What are the affects of under feeding fish?

Question

What are the affects of under feeding fish?

Answer 1

the same with under-feeding yourself or a puppy. They get skinny. They won't be good for breeding (if you were planning to breed, that is) They p**p less. most people over-feed their fish and their tanks get really dirty really fast.

Oh, they also are a little less resistant to disease and get kinda... I think "Punchy" is the right word. More aggressive. At least that was my experience when I tried underfeeding my fish. When I started feeding the same fish twice a day instead of once every other day, they started getting along much better together, and they're looking a lot nicer.

Answer 2

The end result is they could die...

Answer 3

Underfeeding resulting in skinny or death?  I hardly think so.  Do you realize that out in rivers and lakes, there are times fish might not eat for weeks.  Have any of these two ladies ever considered that the mouthbrooding female Mbuna's do not eat for 3 weeks while carrying a brood?  No, it's totally wrong to think of fish and food in the same levels as you look at mammals.  For starters, mammals are warm blooded and fish are cold blooded, so food is not used as an internal heat source.  Secondly, as said above, there are many times when food is just not around or readily available in the wild, yet fish always seem to find a way to cope with that.  They will migrate or seek alternative food sources.  Fish very rarely ever die from starvation.

I think you might find fish could end up in a weakend state, and have a weakend immune system, and thus susceptible to pathogens.  I think you'll also find, if food is lowered, but not totally withdrawn, you'll see aggression begin to set in as the food source appears to be less and less, competition for food will result in higher aggression levels.  Very long term, I'm talking in terms of months it MIGHT result in deaths or be a cause leading to whatever would kill a fish.

Answer 4

This would depend on where they are being housed and what kind of fish.  While fish like mollies, guppies, goldfish, plecos (to name a few)

will eat the algae from the tank to supplement their diets and can actually live on excess algae.

While underfeeding in the short term will have little affect, in the long run will lead to stunting, starvation eventually, possiably canabalism etc.

Also, not allowing the fish to have the right neuitrents the fish will not develop properly, could loose color, eyesight, then to follow other body functions will start to shut down.