How to Feed Goldfish Peas

A varied diet full of nutritious foods is one of the best ways that you can prevent a lot of the common goldfish diseases for your new addition. Unfortunately, many new aquarists are falsely led to believe that just one little bottle of Goldfish Flakes is the end all solution to their pet's needs - this couldn't be further from the truth!

In fact, the majority of flakes and pellets that are routinely offered don't even contain a healthy mix of ingredients. In order to prevent nutritional deficiencies in your Goldies diet you will need to look a little further than the fish food aisle at your local pet store - the grocery store is a great place to start.

I personally really like offering whole organic peas to my Goldfish at least a couple times per week. Not only does it help prevent them getting bored, but it also ensures that they will not become constipated due to a poor diet that is low in fiber. Here's a brief walk through of the way that I like to prepare the peas for my fish.

Things You Will Need

1. Goldfish
2. Fresh or Frozen Organic Peas
3. Cup
4. Microwave

Step 1

Place peas in a microwavable safe container.

The first step that you will need to take is really going to depend on what kind of peas you chose to buy. I personally get the frozen bags of organic peas not only because of the convenience but because they last me a very long time. However, you are more than welcome to purchase fresh peas as well - if that's the route that you take just remember to rinse them off very well.

Assuming you have a bag of frozen peas, just divide out the portion that you would like to offer your goldfish into a cup. I like to use the small bathroom cups because they are the ideal size for what I am doing. You're free to use whatever type of container works best for you! Just remember to hold onto it because you'll be needing it again in Step 4.

Step 2

Microwave the peas until soft.

I normally end up microwaving them for around 15 or so seconds. All you are trying to do is get them soft enough for your Goldfish to eat. Alternatively, you can always blanch the peas on the stove if you would prefer to use a pot. I'm pretty lazy so the microwave works just fine for me!

Step 3

Once the peas are soft enough for you to easily squish them with little to no pressure, take and make a small cut in the shell of the pea. Now, gently squeeze until both sections of the pea pop out - don't squeeze too hard!

You may need to cut the sections up even smaller depending on the size of your own Goldfish. Mine have large enough mouths to eat the pea sections the way they are. However, when they were younger I had to add an additional step and cut each piece into two - sometimes they needed to be cut into three sections. Your goal is to make the pea small enough to fit entirely in your fish's mouth - there should not be anything left to hang out.

Alternatively, you can always mash the peas up if you don't feel like dealing with the hassle of cutting them. Once you mash them up just place them on the tip of a spoon or inside of a syringe. This works great for all ages of Goldfish, and it's also a super easy way to offer peas to sick Goldies that need the food placed directly in front of them.

Step 4

Offer the whole organic peas to your Goldfish!

Once you've sectioned up the peas into appropriately sized bites for your Goldfish you can toss them into the tank! Since I use whole pieces of the organic peas I just throw them back into my cup, scoop up some of the fish tank water, and then dump them down in front of my Goldfish.

If you chose to mash the peas up you will have to figure out a different way to get them to your fish. Like I mentioned in the previous step, a spoon or a syringe can work great for doing this.

I do not recommend using your fingers simply because there are kinds of contaminants that you could be potentially introducing into your fish tank set up. For instance, the oils from your skin are not a particularly healthy thing for your fish to come into contact with.

Some Final Words In Regards to Feeding Goldfish Whole Organic Peas

Peas are a great addition to your Goldfish's weekly regimen for so many reasons, and hopefully you'll decide that they are worth the small amount of time it takes to prepare them. One of the leading reasons that Goldfish swim upside down is because they become constipated from a diet full of very dry, fiber rich foods - even though many aquarists quickly dismiss the buoyancy issues as being related to "swim bladder disease."

So before you rush to the pet store trying to find some magical cure for your upside down Goldfish, give the peas a shot! They are not a harsh chemical, so the worst that you will do by offering them to your pet is quickly rule out the possibility that your Goldfish is suffering from constipation.

Tips & Warnings

Please keep in mind that you will need to make sure the peas sink once you offer them to your Goldfish - do not allow them to gasp around at the surface trying to get a hold of the food. This is especially important to remember if you are keeping any of the fancy breeds of Goldie out there that have a severely distorted egg-shaped body.