It’s still a good idea to follow the other steps in this section to check a fish food’s suitability before purchasing it.
Flake food floats, and is only suitable for surface feeders. Grain, granule, or pellet food may float, sink slowly, or sink rapidly. Try to find more information on the label before buying. Wafer food sinks to the bottom, and is usually too large to be “stolen” by surface feeders. Tablet food can be dropped to the bottom of the tank, or, sometimes, stuck to the inside wall of the aquarium to provide food for mid-feeders.
Bettas are carnivores and surface feeders. Their food should contain at least 45% protein, float, and be small enough to fit in the betta’s mouth. Betta food is often sold in the form of tiny pellets. [4] X Research source Goldfish are omnivores, and require 30% protein as adults, or 45% as young fish. Aquatic plant proteins are easiest for them to digest. [5] X Research source They are surface feeders, so flakes are a good choice.
Warning: Betta fish should be fed much less than they can eat in 5 minutes. Two or three small pellets per betta is sufficient. [8] X Research source
Use an automatic feed dispenser to dispense food at regular intervals. Make sure you supply enough food for the whole time you’ll be away, and set the dispenser to release food once or twice a day. Test a feeder block or gel feeder before leaving. These blocks of dry or gel-covered food are left in the tank and eaten slowly. However, the dry blocks may cause dangerous chemical changes, while the gel variety sometimes go ignored. Test either variety for a few days before leaving so you can be sure there are no problems. Have a friend or neighbor feed them their usual flake food once every two or three days. Because inexperienced feeders often give too much food, it’s best to place each pinch of food in a pillbox or other container with the day of the week carefully marked on it. Make it clear to the caretaker that overfeeding could kill your fish.
Warning: Freeze-dried foods are another option, but should only be used occasionally due to the digestive issues large amounts can cause in some species, such as bettas. [13] X Research source Avoid live tubifex worms, even ones sold at pet stores and raised on fish farms. They are known to cause diseases in many species, although the frozen variety is typically safe. [14] X Research source
Carrots, zucchini, cucumbers, carrots, lettuce, and peas are just a few of the vegetables your fish might enjoy. Feed once every few days or as advised for your species. Using spirulina powder, infusoria, algae, or other plant matter sold at aquarium shops is another option, and a necessary one for tiny, juvenile fish too small to eat vegetable pieces. As long as the tank’s surface or walls doesn’t become overgrown with algae, you may add it according to instructions once or twice a day.
If you are raising live food yourself, or purchasing live food from pet shops, you may feed them mineral or vitamin supplements which then get digested by the predator fish. This technique is called “gut loading. "
