Food amounts

[Latro]

I've searched a bit and didn't really get a clear answer on about how much people feed in a day. I suspect I've been feeding fairly little, but haven't thought anything of it until now. I estimate that I've been feeding each fish (4''-6'' at most) about a gram of frozen beefheart mix per day, in either one or two feedings. This is just by a gross average based on how much food I bought last and how long ago I bought it. My fish aren't skinny or sickly by any means, and have grown well since I've had them (about a year), though one doesn't eat as well as the other two.

Am I feeding too little?

[Eddie]

I have no idea on what a gram of beefheart looks like. Is it a cube? Honestly, the feeding schedule is largely dependent on your tank upkeep. If you feed beefheart frequently, you'll want to up the cleaning/water changes. Adults, I feed less frequently, maybe 2-3 times a day and I use a combination of foods, such as flake, pellets or freeze dried items.

[ericatdallas]

For BH, I feed the amount they consume in about 5 minutes. I feed 3-4 times a day. If I see that they're devouring it rapidly or leaving a lot behind, I adjust it. I also adjust it if I think their bellies look too bloated. I'll supplement with other foods every now and then as well.

Like Eddie, for adults I feed about 2 times a day with pellets, occassional BH, freeze-dried and frozen food. I don't feed BH to adults any more.

[Latro]

It may help to scale it up a bit--a gram a day means 3 fish eat a pound in about 5-6 months. These are from broken pieces of a larger sheet; they're not cut into cubes. If they were cubes they'd probably be something like 3/4''x3/4''x1/4'' for the three fish. Anyway, they usually eat all their food pretty quickly, so I should probably start feeding a little bit more. I'm also planning on mixing up their diet a bit more. Thanks guys.