How often should you feed fish and how much? my food container says as much as they can eat in 2 minutes 3 times a day, my local store says 1 flake a day. I've also been told the two minute thing, once every 2-3 days. PS it's a 3" goldfish!

I feed my fish a couple of flakes and a couple of pellets (soaked) each per day! The guy at the aquarium told me to feed my fish just one flake each day but my fish seemed to be unhappy and quite lifeless!

I think as you get to know your fish you can judge how much to feed them, although don't give in to their fishey hungry dance!!

I tend to feed once a day in the evening I usually give them a pinch of flake food crumbled into tiny peices.Bare in mind Goldies are eating machines they don't know when to stop.Mine constantly want more

I feed mine just once a day, always in the morning. They are usually waiting already! I give them presoaked pellets. It's so hard not to give them anything during the day, because they seem to always be begging. Little munchers....

The size of your goldfish will have something to do with how much you feed.
A 3-4 inch fish needs more than a once inch fish 1.
I feed 1-2 pinches of flake food and 3-4 soaked floating pellets by hand in the morning.
Usualy, thats what he can consume in 3-5 minuets
A pea in the middle of the day, deshelled & not salted.
And 1-2 pinches of flake food, with several small soaked sinking crumbly things.
Again, what he normaly can consume in 3-5 minuets.

I have wondered if I was overfeeding, but was told no.
(Someone step up and correct me if I'm wrong.)

I treat Glaze to live food, mosquito larve mostly, because its summer and the larve is free

Feed your goldfish as much as he can eat in 3-5 minuets 1-2 times a day and go from there.
If your water quality is hard to maintain, feed less. Ect.
There are alot of factors that can help guide you in feeding your fish.
Like Fishy Wishey said, in getting to know your fish you will learn how much to feed.
Goldfish are oportunistic eatters, and, making you believe that they are always hungry is practicaly their job.
They will eat what fits in their mouth, whenever it is available, because in the wild they don't know when their next meal is coming.

Cheers everyone for your input. Especially the fishy hungry dance coment very true.
Keeping the water corret was my concern as I've just lost one fish to finrot, but at the same time i don't want to starve the remainding fish to death! I thnk i'll go with feeding him once a day then but a bit more than 1 flake, do the 2 minute thingy 1 a day

To be honest for me it depends on how often I plan to change water that week. lol
Like when I was out of town I told hubby not to feed. Ive been buzy so when I got home did once a day. When Im less buzy I might do as much as three. (and do more water changes as needed at least twice that week.)
But once mine are done growing Ill lower the amount of times. They each get about 4 progold pellets each. On the days I feed more then once they get frozen foods, peas, ect....
I know that sounds crazy but it seems to work for me and my fish are doing swimmingly.

In a natural habitat.Fish need to be feed for 4-6times daily in a very small amount.A good size amount should be no larger than a penny.

If u dont have the time like that.You must feed ur fish at least twice a day.Once seem too little.. expept in winter,when the water temp is cold.