# Skipping a Feeding?



## chrisDman (May 15, 2010)

Hi, I usually feed my Cichlids first thing in the morning and at around supper time. Have been reading though that sometimes it's good to let them go a day with out feeding to kinda clean them out I guess. Thing is right in the morning they seem to be savagely waiting for breakfast. Should I feed them? Was just curious what others do as far as their feeding schedule because to be quite honest I expected a lot for poo then what they do, kinda thinking maybe i'm feeding to much too often, but they eat it all before it hits the ground for sure and I vary thier diet as well.

Chris


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## Stellaluna (May 8, 2006)

I generally skip one day a week, not necessarily for any health benefits but because of my schedule, lol!

Fish are built to eat whenever the opportunity strikes, since it could be a while from one meal to the next, so even if they are stuffed full they will still always appear hungry and begging you to feed them. I think it is probably good to allow them to go a bit hungry once in a while, but I don't have any data to back that up.


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## cichlidsrule16 (Sep 14, 2010)

I always skip a day a week, and when they get live feeders I'll skip two days. It doesn't hurt the fish at all.


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## Icey101 (Nov 5, 2007)

I normally skip feeding them on Thursdays, more based off reading than anything personel experince. Skipped feeding a day a week, not that Thursday is some holy day for fish or anything.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I do not skip except when gone or other things interfere. I think that it is more a homespun way to lessen the chances of over feeding. If your bio load is not overworking your filters and you water changing is not bothering you, I see no reason to worry it either way.

I go with what is working for me and pay little attention to what other tanks do.


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## Imaconvict (Feb 1, 2010)

PfunMo said:


> I do not skip except when gone or other things interfere. I think that it is more a homespun way to lessen the chances of over feeding. If your bio load is not overworking your filters and you water changing is not bothering you, I see no reason to worry it either way.
> 
> I go with what is working for me and pay little attention to what other tanks do.


+1, If nothings broke then theres nothing to fix. I feed twice a day with no problems. If you are having issues then make adjustments otherwise leave it be.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

I find I get a breeding frenzy when I leave on vacation. The fish skip a water change, get fed infrequently if at all, and when I get back they'll spawn if they haven't already.

Healthy fish are hungry fish- and hungry fish help the water stay cleaner. Fish should be scavenging for lost food morsels, rooting around a bit in the substrate. Intestinal diseases are less frequent, in my experience, when the gut is empty once and awhile.

So, I'm a big proponent of fasting fish at least one day a week, and for a long weekend here and there. Of course, fry tanks are a whole different thing- I don't like letting them go for much more than 36 hrs, depending on how young the fry are.


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## HDrydr (Mar 22, 2010)

I feed my fish every other day and they do great, keeps the water clean too!! Think it just depends on your fish


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

I feed my fish numerous time a day, some more than others. Heavy feeding just means more water changes, but if you are growing fish, rather than just maintaining them, it works better. Good growth rates can't be achieved with food alone; clean water is at least as important.


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## Sparrk (Oct 11, 2010)

I feed my fish 2-3 times a day a mix of spirulina flakes and peas(without skin), whatever they can eat in 30sec, your cichlids should always look hungry, its a sign of good health, overfeeding them will lead to Malawi bloat. My cichlids are herbivorous, therefore they have long intestinal tracks like... 4 times the length of the fish apparently, and its good for them to purge their system once in a while. I dont really know about the carnivorous diet... but anyway the only advice here is to be careful, very hungry fish = aggression


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