Fancy goldfish differ significantly from their aquatic cousins in that they require specific diets tailored specifically for them. This article will outline all available solutions that meet this nutritional need of fancy goldfish species.
Fancy goldfish flourish when fed a diet high in protein and low in fiber. Many fish foods contain too much fiber, leading to digestive issues and potentially blocking up their swim bladders.
Floating Dry Food
Search the fish food aisle of any pet store to find an assortment of goldfish flake foods – popular options due to being economical and readily available – but be wary, as some varieties could be deficient in nutrients and disintegrate into water pollution, leading to potential contamination issues.
Pellet foods provide more nutrition-packed alternatives to flakes and can come in the form of floating, sinking and slow-sinking varieties. For the optimal experience with goldfish nutrition, look for pellet foods tailored specifically to them – such as those free from mammalian fats such as beef heart which could strain their kidneys.
Xtreme’s floating spirulina flake food is an excellent option for fancy goldfish, providing good fiber and roughage as well as protein-rich ingredients and vegetables in an optimal ratio. Furthermore, its formulation frees itself of waste products produced during human food processing that could cause digestive issues for Goldfish.
Sinking Pellets
Fancy goldfish tend to be voracious feeders and require regular meals of sinking pellets for optimal health. Because their metabolisms are higher than larger species, they need additional energy sources. Floating feeds shouldn’t be given since each bite inhales air directly into their swim bladder and causes disorientated swimming (possibly leading to fatal collapse).
Slow-sinking pellets enable fish to easily chew them without swallowing large volumes of air, digest them more thoroughly and assimilate nutrients more rapidly. Pellets can be produced via steam processing which produces compacted pressurized pellets which sink, or extrusion which produces more expanded floating or buoyant feeds. Steam processing reduces production costs but can lose vitamins due to heat processing compared with extrusion which allows flexibility for producing different sized slow sinking or floating feed pellets and sizes of slow sinking and floating feeds.
Gel Food
Fancy goldfish can be greedy. They spend most of their day feeding on algae, aquatic plant leaves, and scraps left behind from previous meals buried within the substrate – their quest for sustenance often leading to overfeeding and ultimately fish death.
Repashy Super Gold and Gargeer Goldfish Food have been specifically developed to be easy for fancy goldfish to digest, with high levels of protein to aid their metabolism, natural color-enhancers like astaxanthin and spirulina, plus Hikari Germ probiotics to aid digestion and assimilation.
Gel foods are powdered food items you mix into simmering water before feeding it to your goldfish. Since gel foods produce a strong fishy aroma when mixed up, ideally this should be done outdoors or somewhere with plenty of ventilation. After mixing up, pour into ice cube trays or similar containers and allow the gel to set before feeding as this will minimize how much air your goldfish swallows while eating – this is key!
