I was at Wally World last week, I think it was, and got to flipping through a magazine for koi and goldfish. Most of it, I already knew [or knew I could get really solid advice from the fish board folks here if I needed it in the future]. What got my attention, though was the section on diet.

It had a lot of basic info, like natural color enhancing foods [which I will not feed my redcap, as he looks so much better white, as opposed to pale yellow], that sort of thing. But it also talked about good sources of fiber for fish... peas, yes, but also, like plain cheerios and oatmeal.

What's up with that? I know fish can't have dairy, and I thought in general, starches like that weren't good for them either. Or are plain cheerios and oatmeal good for fiber, and allowable as the occasional treat? [Not that I even have a clue how you would feed a fish oatmeal.]

Thanks,
Mav

LOL you think the book would say how to feed it oatmeal...
cheerios are a bit easier to figure out.

Interesting! I hope someone here knows because I have oatmeal in the house

Oatmeal...
Maybe you cook it and then let it get really sticky and smush on the side of tank, like tubifex worm cubes. I don't know though, thats the only thing I could think of

ugh wouldn't that be REALLY messy?

*imagines how cloudy the water would get then shudders

I fed my goldfish uncooked oatmeal. They liked it!

I'll have to try cheerios, though.

Ok uncooked it is... would for sure be less messy lol

Yes, I can't even imagine cooked oatmeal fed to goldfish. I cook my oatmeal with lots of extra water. So its like soup. and I'm serious.

lol ah see I love mine chewy. I put in half and cook it barely then add a table spoon or 2 of raw. mix it up and chew away.

mMmMmMm

hi,

Do you think cheerios are safe for goldies as its a processed cereal?
It is produced for our tastebuds and although better than alot of cereals it still has added sugar, salt and colourings.

Personally I wouldn't give cheerios for that reason.

I don't eat anything processed , with sugar, with flour, etc. Only fresh things. BECAUSE of all the chemicals, crap, etc. added in that are un necessary other than to preserve shelf life and addict us. I am a bit of a food snob.

So why would I give it to my little fishie.

Actually, a lot of experienced koi keepers feed their koi cheerios as a easy digestable choice of food.
I would be a little bit worried about feeding it to goldfish - there is a big difference between the diet and body of a koi, compared to a goldfish. Koi, and pond fish in general, nibble all day on all kinds of food - insects falling into the pond, a thick carpet of algae that grows on the wall. Their digestive system is never overloaded with just one kind of food only a couple of times a day.
With goldfish in a tank, they usually only eat when we feed them - once or twice a day. Their digestive system has to deal not only with a bigger load at certain times of day in comparison with lots of small meals all day long like the koi, they also have the obstacle of having a complete different body shape. A tighter space for their intestines, for one.
I would say if you feed your goldies 2-4 very small meals with loads of different foods, then cheerios a couple of times finely broken up and maybe a little soaked are perfectly fine.

haha i saw cheerios in the title and went what the.... They are the little red sausage thingys here Then i remembered you had a cereal called cherrios What a vision hehe!

Veges have fibre, not sure which ones have more. Maybe you could add some metamucil to some gel food Heh sorry i'm not much help, the title caught me off guard! I'm sure most of the fibrous foods we consume wouldn't be suitable for fish (e.g wholegrains etc)

Hmm..I dunno....

I think I'll stick with veggies

I never thought about oatmeal....maybe I shoudl try that...I'm not feeling the cheerios...I wonder if ground oaks are any good...