I am always intrigued by the foods mentioned on this site, and my goldies have tried many of the treats. But I am always looking for new ones, and at the LFS I asked what treats I could get for my fish. Like maybe, I said, brine shrimp. The person said one should never feed brine shrimp to goldfish, only goldfish flakes. Trying to be upbeat and friendly, I told her I fed my goldies peas and other vegetables, and they seem to love them. She said one should never feed these things - ok, maybe peas but only if the fish are constipated.

This reminded me of people who would never feed dogs actual meat - a horrible thing for them - only prepared dog food was proper. Then today I went into another pet store which catered to dogs. And - I had never seen this before - there were five freezers of special meat products labeled as "holistic" for dogs.

Is there something wrong with this picture? When I was growing up, we always fed dogs table scraps along with their regular food, and they loved it. Not bad stuff like chocolate for sure, but bits of leftovers. And I have to wonder if it is the same with fish. Is it really only ok to feed them prepared food, or (what makes sense to me) can't we vary their diet in sensible ways, and have healthier, happier pets?

I am sure there are things that we should never feed them, and maybe that's what I should be asking - what (like chocolate for dogs) should be avoided? My goldfish seem to spit out whatever they don't like - can I depend on them to tell me what is bad for them, or are there really things I should watch out for?

I wouldnt trust the LFS. On Pet Co bags, they say goldfish need only two gallons of water. And that is a BIG no-no

lol sometiem most of those employee dont knwo much about fish, msot of them at hoem dont even have fish, flakes shoudl be fed daily and shoudl eb the basic food, but feeding other food is ok, brine shrimp, shrimp, other vegetables and peas, all will be good. Your goldfish will love different and extremely nutrient food or treat once in a while

LoL wow! I once had a girl at my LPS tell me that it was totally fine to get the fish bowl for my new goldie! I ALMOST DIED!!! so i followed along with it and asked her other set up questions, she said that they didnt need a filter, just change the water once a week "or so" with REGULAR tap water! All i could do is blink! LOL so, as nice a possible, i told her that she was misinformed, and i told her the basic rules, like 10-15 gallon per goldie, and i believe she actually took in the info i was telling her. She couldnt believe half the things i was telling her. She even expressed she felt bad that all those GF were crammed into those tiny tanks *brownie points for me*.
Sometimes, the employees are just partime highschool kids, scooping fish for the costumer ~shrugs~ thats why there are GREAT sites like this one where you can do all your research before hand!

FEED THEM ALL THE PEAS AND VEGGIES YOU WANT!

Hahaha Shari Lynn!! Hmmm that's got me thinking. I wanna go around and "test" some peoples knowledge at the LFS!! Sounds HILARIOUS, yet informing to the employee.

LoL....it was almost like a game to be honest with ya. She was really trying to school me. I mean, i know im new at the whole GF keeping and all...but I;ve done a lot a reading up on them before i starting housing them. I would just feel really bad if that info went to a newbie that never did his/her homework. Could you picture a 10 inch GF in a 1 gallon fish bowl!?!?!?!

I don't feed my dogs "people food" but I do give them boiled chicken, beef, liver every now and then. I buy a holistic dry dog food for them and they love that. I'm sure it tastes much better than a yellow corn or wheat based diet. I certainly see better results as far as coat, teeth, and general health. If you put good stuff into your dog you...don't get quite as much poo back LOL!!!

Goldies thrive off of a diversity in the diet. After all in the wild they eat pretty much every thing they find. If you wanna give your GF treats just keep trying new fruits and veggies. I've fed live foods like brine before but have recently had some questionable results from that. (Lost a fish do to an infection that could have possibly come from the brines) My goldies also love ghost shrimp but because of the loss of this last fish I'm considering cutting out live foods. One treat I wont cut out is cooked shrimp. I cut it up into tiny little pieces and they go crazy over it!

