Pellet vs Flake food for goldfish

[Sadielynne]

I have requested new food for the goldfish I am taking care of. Bulk flake food was purchased, even tho' the container was for sinking pellets. I never gave it a thought that flakewould be purchased. I requested pellets and was told they didn't have them in bulk (I figured that!). I asked then, could the pellets not be purchased, with the return of the flakes being credited toward the pellets.

I was asked if there was a different in the two - flake vs pellet - becasue they would rather spend HALF THE COST with the flake food!! This question comes from a person that knows NOTHING about fish!

My thought was that goldfish, being primarily bottom feeders/scavengers do best with pellets. Am I wrong????

[jonstfrancis]

I always found flake better with goldfish.
It is easier to monitor how much they eat in a certain time. They eat happily from the surface and from the bottom so a mix up now and then is a good idea, in the wild they regularly take insects stuck on the surface. Many people feed them a flake and pellet mix at every meal time.

[Sadielynne]

Thank you! I was afraid they would be gulping air too much, when going for the flakes, resulting in bloating, etc.!

[jonstfrancis]

Thank you! I was afraid they would be gulping air too much, when going for the flakes, resulting in bloating, etc.!

Well, I'm not sure about that... I mean if there are some health risks. You could always make it sink by pouring the flakes in with a cup of water?
They do like some variation in diet and they like live food. So don't only feed the flake everyday.

[Diana]

The fancy golds, that is, the ones with the distorted spines are very subject to digestive disorders, and really should be fed wet food.
This could be fresh vegetables, frozen foods, or a dry food (pellets or flakes) that has been moistened before being added to the tank. You can even get some vitamins to add to the food. (Liquid vitamins for caged birds).

The wild shaped fish (Comets, most Shubunkins, feeders...) have much fewer problems that way.

Read the ingredients in the food.
For Golds you want a high algae and vegetable content with whole fish and shellfish. They seem to do OK on some grains, too, though I avoid grains for my tanks (most of my tanks are tropical fish).

I get foods here. Good prices, bulk pricing if you want to buy larger quantities, and very high quality food.
I have linked one possible product that I think highly of for Golds. Yes, he also sells some products with Goldfish in the name, but they are very high protein, not something that I would want for Goldfish. Here is what I would buy for Golds:
http://www.almostnaturalfishfood.us/sto ... ucts_id=51
Here is why:
http://www.koivet.com/a_assessing_feed_labels.html

[Sadielynne]

Thanks, Diana! You are a gem!!

[aliciarohail]

WOW!!!!The tank and the fish are absolutely breathtaking. I hope you don't work, because if you do it would probably be pretty hard to leave the house.