What Do Fish Eat?

What Do Fish Eat?

One of the most basic questions aquarium owners must know the answer to is "what do fish eat?" If you don't know what to feed your fish you are going to be in trouble from the beginning. When you buy your aquarium and fish, be sure to ask the salesperson, what the fish you are buying eat and what they were feeding them at the store. Also do a little research on the internet or at the library about what different types of fish eat.

Like people, fish basically eat meat, plants or both. Make sure you know which of these apply to your fish. The most convenient option are flake foods. While these can form the core of your fish diet, they should not be the only thing you feed your fish. Buy different kinds of flaked foods so that your fish can get a variety of nutrients.

If you have fish who are herbivores, meaning they only eat vegetables, you will need to feed them algae flakes, wafers or discs. Remove any wafer or disc that is not eaten in twenty-four hours. Some fish, like the silver dollar fish, will devour just about any leafy plant your want to put in the tank. If you have these kinds of fish, slide a leaf of romaine lettuce down the side of the tank and watch them go after it.

Some very large fish eat pellets and sticks. They come in various sizes that are meant to equal the size of your fish. You can also give your fish variety with freeze dried foods. Some of these are tubifex, krill or river shrimp.

If you aren't comfortable feeding your fish live worms, insects, and the like, don't get any large carnivores when you choose your fish. While many of these fish will eat flaked food if that's all there is, it is not going to provide them with the nutrients they need to stay healthy and well. A lot of the packaged fish flakes are even full of fillers which your fish don't need in their food anymore then you need it in your food. Sometimes the answer to the question, "what do fish eat?" is meat.

Tubifex are also called blackworms. Your fish will love them but experts have talked about these worms possibly making fish sick because they are carriers of parasites and bacteria. You can minimize this possibility by only buying blackworms that come in a little bag of clear water, and then taking them home and rinsing them several times before feeding them to your fish.

Another good answer to the question of "what do fish eat?' is a worm. Fish love blackworms, bloodworms, earthworms, white worms and any other worm you can find. They also like all kinds of insects that you can either buy live or collect from your yard in the spring, summer and fall. Brine shrimp are tasty to most fish, as are such basic plants and lettuce and spinach. Many meat-eating fish aren't above eating a few vegetables now and again.

Just take a look around the seafood section at the supermarket and you are sure to find something your fish will like. Give them a good variety of foods and they should get all of the nutrients they need.