I have heard of people feeding their goldies pea's...what is the purpose of that, im just curious? When you feed a goldie peas are they suposed to be froze, cut up? Are pea's healthy for goldfish?

The peas should be cooked without salt and de-shelled when fed to Golides, they provide a good food source and can help to 'Clean' the fishes system. Most Goldie owners feed their fish peas at least once a week. Also they help if a fish is constipated or have Swim bladder problems where the fish becomes 'floaty'. My Pearlscale sometimes gets Swim bladder problems but after being fed peas this usually clears up.

Peas really are a Goldfish owners best friend!

Pea's are great for Goldie's.

Here are plenty of Topic's on Pea's to help explain the What,Why and How.

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...s&highlite=peas

I just use frozen uncooked peas. The husk is removed and the pea split in half. Unthawed, you just dropped them into the water. Initially, they're not attracted to them, I suspect because they give off very little odor in the water.

However, over time, they'll associate it with something edible and attack them. They're good as a digestive aid and to provide a healthy variety since Goldfish are herbivores. I would not constantly feed them peas as they do not have enough nutrient value. Imagine if you ate only peas all day long.

Thanks,
Peter

My fish all love peas. I also use frozen ones... microwaved and shelled.

I think that cooking them a bit in the Microwave is best as it softens them up a bit.Just thawing out peas tend to be kind of on the hard side.

I'm curious, does brocolli have just as much benefit as peas? Or is there something special about peas that you don't get with other veggies? My fish seem to like brocolli the best.

Thanks everyone! I just gave my goldies some peas...Its hilarious how they try to suck the whole pea in their mouth at once my grouchy convict seems to like them too!

I didn't know if I was suppose to post here if I had a question about pea's or not but since there was a sticky I didnt want to post elsewhere.

I've been feeding pea's for a few weeks now but I have no idea how much I'm suppose to feed per fish. I've looked around at all the other pea threads, and maybe I'm just blind, but I haven't been able to find the info.

If someone could please help me out, I'd be grateful.

For my big guys I feed them one pea per fish, I feed them by hand otherwise my smaller guys wouldn't stand a change against my Sweet Pea the Pea horder.

For the medium guys 2 two pea's smushed up is sufficient otherwise I find it in my python the next day and the wee little guys get one sometimes 2 as well.

My fish LOVE pea's I microwave them in a bit of tank water and de shell them. Carrots are another favorite in this house. Celery however not so much

Mine have warmed up to them quite a bit since I first tried them... If my big freindly lionhead sees me drop them she'll snap it up right away, but if not they tend to sit for a few hours till she catches them later during her usual gravel vacuuming rounds LOL!

I've only really tried peas so far (and some gel food which they werent too fond of.... messed up the tank so darn bad I havent had the nerve to try again)... but if one or two a fish is the norm I have been WAY overdoing it. Good thing I only do it once or twice a week, but I'll have to SERIOUSLY cut back. Thanks for the quick response Katalyst!

Most welcome! I was overdoing it as well giving them pea's everyday. It's like giving candy to a baby. Now twice a week..

Gidday to all!
Am new to the pea thing so forgive a newbie. Tried peas for the first time this evening and perhaps have over-done it a bit.

The new addition to the tank, Casper looked quite constipated and bloated yesterday, with a long white poop, so after the suggestions from my New Member replies (thanks for the warm welcome by the way!), I thought I would give this green stuff a try. I raced to the tank first thing this morning to check how Casper was and noticed how much better shape the body looked, much sleeker, but still looking a bit unbalanced (not drastically sideways, just a bit of a tilt from time to time swimming about)

Holly has only ever been given flake food, but Casper is a pond fish. Little Holly went mad for them, having never tasted the like before, but is now trailing quite a long cork-screwy poop, Casper on the other hand eagerly sucked the bits in but then spat them out again.

