One thing you have to keep in mind when feeding your fish – a concept not everyone is privileged to know – is that gold fish typically keep eating long after they’ve had their fill. A couple of pinches of flakes, a few pellets, a skinned pea or two, some worms, and so on – they’ll keep at it for as long as you keep feeding it.
What’s worse, gold fish don’t really know what’s good for them at all, which is why it’s also normal for them to continue to “beg” for food even when their guts are already at risk of exploding. Some types of gold fish are notorious for doing just that; goes to show how taking care of gold fish requires more than just love and sympathy.
A rule of thumb to follow in caring for gold fish is to observe how much your gold fish can eat in a one to two minute span and adjust their portions accordingly. Whatever they consume in that amount of time should be enough to last them until their next meal. By the way, gold fish don’t need the usual three squares a day. Two meals per 24 hours will do just fine.
One more thing you have to consider when caring for gold fish is the fact that they are very dirty creatures, even if their appearance says otherwise. They excrete so much waste in their tank and so quickly, that they expose themselves to a host of bacteria just by consistently overeating.
Food that is in excess of what they need will only endanger their overall well-being and lead to more waste in the tank, which, in itself, is also a serious health risk. Keeping the tank free of filth is also an essential part of taking care of gold fish.
By limiting your fish’s food intake, you can likewise limit your fish’s exposure to these bacteria. And with the right diet, your fish shouldn’t make it that hard for you to keep the toxic in the tank in check.
Caring for gold fish requires some effort and more than a little know-how on your part. Remember that just because they can eat anything doesn’t mean they should be allowed to. Feeding them a bit at a time and keeping their intake in moderation isn’t, if you’ll pardon the pun, flaky.
