How often should I feed my tiger barbs?

R

Rhianon

New member
Just got 6 tiger barbs and few days on have tested the water. The water has too much nitrate in it and when looking up on the internet what caused this, it mentions over-feeding. I'm feeding them 2 pinches every night. Is that too much? Thanks x
 
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™mllmq®®

New member
Obviously keep water cycled.
Feed only once a day with what can be eaten in a few minutes.
What you need to do is monitor your water daily for ammonia spikes.
If your ammonia levels get too high, try using "ammolock" which can be found at your local pet shop. Also, frequent water changes will be a must.
Maybe every other day.(25-50% water only, not the whole tank, at least 10 Gallon tank)
If your fish die, do not replace them at this time. Wait for your tank to properly cycle before putting more fish in it.
 
S

scott

Member
Thats odd because i feed mine twice a day, once in the morning and at night and i give them a decent amount, and they eat it all.
 
J

JessicaM1

Member
One pinch daily or two smaller feedings a day is fine. Two large pinches may be too much for them. Nitrates get high when you do not perform partial water changes weekly/bi-weekly. Nitrates will rise in the tank if you feed your fish too much or not. The only way to get it lower is water changes with de-chlorinated and conditioned water.


And for the love of aquariums, don't change your filter media. The filter media is what holds the beneficial bacteria that actually create the Nitrates. See, Nitrates are actually the least of your worries, especially if you have Ammonia and/or Nitrites in your water. There is something called the Nitrogen Cycle that is best you read about.
 
T

TeVance

New member
What???
Buy floating pellet or pond food that floats.
Wait a few days and put in one piece.
See if they pick it apart.
If not, remove the piece before it gets
waterlogged and sinks to the bottom.
Quit overfeeding the fish.
It causes a rise in ammonia & nitrate levels,
and it makes it so you have to clean out the tank more often.
The more often you clean or do water changes,
the more likely you will inadvertently contaminate the tank,
causing poisoning, disease and death.
Feed the fish 3 or 4 times a week, (less for larger fish)
no more than they can consume in a 10 min. (5 min. for larger fish)
period, not leaving a single particle in view.
My larger fish, get a 25% water change every 4 to 6 months,
they have graduated up to "dog food" twice a week,
and if they don't eat the greasy chunks as I am dropping it in,
it is removed. (3, 10" red belly pacu's, 2, 8" green oscars & a 14" pleco.
The pleco gets half a zucchini once or twice a month.
And all of these guy's live in a 55 gallon tank with ONLY a
under gravel filter and power head WITHOUT a heater.
The younger ones are 11 years old.
FYI... Don't forget the Aquarium Sea Salt for your fresh water tank!!!
Anyone that says "what?" does not know what they are talking about.
It helps control nitrates and conditions the water.
 
S

SB

Member
Try One Pinch, and see if Nitrates Drop. If not you will have to treat water with a Nitrate lowering agent.........
 
F

FishFreak1

New member
Yes that is way to much. I have a 48 gallon tank with 8 tiger barbs and a lot of other fish, I feed the 25 of them 1 pinch of food at night and one in the morning. You are way over feeding yours.
 
J

JosephLorentzen

New member
My wife and I had this discuss about her classroom aquarium. Nitrates are the least worrisome of the nitrogen compounds. Live plants use nitrates to grow.

Yes, you are feeding too much. A recent article in Tropical Fish Hobbyiest magainze showed that even tanks that don't experience these water chemistry changes, the fish can have negative organ changes due to overfeeding. Fish are cold blooded and do not require much in the way of food.

Recent studies have indicated that animals feed the minimum amount live longer then those we humans consider "well" feed. Animals kept lightly fed also have more "hunter gatherer" behaviors and therefore move more seekng food.

You have 3 avenues to take. You can feed lighter. You can add more live plants. And lastly, you should do an additional water change. Actually the last one should be done in any case.
 
X

XeWeCompoundword

New member
Do NOT feed barbs to your tiger!! They could scratch its throat or even tear a hole in its stomach and kill it. Take care of your tiger and your tiger will take care of you.
 
C

ChelseaLately

New member
Did you cycle the tank?
If not you're going through the nitrogen cycle. Which is causing the levels of everything to go haywire.

To lower the nitrates you need to do a 25% water change everyday until your levels are gradually getting more stable. This means you should test every day or every couple days.

I feed all my fish twice a day what they can eat in 3 min. It's not overfeeding them unless you end up with alot of food decaying on the tanks bottom.

Good Luck and read up on the nitrogen cycle. :]
 
K

Kim

Member
Yes that is too much for them. One pinch would probably do it, or 1/2 pinch morning and the same at night.

Don't feed them more than they can eat in two minutes.

I have had fish for 14 years.
 
C

Cole

Member
the easiest way to lower nitrate level is to change about 20% to 25% of the water in your tank. The issue with overfeeding has more to do with ammonia levels. decaying waste (extra food that lands on the bottom and poop) create ammonia and are then chnged into nitrites before they change into nitrates. The ammonia and nitite levels are the levels to feep a very close eye on as these are very toxic to most fish. By keeping these levels low you inturn feep your nitrate levels incheck. A nother good place to go for advice is the pet shop where you bought the fish from.
 
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