After a couple more goes, Casper has 'chewed' a few pieces but seems non plussed. I have had a mild fish mother panic and thought I had better just check exactly how many peas I should be putting in. We used 8 little petite pois, warmed through in the micro, allowed to cool, then cut up a bit into smaller bits (quite hilarious really chasing little peas in a bowl to get ready for my fishies!), but reading the posts, perhaps I have used too many. Should I have left them in halves rather than making the bits smaller?

Holly is now at the front of the tank begging for more food, while Casper (who being a pond fish is still getting used to the light being on), is mooching about at the spot where I have fed them, vacuuming the bottom in a sort of half-hearted way and the poop looks quite pale and almost clear.

Have I made some horrible mistake?

Chrissy X

The white "poop" - I believe - indicates a possible infection- at least according to what I have been taught- white- or clear- big difference- as far as the peas are concerned- My Lionshead has had severe constipation problems, seriously thought he was going to die in a few cases- until I incorporated peas into his diet. small peas- shelled, microwaved- kept in the refrig with a few drops of water until needed(7 days max)- then I finger seperate them (mushes them around a little and allows me to see if a seedling sprout is in the pea which I remove) into 4 quarters when needed. like an earlier reply from someone- I drop two quarters in and sometimes he lets them lay until the hunger pain sets in - that a matter of minutes- and then sucks them up during his vacuum the bottom for anything tastey time- once and a while I will hand feed - but I try to stay away from that because that gets him into the surface habit and gulping air-
I am careful not to overdue the peas - 1. because it can give them gas- and 2. it tends to push things thru their system real fast - and they will loose the nutritional benifits of some foods- so I try to drop the pieces hours apart of feeding time and just before lights out.

The first couple of times he spit them out but now seems to have aquired a taste for them. The green "pooh" will come soon thereafter- Thanks to this site we have gone quite a while without the distress of constipattion- additional "pea" feeds- when I am vacuuming the tank, or a major fix plant day or anything that may be termed as stress ful- I give him a couple quarters after the ordeal just to keep his system regular- oh and if the constipation comes along - they are a great hiding place for a small crystal of Epsom Salt melted into the pea- like feeding a pill in meat to a dog.

The only thing to keep an eye on are the mystery snails- they will grab them up - in my case my "Punch" as he is named - latched on to part of the pea and struggled for it till the snail finally let go- well Punch is highly unuaual and maybe yours will not be so selfish- but then again probably your Oranda does not demand attention and requires his underbelly and sides to be stroked or else goes into a real fit at being ignored- but that is for another fish story.
eric

...Fishy's constipated.
D: So I feed him peas?
Right?
How do I 'prepare' them?
He's so little, I dont wanna choke him @_@

Put the peas in a bit of water, microwave for 15 to 30 seconds, and then remove the skin.

If your fish is little, you'll have to mush the peas and feed a tiny bit at a time.

Awesome!
Should I cut them up into say... Quarters, or actually mush them? o_o

thanksss

I would cut into quarter first and see whether the fish can handle it or not.

just wondering, will peas cloud up the water?
and is it okay if i dont remove the shell of the peas?

The shell is a little hard to eat, so just squish the pea out of the shell. I've never had peas cloud up my water, personally, but I guess I could imagine it happening if you cook a lot and smoosh it a lot.

Actually I think it'll happen in just the opposite, if the goldfish can't chew it they will spit it back out along with bits and pieces.

LOL - You remind me exactly of me when I first got a fish tank. My goldies had some constipation and the breeder suggested peas. Well of course - I got the natural Byrds Eye - no salt added or anything for that matter - and - as frozen - proceeded to drop 4 in the tank. The goldies pushed them around and - within an hour - puished all the pesas together in one location - I swear - other people have told me of this as well.

Well later I found to give them peas microwaved for about 3 minutes in water. They can usually stay in a closed container for 5-7 days before getting mushy and needing replacement.

I usually squeeze the pea out of its shell. A couple of peas per fish per day is great for their system. If I ever need to feed medicine - I will usually mushed up peas to the feed. Peas are a great way to focus on one fish togive aa few crystals of Epson Salts in - like you would do with a pill for a dog. that way you are not treating the whole tank.

Don'y do beyond a couple a day though (I am serious here) because fish digestive tracts are slow - fish can get gasous from to much vegetable - like humans do - Yes fish do expell gas - saying it politely - and over - use opf veggies can cause some bloating and - I am sure - aroma discomforet for the tank mates LOL

Eric

my fantail is only small, about 2 inches without the tail, so i was thinking just normal frozen peas, microwaed slightly, de-shelled and cut up? Would he manage? And if so how much should i feed him?

Try tiny bits at first (like a fourth of a pea or less) and see if he can chew it up properly. From there, it's really up to you how much you feel he can handle at a single feeding.
When I was feeding peas, I only fed one or two peas at a single feeding.

My problem is that one of my fish is much quicker than the other, and sometimes the slow one misses out. I try and thow the pea in at strategic times when the fast one is not looking, but it usually doesn't work .

I feed my goldfish peas everyday. I keep a bag of baby sweet peas in the freezer. Each evening, I put about four peas in a small cup of water for about 10 minutes to defrost. Then I remove the skin, put the peas in a cup of tank water for another 10 minutes or so and then pour the peas into the tank. My large calico oranda, Oscar, has been enjoying this for about a year; he took to eating them right away the first time and never misses any. In the morning I feed him about 10 small pellets that have been soaked in water for a few minutes.

Someone mentioned that feeding peas everyday is overdoing it? What's the reasoning behind this? What is the appropriate amount and frequency?

I never cook any food for me or my fish in the microwave because microwaving affects the quality of food, destroying beneficial enzymes and such.

After reading this thread, and finding it very helpful, I decided to try peas with my goldies. After digging in the freezer for a few minutes, I discovered a bag of peas with a resealable zipper on it and brought it upstairs. I took out three peas and placed them in water for 5 minutes. Then operation pea really began.

For my 2 baby fantails, I decided half a pea was sufficent. (They can't swallow pellets yet.) After halving it, I halved it again and again until they were small green pieces, and added them to their tank. Within seconds, the peas were gone. They are vacuums.

For my 2 6" .15 cent feeder fish I gave them one pea. I halved it, and then halved it again and added it to the water. Neither of them were curious. I watched them for a bit, and then left. When I returned, the pea was gone. I was gone for 10 minutes. They were still excited about the pea, searching the rocks at the bottom of the tank for more. Since there are two of them, I decided to split another pea between them so that it would total 1 fish, 1 pea each. This time they knew what was coming, and fought each other for the pea. >.< They ate it up pretty fast, and continued searching for more in the rocks.

I'm happy they all enjoyed it- thanks for the tip!

My Frilly fish had peas for the first time today and loved them. I got her organic frozen. Microwaved them and halved them. She ate 3 (they were small) I hope that wasn't to much!

I woke up this morning to see my fish on his side, I haven't even had him a week so I was very very worried.
He was acting weird yesterday and not really eating, so I think he has swim bladder. I changed the water and won't feed him for a few days, and from looking on here, peas sound like a good "first" meal to help him recover.
So glad that I found this page!
Thanks

Hey Missayela, be sure to check your water parameters. Swim bladder problems can occur due to other causes besides food, so it's always better to be safe than sorry.

Very sadly the next day I found my little fish dead
He had been doing so well that morning, but when I got home again I found him dead.
I feel terrible I wasn't able to do something to save it, all I can do is learn from it, what to look out fore in the future.

I'm sorry you lost your fishy. You're right, this is certainly an opportunity to learn more. Good luck to you in the future!

I do peas once-a-week and a fast day once-a-month (usually right before a gravel vacuum feast -ewww). My goldies love the peas which got me into live plants, which they love even more!!!