Freshwater

Excess food around the edge of the substrate is one sign of overfeeding. This
wasted food accumulates on the bottom of the tank, turns muddy brown, and
begins to spoil. Spoiled food can cause health problems for your fish if they
happen to eat it. If excess food piles up, decrease the amount you feed and
try putting the food in a different area of the aquarium.
Remember that your fish’s stomach is no larger than its eye. So, if you dump
a half a can of fish food into the tank, you had better hope your fish has an
eye the size of a dinner plate; otherwise, you’re in for a few problems. Excess
food breaking down on the substrate surface can cause an overabundance of
harmful ammonia. If you do happen to overfeed, remove the excess with a
standard aquarium vacuum.
Underfeeding
Because so much emphasis is placed on overfeeding and its polluting effects,
many hobbyists don’t feed their fish enough. Well, the point is, don’t overfeed
or underfeed. Feed the correct amount.
Just-right feeding
Chapter 10: Diet and Nutrition for Your Wet Pets
The general rule is to feed only what your fish can eat in a period of three to
five minutes per feeding. Now, this does not mean that you have to stand
around with a starter’s whistle and stopwatch at every meal. Just check to
make sure that your fish polish off all the food within five minutes. Another
option is to purchase a plastic feeding ring that keeps most dry foods confined
to a small area on top of the water. A feeding ring can keep most of the
food from quickly falling to the bottom of the tank.
If at all possible, feed adult fish three small meals per day instead of just
dumping a bunch of food in at one time. Juvenile fish and fry need be fed
more often to insure that they grow properly, so give them a couple of extra
light feedings each day.
It’s best to feed your fish at different times of the day, usually morning, afternoon,
and night. Because many nocturnal fish feed only at night, make sure
they receive their fair share.
It’s not a bad idea to make your fish fast one day a week. Going 24 hours without
food keeps a fish’s dietary tract in good physical condition.
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