How much to feed

[homestar726]

Hey,

I have 6 Mollies. 3 Black, and 3 Dalmation. THey are new, and I have been following the cardinal rule of feeding (as much as they'll eat in 3 mins) with flakes. They are fairly small, and I have had them for a week. The tank has just finished cycling i think, cause all my levels have evened out.

Now... Heres the question... I did some research, and blood worms are Probably the best things for my fishies. I plan on giving them a variety diet, but after putting in one cube of the frozen blood worms I'm not sure if this is too much.

The cube seems like quite a bit of food for these little guys, and I just want to make sure im not over feeding. Should I cut these cubes in half for the first while, is this a good quantity for my mollies?

The girl at an un-named store, told me one cube a day, and them maybe two once they get bigger, but after putting in one cube, im not sure if she was right..

Help?

[aroc]

if you see things laying around after you feed after a couple of minutes it's too much, one thing about lfs a lot of the time you will be told information which is condusive to selling more product, not nessessarily what is best for your fish.   start small, get a feel for what your fish eat, and you will know what's right

[homestar726]

I could not see any food in the tank, but i looked quickly this morning @ 6am... Still sleeping, i guess. From what I hear is that the fishes stomach is the same size as its eye, so thats why im not to sure if im over feeding them a whole cube.

So does one cube, once a day seem like a good fair portion?

[aroc]

if its all gone it should be fine.. I probly would not feed them that much, but then what I used to do is thaw the cube in a dixie cup of aquarium water and use a eye dropper to suck up a bunch of the thawed bloodworms and drop them in that way

[Melody]

Overfeeding kills way more fish than underfeeding does.  Not only is it stressful to the fish's digestive system, but it also fouls the tank water.

You're on the right track in knowing the size of the fish's stomach, they need very little/meal.  My piglet fish get more than what they need in less than a minute  .  The thawing & feeding idea will give you a better idea of how much you're putting in the tank.  You can also use the end of a butter knife to chop the cubes up in the package, so you can just feed a piece and keep the rest frozen for another feeding.

Bloodworms are a great source of protein but they should be fed as a treat to omnivores/herbivores, in my opinion, as they are difficult to digest in mass quantities. This can cause constipation which can result in death (I just had a friend lose a Molly to an overfeeding of bloodworms in fact).  A couple of worms/fish is plenty.  Mollies are omnivores who require more vegetation in their diet than most.  Following a high protein meal like bloodworms with a high-vegetation meal is recommended to ensure proper digestion. 

Mollies are also known to be sensitive to water conditions, giving you another reason to feed sparingly, especially in a newly cycled tank.

Kudos for being aware of the issue - I'm sure the fish will do well with such a concerned owner.

[kennyman]

I has the same problem, with a different fish, but still the same trouble. I switched to the sheets of frozen bloodworms so that I can more easily control how much I feed. The cubes can be cut but its not much fun. It is allot easier to break off a small chunk from the sheet.