FISH
As a general rule, fish should be fed little and often – as much food as they will eat within 2 minutes about 2-3 times a day. Their diet can be varied by feeding a treat food several times a week, in addition to their usual food.
'Over feeding' results in incomplete digestion of food and waste material produced by the fish can then pollute the water. It is important to ask about the specific feeding needs of a fish before purchasing it, as some may have special requirements.
Fish food quality has a significant impact on the aquarium or pond environment, and how easy it is to maintain. This is because it is the main source of the dissolved and solid waste that fish produce. Overfeeding, or feeding a poor quality food, will result in greater waste production, and faster pollution of the water. This in turn necessitates more maintenance to keep the environment healthy.
Good quality foods use the right ingredients, manufacturing processes, and formulas to keep waste production to a minimum, whilst at the same time providing the fish with a healthy diet.
Tropical and coldwater ornamental fish differ in their nutritional & feeding requirements. For example: some fish have evolved to feed on specific types of foods (e.g. herbivores and carnivores), whilst others have particular physical feeding needs (e.g. bottom feeders and algae grazers).
The diet offered needs to be appropriate to meet these different needs. In other words, it should deliver an appropriate amount of different nutrients, and be in a format that the fish can easily eat. A good quality prepared food will provide fish with a balanced diet. This will include nutrients such as protein (which supplies the 10 essential amino acids that most fish require), fats (for energy and as a source of essential unsaturated fatty acids), vitamins and minerals. Fish foods will also normally provide pigment enhancers, to bring out the natural colours of the fish (e.g. in the form of ingredients such as shrimp meal, Spirulina algae, and lutein).
Fish are unable to make their own Vitamin C and so must be provided with this nutrient in the diet. Essential Vitamins including A, C, D, E and K are supplied in most complete fish foods.
Pigment enhancers that bring out the colour of the fish, may also be provided in the food, often in the form of natural ingredients such as shrimp meal, spirulina, or even lutein from Marigolds.
