everything is going good so far with the new fish but if i put the tip of my finger in the water they go crazy and try and eat me... lol. Do this mean they are staving or what?

They are probably not starving. They recognize you and your hand as a food source and they are constantly on the hunt for food. What kind of fish and how often do you feed? Are they adult fish?

If you are talking about the Afriacns and the catfish you just got....get used to that. They will greet you everytime you move by the tank. I have a 120g with over 40 African Cichlids and when I walk by I have a group of 40 splashing at the water surface all in a bunch thinking i am going to feed them.

Mostlycichlids wrote:

If you are talking about the Afriacns and the catfish you just got....get used to that. They will greet you everytime you move by the tank. I have a 120g with over 40 African Cichlids and when I walk by I have a group of 40 splashing at the water surface all in a bunch thinking i am going to feed them.

Hahaha ok. BTW i have just been feeding them little cichlid peebles. I read somewhere that said fish are like people and just like people they need variety. Should I throw some veggies in there just raw?

Well all fish should be fed variety but they will do fine on pellets. I feed mine pellets on a regular basis but if you wish to try some veggies go for it. Greens are best spnach, shelled peas, romaine lettuce. Better to cook first so it sinks though.

Maybe they just like your finger

We feed a mixture, two varieties of flake, a general and a veggie. Large spirulina wafers. small pellets. Large cichlid pellets. A mid level sinking granular food for generalists too. They get fed two times a day on work days. Three times otherwise for 6 days in 7. Supplement with vegetables, defrosted frozen prawns or shrimp. Defrosted frozen peas with the shells removed, courgettes, cucumbers, weighed down with aquarium lead. The community get the smaller stuff, the cichlids get more of the meaty stuff. The silver dollars get more veggie stuff. Occasionally feed live bloodworm. Sometimes the packet 'wet' food. Don't have much call for live brine shrimp or daphnia. Sometimes consider feeding snails.

Lights go on in the morning and first feed is 30 minutes later. Night feed is about an hour before lights go off. Catfish wafers and food for the plecos go in about an hour after lights off.

We feed an eclectic mix mostly because I think a variety prevents them from becoming spoiled and picky, minimises the risk of a nutrient deficiency, perhaps keeps them a little happier and therefore brighter, allows all types of fish to feed at different levels. I've fed the same old stuff for months at a time to goldfish before when I've bought it in bulk but then fish food isn't very expensive and I might as well do it properly.

Fish need to eat a surprisingly little amount and under feeding is much better than overfeeding. If you feed 'as much as possible' then you've got to really keep up with your water changes but then you'll get faster growth rates so it depends on what you are looking for. Leftover uneaten food is a no no and quickly contributes to foul water. You can feed 5-6 times a day as long as you only feed as much as they'll eat within a minute or two for stuff like flake and smaller pellets and pretty much a fair mouthful for larger fish eating pellets. I feed multiple times per day to cut aggression at feeding time for the cichlids.

Also fish are opportunistic feeders, quickly learn to identify the hand that feeds them along and will always act 'starving'. I've heard of people that feed from behind a screen as not to condition them to this response around people?