My fish are in their tank; when should I feed them?

Question

So I got George (the betta) this morning and the man at the store also told me I could go ahead and get the bottom feeders. So I have two bottom feeders as well. He told me that I could feed all three of them the food that came with my kit but he didn't tell me when.

Should I wait a few days to feed them or start feeding them tomorrow morning when I wake up for school?

I know, twice a day, only as much as the fish will eat so as not to over feed them/dirty the tank.

Also, will the bottom feeders eat blood worms or brine shrimp? Once I come across them frozen in the store I want to buy some for George.

Also, when can I turn on the aquarium light again? I've kept it off because I've read that it's a good idea to do so when introducing new fish.

And the fertilizer for plants; how often should I add it?

Answer 1

Keep a close eye on your water parameters now you've added all those fish, even in a cycled tank (presuming you cycled it?) sudden additions can cause a small ammonia spike.

By "bottom feeders" I presume you mean Corydoras catfish? There are many many fish that dwell on the bottom of the tank! Corys love a good bit of bloodworm.

I would personally leave them to settle for the night and feed tomorrow. Many newly introduced fish won't eat for several days and there's no use chucking in food, only for it to go bad and mess up the water quality.

The light can stay off until tomorrow to let the fish settle.

As for plants, I've kept Corys in planted tanks with no trouble (and plastic plants would tear up a bettas fins, avoid!). You can add ferts after the weekly water change, be careful not to overdo it as it can cause an algae outbreak instead!

Answer 2

You can try to feed your fish today, however some may eat and some may not.  Try feeding them in the morning before school.  You can turn the lights on now if you like.  Although lights off when adding is believed to place less stress on the fish, I have never practiced that.

Yes the bottom feeders will eat blood worms as well as nibble on zucchini chunks and cukes if you have a slice handy.  George will love your brine shrimp.

You can fertilize your plants after/during your next weekly water change.  Only fertilize once per month.  Not only will excess fertilizer add to an increase in algae, it can spike your nitrates as well.  It is always a good idea to leave the plants in plastic containers.  This helps with the trimming of the roots for healthy plants and to keep the dead roots from rotting in the tank.  (Not to mention keeping them under control since plants like baby tears tend to take over)

Good luck with your new fish!

Answer 3

start feeding them tonight, but don't worry if they don't eat the food, they might be nervous and not feel like eating. but they should start eating more by tomorrow morning.

you should also be able to turn the light on later on tonight.

i hope i helped :)

Answer 4

feed them tonight b4 going to bed

you can turn the light on 1 hour after introducing the fish into the tank

bottom feeders do eat blood worms

but not recommended to have live plants as bottom feeders will destroy them best to have plastic ones

hope this helps u out and good luck  

Answer 5

You're really going to need to test your water since you didn't cycle the tank before adding all those fish.  The guy at the store is not your most reliable source of information.  All he wants to do is sell you stuff and if your fish dies he can count on you to be back to buy more.

It depends what your bottom feeders are.  Algae eaters (which will get much too big) or oto's eat algae so you need algae wafers for them.  Cory cats will eat left over food that falls to the bottom but there shouldn't be any of that if you feed your betta 2 pellets morning and night.  Only feed one pellet, if it eats it then feed one more.  If it doesn't eat the first one after a couple minutes, remove it.

The light is only for the plants, no the fish.  Most fish don't really care if it's on or not.  They need a cycle of daylight/dark the same as humans to be able to set their internal clock but unless you have your fish in a totally dark room then light isn't an issue to the fish.

Until you get your tank through the cycle process I wouldn't add any fertilizers.  It will mess up water tests and possibly disturb cycling.

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Answer 6

Yes, you should feed your fish 1 in a half days after you buy them! I bought  a betta fish at pet co and it did not eat until almost two whole days after I got my betta fish.



Yes, the bottom feeders will eat the blood worms and the brine shrimp if your put it in the tank.

Your aquarium light can go on 1 day after you put the fish in! If you put it on any sooner your fish will get stressed out.

And the fertilizer for plants;put it on ounce a day like at lunch time! Because if you put it on any more or sooner it is not good for the fish.

                                               Hope This Helps!

Answer 7

Fish need 10 hrs of light a day.

As for feeding the guid lines state enough they can eat in 5 mins make sure you bye some algy wafers for the bottom feeders as the chances are they will not be able to sustaine them, failing that try cucomber mine love it!