Like us, goldfish are considered omnivorous when it comes to food. They can eat both veggies and meat, although their usual aquarium diet is fish flakes. For good goldfish care in terms of food, it’s better to provide lesser protein in their diets.
Although they always look hungry, they are really just stubborn, and take in everything that you give them. As long as you offer them food, they will do nothing but eat, which is why they easily get overfed by their owners.
Goldfish can live for as long as two weeks without food. It is ideal to feed them with fish flakes twice a day, to give goldfish a good staple food for their species. There are specialized fish flakes exclusively for goldfish, so do not make the mistake in giving them tropical fish flakes. The two varieties of flakes are different from each other when it comes to nutritional content.
According to the Goldfish Society of America, if you only give goldfish dry food; you should try feeding them with two to three varieties of food.
Pellet foods, similar to fish flakes, except that they come in pellet form, serve more as a treat food rather than a staple food, like the flakes. They only consist of one specific type of ingredient, such as brine shrimp.
There are also live foods that your pet can eat, although extreme care must be observed. Further cultivation of these foods should be left in the hands of the experts, because no one knows exactly what harm these live foods might do to your goldfish.
To resolve this problem, the least you can do is refrigerate the live food. You will have the benefit of having live food for your fish with an additional protection against growing live mold cultures. There are plenty of frozen foods you can select, from brine shrimp to mosquito larvae or from daphnia to tubifex worms. Often available in flat slabs, these types of food can be broken down and fed manually to your fish using your hands. You can feed your fish neatly and keep the leftovers in the refrigerator for storage and future use.
If you really want to monitor your fish’s health, you can always cook your own goldfish food. Homemade food brings out fresh nutrients for your fish, with no problems that put the goldfish at risk or pollute the inside of the tank during the feeding process. Lettuce and peas are just some of these good homemade foods. Of all the varieties of lettuces, red leaf lettuce is the best for goldfish, because it is easy to chew and digest. These are served uncooked. Baby peas are cooked before being served. They are mashed and peeled when given to the fish.