Can you feed too much?

[Randys]

I’ve got a couple of little Pearsies and Bcourtis growing out in a 30 gallon. When I stocked my 300 gallon they came in smaller than expected and some of the other fish came in larger than expected. Fishing keeping rule #1: big fish eat little fish. I started out with four each.

Do I need to worry about feeding them too much? I’m already doing a 50% water change daily. Would it help to change more?

 

[tlindsey]

I’ve got a couple of little Pearsies and Bcourtis growing out in a 30 gallon. When I stocked my 300 gallon they came in smaller than expected and some of the other fish came in larger than expected. Fishing keeping rule #1: big fish eat little fish. I started out with four each.

Do I need to worry about feeding them too much? I’m already doing a 50% water change daily. Would it help to change more?

How often do you feed them?
If you are trying to get them to grow to their fullest potential then the 50% daily wc's you are performing will help tremendously. Personally wouldn't overfeed but feed multiple times if they were small fry.

 

[Randys]

I’ve been feeding them 3-4 times a day. I just don’t want to over do it.

 

[tlindsey]

I’ve been feeding them 3-4 times a day. I just don’t want to over do it.

If they are 1-2 inches or smaller that's fine. Any larger I would personally feed maybe twice a day or even once depends on the species.

 

[Randys]

What happens to a fish if they’re over fed?

 

[tlindsey]

What happens to a fish if they’re over fed?

I've read if you power feed to make fish grow faster this will cause problems. The fish may develop health issues and die prematurely. Over feeding with a high protein diet could have the same results. Also learned here that some Cichlids will be healthier with some plant or algae in their diets such as spirulina or seaweed.

 

[duanes]

When small both species can take normal amounts of protein based foods, as they age, they become more and more vegetarian (4"), and tend to graze all day. If fed to much meaty food when older, intestinal blockages can become common.

As adults my bocourti and pears could eat a head of romaine lettuce, or a few dandelion plants throughout a day.


I also used to grow hair algae in ponds and harvest it for them.

 

[Dloks]

I feed my fishes once or twice a week. Healthy as can be.

 

[RD.]

What happens to a fish if they’re over fed?

Over time they will become obese. Prolonged feeding in this manner may result in excess lipid deposition and necrosis of the liver. (fatty liver disease) I've been saying this for the past 20 years, and many of those who work in the field of aquatics agree - one of the most common causes of death in captive fish is related to excessive fat deposits in and around the organs. Excess fat ends up stored in various tissues, specifically the liver. Over time this can lead to the degeneration of the liver, which is more commonly referred to as "Fatty Liver Disease". Years ago I read an article which included some info from a fish parasitologist at a Canadian University. He was involved with performing autopsies on dead fish at public aquaria and the single most common cause of death he's seen since he started to do the autopsies was "fatty liver disease". Ruth Francis Floyd from the U of Florida has stated the same.

With these 2 species of fish, I would highly recommend incorporating aquatic plant matter into their diet starting at an early age. Foods such as NLS AlgaeMax should make up the bulk of their diet once they get past the juvenile stage. Good luck.

 

[Randys]

Yupper

I’ve been feeding these guys at least 50% NLS AlgaeMax so they don’t get too much protein.
(Learned that from you and Duanes)