Frequent Aquarium Questions

• When I went to the petstore to purchase Progold Goldfish food I couldn't find any. They didn't sell it. I bought Hikari goldfish floating pellets instead. Do any pet stores sell Progold or can it only be bought online? Is the Hikari as good as Progold like I've heard?
  
  
• How much and how often should I feed my fish?
  
  
• How important is varying the diet of fish?
  
  
• Do fish need vitamins to supplement their diet in captivity?
  
  
• How do I feed my fish when I go on vacation?
  
  
• How do you know when your goldfish is full?
  
  
• I just set up a tank with 5 fish. It's been up for 2 weeks and now there is a foul odor coming from the tank. I have a light on top that is on for 12 hours a day and I"m using a sponge filter. Also, there is a lot of leftover food particles and waste on the bottom of the tank. What is causing this smell?
  
  
• I have several guppies, a large snail, and a cory and have heard it's good to provide vegetables in the tank such as spinach, romaine lettuce, etc ....is this true?
  
  
• I can seem to get my copperband butterfly to eat any food. Any ideas on how to introduce him to frozen mysis or another prepared food?
  
  
• i have a male betta fish in a tank by himself n a freshwater tank n i change about 50% of the water at least 2 twice a week but my fish is spitting up its betta pellets y is this ?
  
  

• When I went to the petstore to purchase Progold Goldfish food I couldn't find any. They didn't sell it. I bought Hikari goldfish floating pellets instead. Do any pet stores sell Progold or can it only be bought online? Is the Hikari as good as Progold like I've heard?
  
  Both of those foods are well known for quality. Of the two brands, Hikari has been on the market much longer and is probably more-readily available. I would not be concerened if you can only find the Hikari brand as it is an excellent choice.
  
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• How much and how often should I feed my fish?
  
  We recommend feeding fish once or twice a day, using different foods at each feeding to vary the diet. Take care not to over-feed your tank. When feeding your fish, feed them only as much as they can eat in a few minutes - a little at a time! Take a small amount of food, such as several flakes, and drop it into the tank. Then stand away from the aquarium, and watch your fish eat. When the fish have finished eating the first portion, drop a few more pieces in, and let them finish those. After two or three portions, you’ll notice that the fish either lose interest, or suck in the food and spit it out. Stop feeding! Your fish aren’t hungry anymore! Never throw in a "pinch" of food. A "pinch" is usually TOO MUCH. When feeding frozen food, take a very small portion (or one cube), and allow it to partially defrost before feeding. Feed as you would dry flake foods, breaking off small pieces of the partially defrosted food and waiting for your fish to eat each piece before adding more to the aquarium. If some of your fish are smaller or more timid about eating, don’t worry-they’ll get their share. As the larger, more aggressive fish get full, they’ll slow down on their feeding, and the smaller fish will "clean up" the leftovers.
  
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• How important is varying the diet of fish?
  
  EXTREMELY IMPORTANT! You should vary the diet of your fish as much as possible. Keep at least six different foods on hand and feed different dry and/or frozen foods at each feeding.
  
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• Do fish need vitamins to supplement their diet in captivity?
  
  Hmm . . . Our answer to this is a cautious: "It couldn't hurt", but only if the vitamins are put on fish food before feeding, and not in the aquarium water, especially in freshwater aquariums. What worries us here is unnecessary pollution of the aquarium through over-dosing of organics.
  There are many fish vitamin preparations on the market, some of which we sell to our clients and on our web site. It is very hard to meet the exact nutritional requirements of some fish species that have specialized diets in the wild. Vitamin supplements are a great way to ensure that your fish are getting many of the dietary components that may be lacking in their diet. We recommend that if you do use vitamins, you administer small doses by dropping it on fish food a few seconds before you feed your fish.
  Dosing of many nutritional supplements in aquarium water can lead to unnecessary polluting of the tank environment, unless great care is taken not to over-dose. We can do this, and we've seen some benefit to periodically dosing vitamins directly into the water of marine aquariums, especially in reef aquariums. We've also seen lateral line erosion treated successfully in some marine Tangs and Angelfish by using vitamin supplements in both food and water.
  We cannot recommend this for freshwater tanks. Saltwater fish drink water and obtain some nutritional value from the dosing of vitamins into their water. Freshwater fish do not drink water, and although they can absorb some nutrients through their skin and gill membranes, it is doubtful that they could absorb enough to offset the danger of polluting the tank. If you want to use a vitamin supplement in your aquarium, we recommend starting out with half the recommended dose, at half the recommended frequency, unless you are using them for a special purpose, such as in a saltwater hospital tank to treat lateral line erosion.
  
