Goldfish Care Tips

A Free Monthly Resource For Goldfish Enthusiasts
October 2024
Issue #130

In This Issue
Feeding Competition

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Excessive feeding competition becomes obvious in a group of Goldfish when some members of the group are not thriving.
This usually occurs when unsuitable Goldfish varieties are mixed, but It can also occur within groups of the same variety.

Feeding Competition

Don't just stand there, FEED ME!

However, it can still occur if enough food is provided and the varieties are not too dissimilar, for example a group of single tailed fish.

I recently noticed in my pond of 5 Celestials that one was lying on its side on the surface. This was unusual behavior which would indicate sickness.

A week earlier I had returned from overseas and the fish hadn’t been fed for two weeks (middle of winter) while I was away. As water temperatures were low, this shouldn’t have caused any feeding problems.

I removed the fish and noticed it was thinner than expected. I put it in a small 60L aquarium with a handful of salt and a very small amount of food it had spat out earlier.

The next morning the fish had regained its balance and was looking for food. It has now gained weight and is ready to go back into its pond, but will the same thing happen again?

Physical Abnormalities

I had noticed this behavior with her mother, and I am starting to think it is an inherited smelling sensory problem, but why did a feeding problem arise now? This fish is about 80mm (3.25”) in body length, not a small fish.

I can only conclude it was because this fish got the least amount of food over autumn and winter, and with me not feeding for two weeks she had come to the end of her fat reserves and was not going to survive without intervention.

This highlights the fact that feeding problems can gradually manifest over a long period of time and go unnoticed.

Other physical abnormalities that do cause unequal feeding competition in groups of the same variety are:

• Deformed mouths, more common than you think
• Blindness (in normal sighted varieties)
• Fin development
• Size differences (the largest fish always get the most food)

Feeding Regime

Slow changes occur over time such as fish growing in size.

If you are feeding just the bare minimum for your fish to survive, even very small differences in physical characteristics will allow some fish to dominate feeding ahead of others. These individuals will grow more quickly and the rest will gradually get less and less food. This is nature’s way of ensuring only the very best individuals survive, especially when there is limited food available.

Forget the feeding instructions written on food packets, they are there to ensure the minimum amount of food is fed so that it will be consumed before it dissolves into dust and pollutes the water.

Goldfish need to be fed according to the season, especially pond fish, and at least 1-2% of their body weight daily from early spring until late autumn, more if they are young.

Summary

Check for physical differences that could affect an individual’s feeding competitiveness, and ensure that fish is able to get its fair share of the food at feeding time. The reverse also applies if introducing a large fish into a population of smaller fish.

Change your feeding regime depending on the season or, if there is a sudden change in your fish population (read last month’s e-Zine about pond overpopulation).

Click here for more about feeding goldfish.

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