I though I'd kick this off to solicit some views on the day to day feeding of fish. For example: There's the all-round general concept of feeding once a day. And then there's the 'destructions' on all the Food packs, that say 'Feed several times a day, but no more than your fish can consume in...secs/mins/hours'.

Obviously there's the need to control waste, and avoid food from spoiling. And everyone knows that many fish will eat themselves stupid. But how do you ensure that your fish are actually getting what they need?

..going first..

My Main Tank, I feed generally once daily. Two food types, one floating, one sinking. I occasionally provide an additional treat, but usually not the same food I provided earlier. Overall, I don't feed the same food every day, preferring to cycle through two or three varieties of floating/sinking. In addition, I plop in two wafers at night, for my two Bristlenose.

I don't always adhere to this but, I aim to feed only six days a week. My theory being, it gives the Tank a chance to catch up. I'm sure I'm an over-feeder. And this has probably come from having too many Cory's (in excess of 60 adults).

I had some stunted Cory's, and I felt this may be because they weren't getting enough food, from too much competition, so I put a bit more in. Feeding a dozen fish is easy, feeding 50 / 60 /70 in a planted tank is more difficult to judge. However, I rarely see food sitting for any extended period.

So...Your own experiances and views...

i normaly feed twice a day the first time at about 5pm and the second time just as the lights are due to go out so the time varies depending on the tank i also tend not to feed on a sunday as this is when i do all my water changes

As a rule you should feed your fish at least 30 minutes before lights out. With bottom dwellers and nocturnals you should feed at lights out. I keep my feedings once to twice a day. In the morning I try to feed frozen brine/tubifex worms/bloodworms and at night I feed flake or krill. For the bottom dwellers and nocturnals see my thread "pleco diet".

i'm affraid i break the 'rules'. i feed my fish 1 - 3 times a day depending on how busy i am and wether i feel that they need food or not.

plus altho i sometimes feed just before or just after lights out i generaly feed during the daytime. this is to my benefit as my kuhlis and BNs have never been shy and are willing to come out during the day to eat and i get the pleasure of watching them.

when feeding i try to make sure the upper and mid level fish get 2 or 3 mouthfulls each and that none or very little hits the bottom. plus i have 'trained' the upper and mid level fish to leave the catfish pellets and wafers alone as they sink by waving my hand infront of the tank as the food sinks. this discourages them from stealing the cats food to the point that i often dont need to wave my hand any more as they have learned not to take it.

who ever said fish have a 10 second memory was a moron as i'm sure most if not all of u would agree.

i remember seeing a report on american tv where some numpty presenter was going on about how 'scientists' where surprised to learn that dolphins recognised their own reflections in a mirror. it made me angry, i couldnt help thinking who the frig are these so called scientist that dont even have the common sense enough to realise that an animal with a massive brain that uses sonar as well as all its other senses would recognise itself in a mirror. these 'scientists' were spending tax payers money to find this out too, GRRRRRRRRR

Not much of a sample population, but so far we're falling into a 1 to 2 times a day.

So the 'packet' regime, "several times a day, but not more than the fish can consume in ..." Does anyone think about the time taken to eat at all? Do you think, 'cripes! That's been in there for 10 Minutes, better scoop it out." Or is it all a marketing ruse, to foister sales?

My immediate thought is "Which bloody fish are we talking about?". With Guppies and Tetras, who'll gulp down everything within seconds, to Cory's and Bristlenose, taking 10, 15, or 20 minutes, before they stop sniffing about. Cichlids are somewhere in between, rushed feeding to begin with, but a slow tapering off, as they deliberately search out any missed morsals.

As I type this this, I'm prone to think the packet regime, is written for those small fast eaters. They reach their fill quickly, and so may need a 'digestion rest', and then shove down another fill.

Excluding 'fresh' food, does anyone worry about food not being eaten?