will pick around to get every speck of food, and then some. They don't need to be fed as much as they beg for or seem to want. It isn't good for them. That's why veggies are so important. Commercially prepared foods have a high protein content. Goldfish are omnivores and need more fiber.

Your larger black-moor could be a female and the other is a male. He will harrass her until they either spawn or she dies from the stress. She is not in good enough condition right now to spawn so it might be good to put in an aquarium divider so she can recover.

Once she recovers, add some bunches of live plants. Goldfish females have to squeeze through them with the male following in order to expel her eggs. It's called a "spawning run". The tank is actually pretty small for them to get a good "run" at the plants, but it may work anyway. If she starts to get stressed or wounded again, separate her. Make plenty of water changes so she will heal and her immune system will be boosted and help her recover. It would be good to replace 25% of the water twice a week.

I hope things go well.....

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins