I've read that sinking food might be better for goldfish, but most goldfish food floats. In fact, my goldfish spend most of their time in the middle or top of the tank.
I've also read that you should soak the food beforehand and others say that it isn't a problem. If soaking were required, wouldn't the packaging mention that?
What has been your experience? I'm very new to goldfish.

I have been keeping goldfish for only 3 years & i've gone from flakes to floating pellets to sinking pellets . They eat everything including plants which web sites say goldfish dont eat.

The problems i had were mostly floating problems so at the moment i am busy trying make a paste food for them (the paste has less air & softer).

check http://www.kokosgoldfish.com/food.html for more info

I do not feed floating food. Ever. I do not want a fish gulping air at the surface.

If you have floating food (and I do use a number of foodstuffs that float) soak it or incorporate it into a gel food. I soak it, and use the soaking water for the gel. I have also thrown it into the pot that cooks the veggies for the gel - cooking it soft and wet.

If you have flakes, simply take a pinchful and hold it below the surface of the water, shaking gently to release them. They will slowly sink - and never will float.

Have to agree with Daryl on this one. There is no floating food in this house, either. Gulping air at the top is not good for gf at all.

Lisa

My goldfish gulp at the top even when there isn't any food present. I've stopped feeding them floating food a few days ago. The tank is in my living room and as I watch them, they are constantly going from bottom to top looking for food and it looks like they are gulping air? Is this a problem?

I recently read on a website that it's a myth that fish eating floating food and gulping air at the surface causes problems. I will say that everytime I have ever fed my fish flakes or the "crisps" that float for period of time, at least one of them will get the "floaty behind". I would stick to things that sink for sure! I like using vegetables, I've used the sinking shrimp pellets, but I think they caused my tank to get cloudy, so be careful.

I use flake right now but I do as Daryl suggested and hold the food below the surface about halfway down. My gf has taken to coming up and eating out of my hand as a result which is imho very cool. He used to hide in the back of the tank but now will come to the front doing his "im so hungry, please feed me" skit anytime in around the tank. I realize its more him associating me with feeding time than wanting to be my friend but thats fine. I'm not above bribing lol

It'll probably take a little while, but eventually the fish will learn that there is no food at the surface and stop looking for it there. I'd give it a few weeks on the outside; hopefully it'll take less.

Just to be sure, how's your aeration? There is the possibility that they are gulping air because there's not enough oxygen in the water.

The continued gulping could become a problem (swim bladder issues), but as long as you've got adequate aeration and keep feeding only sinking foods I would expect it to stop, given a little time.

sorry, but im kind or new at this and i just bought the floating pellet kind since i couldnt find any of the sinking at a Petco store
but, how do the pellets work? like are the goldfish suppose to nibble at them little by little or are they suppose to eat the pellets within is few bites?
also, i bought some algae eater fish- the chinese algea eater, and something called ploscotomus (im not sure is thats the right spelling but they do get along with goldfish)
these algea eaters are supposed to eat algae wafers so i bought the sinking kind and when i dropped the wafers in, my goldfish went at them like there was no tomorrow
i read in other posts that algae wafers are good for goldfish, but how much of the wafers should i put in so that the algea eaters and my goldfish could have eaten enough of them?

( ApocalypticSister )


how big is your tank?


also the goldfish should be able to the pellets in one bite. not a bunch of nibbles.

another thing to feed the algae eaters feed the goldfish the floating pellets and while the are eating drop in an algae wafer for the Chinese algae eater and the goldfish should be too distracted to notice there are algae wafers in the tank.

i would also try and look for some sinking pellets as these are better for goldies.

how many goldfish do you have?

i am not sure how much water these algae eaters need though.

Like rock4life asked, how big is your tank? Chinese algae eaters and Plecos (common at least) can get big and will become aggressive as they get older. Common Plecos may even suck on your goldfish's slime coat and injure the goldfish or even kill it. My friend has had this happen many times already. (Of course, the plecos were already pretty big)

i have a 10 gallon tank with 3 goldfish
one of them is a black moore and the other two are the same kind but i forgot exatly what kind they are (they are mostly orange with black spots and have some white areas (its not ich i know that for sure)- i think one of them has something wrong with its eye cuz its completely black hence the name "Pirate") i got the goldfish before even knowing how much water or space is needed for one goldfish.......and im not ready yet for a bigger tank since im just a beginner but they are pretty small right now i think about 1.5 inches.

you will need a big tank like 30gallon for the goldies and 55+ gallons for the algae eaters asap. your tank is dangerously overstocked and unless your fish get a big tank like 130 gallons they will not live very long.


the goldfish rule is


20 gallons per 1 single tailed goldfish and 10 gallons per 1 fancy tailed goldfish

guys all the goldfish shops near me 7 of em all have floating foods

Just soak them in some water from your tank before hand and they will sink.

how long should you soak the food in tank water?

or how do you know when its ready lol. Do you just test one?
im currently try to find a store with sinking pellets.

anyways, is it better to feed your goldfish pellets or flakes or does it not matter?

it does not matter if you feed flakes or pellets. if you feed flakes then all you have to do is soak the flakes in some tank water.

personally i feed sinking pellets as when they eat them they do not swallow any air. so there is a greater chance that they will not have any sb problems later in there lives

rhykiru, pellets are better than flakes. They hold less air than flakes, even flakes soaked in water hold more. Pellets also force your fish to slow down a bit and CHEW their food, rather than just gulping it down. I think most pellets are made of higher quality ingredients as well, but that depends on what brands you buy I suppose. Omega One is a good one that is easy to find. It comes in a yellow jar - look for the ones that say "sinking pellets" on them. I've even seen them at W*mart. You can still soak the sinking food to make doubly sure of no air.

As for soaking floating foods, it does take a while. Some of the harder pellets will take a good 20 minutes or more. You'll have to test it a couple of times with your specific food to see how long it takes.

ok, thanks ill look for an Omega One brand of pellets. At petsmart i think i remember seeing a yellow can as i was on my way to buying my bubble wand haha

but i dont know if they have any sinking there. Ill check nnnnnn

it does not have to be omega one just what ever sinking pellets they have. i bought nutrafin max from my lfs they are really good i will most likely get them again. the nutrafin max is in white can thing. it might just be an australian brand though not sure, when i am finished i have some pro gold which i had special ordered from my lfs they are apparently the best brand of goldfish food you can buy according to most people on this site

No, they don't have to be Omega One, but that is a good quality brand that is easy to find. rock4life, not all sinking pellets are created equal! Omega One makes their pellets out of whole fish, which is very good protein and less junk/fillers than some other brands. Some brands the pellets are just as bad as the cheap flakes. You've gotta read the ingredients on the back and the nutrional analysis to really understand what's in the food.

gah, i can't even find what i want

i look in my lfs and only find omega one sinking pellets but they only come in small, not medium or large. Small is about the size of a little bigger than a fry's eye imo and my goldfish would have a hard time seeing it and eating it before it gets all messy on the ground. I looked for any other brands of sinking pellets for goldfish but i found none... Going to try two more lfs's if my dad has time

i have some Omega One small pellets AND my goldies are good size. I don't feed the pellets as main food. I am a MAZURI GEL FOOD fanatic! But I toss in some Omega One pellets now & then cause the fish them! They can really smell them cause they go into a feeding frenzy mode!!

where do you buy mazuri gel food?

the petstores i have near me are petsmart, petco, and pets supermarket so please say one of those :3

My one goldfish Sno is already about 5-6 inches from head to tail already xD

I don't know if the pet stores carry it. You can look it up online. (I was given a keg of it as a gift from a friend....Lucky Me!!)

Goldfish Utopia sells smaller containers. That might be a good place to start to see if you like making it & feeding it. It is really pretty easy to do though!

Doesn't whole fish mean bones and all? Wouldn't just the meat be better?

To answer your question, Turbo, I think that using the whole fish is better than using fish meal like most brands do. Fish meal is the leftover junk after they take off the majority of the meat for other uses. They usually grind up the bones, fins, heads, etc. to make the meal. It's not necessarily a bad thing - bones are good calcium and the heads are the best source of protein, BUT it's a lot of junk in there, too. You wouldn't find just the meat as an ingredient in any commercial food I don't think - too expensive and not too many people are reading the labels anyway. You could make your own food using just the meat as the protein source and that would be excellent. But you probably won't find that on the shelf at your local pet shop.

I make my own fish food and only use the pellets and such as a supplement to that or as part of my gel. Thus, the size of the pellet doesn't much matter to me - it gets ground up anyway. I use the Omega One pellets in my gel, as well as ProGold and whatever else I have lying around. Putting them into the gel food assures me that there is little air being consumed and that my goldies are getting a varied and balanced diet. I have a couple different recipes in the freezer all the time so I can switch it up for them - some is a lot of protein, some is only veggie, and some is a combo. The gel is easy to make and it is a good preventative for swim bladder issues.

i feed mine floating pellets,
before anyone bites my head off, i pre soak them and then crush part of them with my fingers to get them to sink.
why not all of them? somebody (i hope) probably asks.because i noticed (i say) that the faster fish in my tank gulp air at feeding time, while the slower ones swim like crack addicts around the mid section of the tank. the dojos start to jump out of the water.( i dont know what theyer adicted to yet, but its probably something bad).
so, while most of the food sinks which makes it easily accesiable to the slow fish and the dojos later, the faster fish get the larger share of the food thats floating, and they dont even notice the rest of it sinking by them!