Feeding Your Goldfish
Feeding your goldfish a proper diet is critical to the long term health of your goldfish. Many mass produced goldfish foods go on the assumption that goldfish are vegetarians. This is not true. Although goldfish love plant material and algae they do require the mix of animal protein and plant protein to really thrive.
For a staple diet most goldfish keepers go with a pelleted or flake food. If you are feeding a floating pellet food then the pellets must be presoaked and the air squeezed out of them. Sinking pellets can be fed without presoaking. If feeding flake food hold the flakes under the surface of the water for a few seconds then release them. Presoaking any dry food will help with the fishes digestion.
While on the subject of pelleted fish food I may as well mention the brand I use which is Sho-Gold manufactured by Total Koi. Sho-Gold contains an impressive list of ingredients as well as the supplement Aquagen. Aquagen enhances the fish's immune system as well as increases the fish's ability to absorb nutrients. Sho-Gold is available from the Goldfish Connection.
Note: I do not receive any financial incentives for endorsing Sho-Gold. The food is simply that good. I have met one of the owners of Total Koi and was very impressed with his knowledge of fish nutrition and dedication to the quality of his products.
Other goldfish treats:
Peas - Peas are a great supplement to your goldfish's diet. They help keep their digestion moving along. I like to treat my goldfish to peas once or twice a week. Frozen peas are the best. Nuke them in the microwave for a few seconds to defrost them and squeeze the shell off the pea before feeding them to your fish. For smaller goldfish you may want to remove the shell and chop the pea into smaller pieces.
Cooked Shrimp - These are the peel and eat kind of shrimp you can buy at your local grocery store. Remove the tail then finely chopped the shrimp to feed to your fish.
Rice - Cooked rice is a good occasional treat for your goldfish.
Freeze Dried Plankton and Krill. This is another readily accepted treat for goldfish. The high animal protein is a definite plus.
Frozen Bloodworms - Frozen Bloodworms are an excellent addition to a goldfish's diet. They are very good for keeping their digestion in good shape. There are a couple cautions with frozen bloodworms. One - be sure and trust your supplier in that the worms have not defrosted and refrozen. Two - look out for frozen bloodworms with Beta Carotene added as a color enhancer. Beta Carotene does enhance the red color in goldfish but it also turns the white areas in red and white goldfish orange. No health danger; just looks weird.
Earth Worms - Earth worms are an excellent source of animal protein for goldfish. There is a caution with earthworms depending on the source. Earthworms fed to goldfish need to be raised in an organic fashion with no chemical toxins that may harm your goldfish. Also, earth worms need to be chopped up before feeding them to your goldfish. Not a task for the squeamish. Freezing the earth worms prior to chopping helps cut down on the "eeeyyyeeww" factor of the task.
Broccoli - Broccoli is a good source of vitamin A and calcium. Broccoli is best for goldfish after nuking it a few seconds in the microwave then cutting up the blooms on the florettes.
Recipes - If your more into the do it yourself mode of feeding your goldfish check out the recipes on Russell Taylor's website.
Copyright 2002 Rick G. Copeland