I don't have tropical fish anymore, but I have lots of good tropical food left over (not expired.) Can I sometimes (like once or twice a week) feed it to my goldfish? Thanks.

i sometimes feed my goldfish tropical food that i have for my betta (hikari micro pellets) and some flakes that i used to feed my white clouds. i cant see any harm in it really, so long as it's only occassionaly. It's no good for their main diet as it doesnt have the right nutritional components that goldies need, but it's nice to give them some variety, and it's better than just throwing it away.

I wouldn't do it more than once a week, especially if flakes. GF really need sinking food so as not to gulp air when they pig out. And, as already stated, the nutritional balance is not ideal. But, for a change of pace, I would think you'd have no issues.

Dave

Discounting the specialized foods with an exclusive ingredient, most fish food are roughly the same. I'm left scratching my head when I look at the different bottles at the pet store. They're all roughly the same ingredients and in the same percentages. Most have between 30 to 45% protein. Fat, Ash and other ingredients are also roughly the same. I really don't see the harm. It's true that some goldfish foods contain coloring elements to help with Goldfish color, but I've seen the same ingredients used in Cichlid food as well. Ack, who knows. Probably all just a marketing scam.

You may want to just soak the flakes in a bit of tank water so your fish aren't sucking in air when they eat them.

Immediately after I drop the flakes in, I swirl them around with my finger and they start sinking right away. The fish enjoy catching them while they are falling and then they vacuum up the bottom.