When people from your LFS give you advice on GF take it with a grain of salt. Most of them are not obsessed with the proper care of GF that the Koko's folks are. LOL

Same here. We recently adopted a new dog and decided to be 'good dog owners' and feed her only top brand dog food. It did NOT work! She will only eat it if we mix in some chicken, egg or gravy. Since we've started incorperating people food into her diet the stomach problems she'd been having have totally stopped. It's further proof in my mind of the need for variety. Even though some foods do fulfill nutritional requirements, they still may not be good enough.

The staff at lfs's can be too funny (well frustrating more like it, but all you can do sometimes is laugh). My sister in law got a job at an lfs a while ago. She's really into animals too but doesn't know too much about goldies. When I bought my demekin from her she tried to tell me how to take care of him!!! We almost got into a fight right there in the store....awkward!!!

goldfish can have lots of food, although dogs shoudnt be fed scraps, theres so many spices and stuff that can make them sick. Sometimes we leave some of the food plain with nothing added to it specially for my doggie, that usually meat but I found out that she'll eat potatoes too lol

The problem with a lot of "top brand" processed food is that it contains a lot of bad stuff that individual dogs can get sick from -- just like Humans or Goldfish or any other animal.

When the wheat gluten poisonings were going around, a lot of veterinarians took it as an opportunity to get on the news and tell people "It's important for dogs (animals) to get fresh and unprocessed food. If you are a person that eats organic food that is well-balanced and doesn't have sugar, then it's perfectly safe for dogs."

thats one reason i like to make my goldfish there own food, I know what there getting and know they will be healthy. Most LFS want to sell, sell, sell so they dont care its sad.

Im just gonna put an old wives tale to rest, I have proof chocolate is not bad for some dogs. I have a bluetick that lives in the house. And one christmas we left a box of chocolates on the table she ate them all she's still alive infact you cannot leave her in a room by herself with the tiniest bit of chocolate in it, or she'll have it. Like I said the might be types of dogs out there that are alergic to chocolate but in my finding it doesn't hurt em one bit. And raw meat and cooked meat will not hurt dogs in the processed dog food the dogs will not be getting all of what they need. Just think dogs are carnivores they are meat eaters there able to digest it. And most dogs will not be bothered by spices. But there are exceptions to every rule.

My 12 pound dog Harley ate a half pound of chocolate in one setting before and he was fine. And he loves M&M's. We also had a Rottweiler/something else mix named Pixie who's favorite treat was s'mores.

There are definately exeptions lol

my friends dog ate a whole supersized bag of gumballs besides its poop being every colour under the sun she was fine she still eats everything she can get into lol

Any dog can eat chocolate, the problem is they can't digest it. The chocolates tays in their tummy's forever.

well of course dog can eat anything, but lol as owner we chose the best food for it to eat, that is not bad for it, givign it tummy ache or something....and i never heard of that chocolat4e stays in teh stomch forever...? How is that possiible?

Something about the make-up of their intestines, the coco is not absorbed and can clog them. I'm not 100% familiar with the exact reason, but that was the explanation given to me by a vet.

oh wow htat is horrible. But would it go out with the rest of the ...digested...food..you know..push it out or something I dont know. Sound bad Maybe i should do abit of research on that and see

I am looking forward to making my own food soon too! I'm thinking about the days when I am stocking up on baby food at the supermarket, and the cashier asks me how old my baby is.

Then what will you say?!

I don't want to steal the thread or anything, but can goldies eat pancakes? I made pancakes the other day for Larry and myself and I don't like syrup or anything on mine. Just plain pancakes. And I saw the fishies in the 55 begging (even though they had breakfast before we did). I was wondering if they could eat it? Maybe?

I raw feed my pets...meat/bone/organ meats. They get a few supplements..nothing much else (except the dog who loves to go get apples out of the orchard and cats that catch whatever they want)

I see all these commercial foods for the fish, but can't help but wondering if we are doing them a favor..or us. I know some foods are better than others..kind of like what we eat too.

I add fresh stuff to the fishes diets. Will get some worm beds going this summer for the fish.


anyone ever feed parsley to their fish? I know parsley is very good for my rabbits, lots of vitamins/minerals in it.