Freshwater

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Part II: Fish and How to Care for Them
Carnivores
Feed carnivores (meat eaters, such as piranha) small amounts of meat and
insects to help balance their flake or pellet diet. Carnivores need a good filtration
system because they excrete a high amount of waste generated by the
meaty foods.
Vegetarians
Many freshwater fish need vegetable matter in their diet to flourish and
achieve proper growth. For example, most species of freshwater catfish and
cichlids enjoy vegetables. You can purchase vegetable fish food at your local
aquarium shop. Specific types of vegetable foods such as algae wafers are
manufactured to meet the needs of these types of fish.
If you feel creative, you can try preparing a vegetable supplement at home. You
can boil lettuce and spinach leaves until they are soft and then put them on a
special feeding clip (available at your local fish store), which holds them at the
top of the tank. This clip is similar in design to a clothespin but wider. Chopped
up small pieces of potato, fresh peas, and zucchini are also a welcome treat for
almost any type of fish if they are slightly cooked to soften them.
If you give your fish fresh vegetables in this manner, make sure you remove
all the uneaten food at the end of each day. Fresh vegetables decay and foul
the water when left in the tank too long.
Fish that eat anything that
falls into the tank
There are sociable (and gluttonous) fish that continually try to mooch food
by imitating a starving animal. (Nothing new there, our teenagers have that
routine down to a science.) These fish also try to eat anything that falls into
the tank, including pet food, sandwiches, toys, and your hand. Overfeeding
these fish can quickly become a problem, because they snag most of the food
before the other fish even realize that it’s chow time.
If you have a tank hog grabbing all the food, try feeding less food more frequently,
and spread the food to different parts of the tank.