# Figuring out food requirements.



## Unnr (May 8, 2010)

More basic questions:

I'm feeding Cardinal tetras and cherry shrimp. I keep seeing the suggestion to feed only what they eat in 2 minutes, or only what they eat before it touches the bottom.

Ok, they barely ever eat anything before it's past the mid-point of the tank, so I can't feed so little nothing touches the ground, but they pounce on it with rather a lot of gusto and play football with it, especially if it comes to rest on a plant, so I switched to the 2min rule, but they always seem to miss SOMETHING, and go back it it a few minutes later.

So, I've been feeding about what they finish in one minute (but they always miss SOMETHING), but three times a day rather than one or two. But now I think that's maybe too much. Other days I think it's not enough.

Is there a better way to estimate what the really need?

Also: I'm thinking of trying something like daphnia, since I'm hoping for Shrimplets (need a BOY, first), how do I work out when/how much of that? And what kind? And in what form?

Andfinally: I think I should be changing it up a bit, not just using fish flakes... how should I go about that? I have a bit of kinda granulated stuff, and I gave them some of that, and they seemed to like the change (it's supposed to be a colour enhansing thing from tetra). Should I be giving them something like that acoupleof times aweek, once a month, etc?

Also, the granulated stuff sinks faster, and they seemed thrilled with that, gobbled up a larger quantitiy much faster, and came up much closer to the surface to grab it in the ensuing football game.

I'm probalby doing something horribly wrong already... Just let me know, I'm getting used to it 
-Unnr


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Feed enough to keep the proper body shape and a good fat deposit on the fish's back. That's it. Don't feed so much they look bloated. Don't feed so much that uneaten food sits on the bottom.


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## Unnr (May 8, 2010)

AquariAM said:


> Feed enough to keep the proper body shape and a good fat deposit on the fish's back. That's it. Don't feed so much they look bloated. Don't feed so much that uneaten food sits on the bottom.


What's the best way to get a really good pic of "proper" body shape?

-Unnr


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Unnr said:


> What's the best way to get a really good pic of "proper" body shape?
> 
> -Unnr


Google. http://www.tropicalsovernight.com/shop/images/cardinal_tetra.jpg


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## Unnr (May 8, 2010)

ok, compaired to that pic I'm overfeeding. 

I did google, but on my own I found so many different examples, I couldn't sort out which were really healthy. Doesn't help that I often found artifacts from colour enhancement(photoshop or similar).

Thanks for the link, that helped a lot. Is there anything I can kinda rely on for future ref, possibly with other species? 
-Unnr


PS: Thanks so much for the responses, AquariAM, I really do appreciate it!


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

You can take pictures and ask other people who have the same fish what they think. Usually when I get a new kind of fish I try to get about 10 pictures of fish that look really healthy and just sort of average it out. You'll get a hang of it in no time. That's about how 'tall' a 1.5" really healthy cardinal should be. As they get a bit bigger they get a bit more oval shaped.


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Most people over-feed. Under-feeding is very rare amongst fish keepers. I had to scale back my mom's feeding regime on her 35 gallon tank several times before she got it right. She was going through the same amount of food for her lightly stocked 35 as I was for my heavily stocked 65. I'm not sure who came up with or wrote a lot of these rules but they must have been owners of fish stores who's aim was to sell more fish. Heck, the kind of stuff I heard just while waiting in line at Big Al's yesterday is enough proof that misinformation is everywhere. 

Keep in mind that a fish stomach is about the size of their eyeballs and it doesn't need to be filled to the brim every time you feed. Only a few large fish benefit from saturation feeding and even then a day or two break with no food in-between is required. A healthy adult fish should look trim and muscular (kinda hard to explain what a muscular fish looks like though lol) not plump like a grape.


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Just to illustrate the muscular vs chubby thing, here's a male Pseudotropheus acei (a Lake Malawi cichlid) over several months. They were fed a general purpose diet (New Life Spectrum Cichlid and Hikari Cichlid Complete). When they were switched to a diet of mostly Dainichi Veggie FX, as they are vegetarian fish, a noticeably improved body shape and musculature developed (last pic)


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## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Well done haha. I didn't think of using pictures cuz I suck at taking them but that's a good example of chubby vs. healthy.

On a funny note, I was gonna take a pic of my bn pleco in the bedroom tank this morning because he was FAT. Apparently the big guy likes daphnia a LOT and took advantage of the fact that I overfed it last night. My fiance and I finally figured out why this guy is so much bigger than his siblings... lol. He was lying on his back sucker not attached to anything and he was michael moore fat lol. Naturally, he has spent most of the day chilling and pooping and now his stomach is a bit smaller he's attached to something again but I don't think he's eating and he definitely isn't moving much .


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## Unnr (May 8, 2010)

I have to say, most of my hobbies are pretty intense in terms of knowledge requirements (decided I needed a degree for one of them  -- I've never made so many early mistakes and had so much trouble cutting through the crap as with these little guys.

The guy at BigAls (when I finally got there) tried to sell me a 200$ light I'm pretty sure I can make for 20, and DON'T NEED. (WPG -- WTF???)

Anyway, it's a bit frustrating, and I've been wondering _why_ it'slike that...

And you guys are really great, and quick, I don't think I'd be finding my mistakes without you 

-Unnr


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## AquariAM (Jan 28, 2010)

Unnr said:


> I have to say, most of my hobbies are pretty intense in terms of knowledge requirements (decided I needed a degree for one of them  -- I've never made so many early mistakes and had so much trouble cutting through the crap as with these little guys.
> 
> The guy at BigAls (when I finally got there) tried to sell me a 200$ light I'm pretty sure I can make for 20, and DON'T NEED. (WPG -- WTF???)
> 
> ...


Don't take advice from Big Als. Period.
Buy crapp there, because it's cheap and it's usually in stock and there's a major convenience factor. Also, it's usually competetively priced or cheaper than anywhere else.


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## Orochi (May 9, 2010)

Unnr, try to follow this guide.





About Big Al: Neither Big Al's nor PetMart's employees know what they are doing with rare exceptions. I've made so many mistakes before I discovered this forum and a lot of useful fish databases on the net.


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## Unnr (May 8, 2010)

Hey, just wanted to say that things are definitely better, the Cardinals are quite noticeabley livlier, thanks,guys 

-Unnr


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