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• How do I feed my fish when I go on vacation?
  
  When you go on vacation, you should either have someone feed your fish for you or use an automatic feeder while you’re away. If someone is going to feed your fish while you’re gone, you should stress to them the importance of not overfeeding. You can make up little packets of food in the corners of plastic sandwich bags and seal them; then hide all of your other food to help your fish sitter resist the temptation of over-feeding your aquarium.
  
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• How do you know when your goldfish is full?
  
  All fish, including goldfish, will stop eating when they are full. However, the instinct to snap at food in the water is very strong, so a fish that is already full may LOOK like it's eating, when all it is really doing (if you look closely0 is sucking in the food and spitting it out again. It is this behavior that leads many people into thinking the fish is still hungry, so they keep feeding, and over-pollute the aquarium. To feed properly, drop a few flakes or pellets or pieces of frozen food in the tank, and let your fish eat ALL of the food before giving more. Continue doing this for about three minutes, while observing the fish closely for any signs of spitting out food. When the fish exhibit this behavior, STOP FEEDING!
  
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• I just set up a tank with 5 fish. It's been up for 2 weeks and now there is a foul odor coming from the tank. I have a light on top that is on for 12 hours a day and I"m using a sponge filter. Also, there is a lot of leftover food particles and waste on the bottom of the tank. What is causing this smell?
  
  The uneaten food on the bottom is what is causing your foul odor. You should be changing 25% of the water every three weeks or so, and vacuuming the gravel to get rid of that waste. You should also check our FAQ for lessons in feeding. There should never be uneaten food on the gravel and the cause of this is over-feeding.
  
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• I have several guppies, a large snail, and a cory and have heard it's good to provide vegetables in the tank such as spinach, romaine lettuce, etc ....is this true?
  
  Certain species may benefit from adding fresh, leafy vegetables to their diet. These are all big, herbivorous fish such as large plecos, pacus, and many of the larger cichlids in freshwater; tangs, angelfish, and rabbitfish in marine. This is best left to advanced hobbyists, since leaving such items unattended in your tank can quickly pollute the water. For most small community fish, this practice is more trouble than it's worth. If you want to provide greens for fish such as guppies and other small freshwater fish, stick with commercially available Spirulina-based prepared foods.
  
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• I can seem to get my copperband butterfly to eat any food. Any ideas on how to introduce him to frozen mysis or another prepared food?
  
  Here are some ideas as to why your Copperband won't eat: --Aggression: You don't have to SEE your fish chasing or nipping each other to assume it may be happening. Especially with sensitive fishes, they may get intimidated easily by more active fishes. This is most easily observed at feeding time. --Wild-caught: Almost all marine fishes are still captured from the wild. On the reef, fishes are used to a smorgasboord of live food items. When they get into the aquarium, they may have never seen frozen mysis, and so do not realize it is food. --Variety: Try a huge variety of foods to find the one(s) your fish may like. Mysis is excellent, but so are Cockle, Mussel, table Shrimp (uncooked), Gamma shrimp, and more. You may even be able to purchase live brine shrimp from your pet store. Add a little live food with a regular feeding to try to coax your guy into feeding. --Water Conditions: If there is an overriding problem in the aquarium, the stress may be taking a toll on the Copperband. Some things to watch for are fluctuating temperatures, irregular light cycle, poor water chemistry, inadequate flow and/or filtration, or purcussive disturbances (thumping on the outside of the aquarium, for instance).
  
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• i have a male betta fish in a tank by himself n a freshwater tank n i change about 50% of the water at least 2 twice a week but my fish is spitting up its betta pellets y is this ?
  
  Sounds like he dislikes the prepared food you are offering him. Try some live bloodworms, or even freeze-dried bloodworms. These are more like what he would eat in the wild, so he may respond better to them.
  
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