Fish Feeding Frequency Calculator

Aquarium Feeding Guide

What should I know about The 2-Minute Rule?

Standard guideline: feed only what fish can consume in 2 minutes. Excess food: uneaten, sinks, rots. Causes ammonia spike (toxic to fish). Algae growth (excess nutrients). Cloudy water. Substrate fouling. Long-term: nitrate accumulation, disease outbreaks. Most aquarium problems trace back to overfeeding. New fish-keepers consistently overfeed — fish appear hungry constantly (instinctive behaviour) and look so small. In reality: tropical fish stomachs are tiny (size of fish's eye). Cannot eat what looks like a reasonable human-scale portion, since a fish's stomach is genuinely tiny relative to its overall body size, regardless of how eagerly it appears to beg for food.

What do I need to know about Feeding Frequencies?

Tropical community (tetras, guppies): once or twice daily. Small amount. Fast 1 day per week. Goldfish: 1-2× daily. Sinking pellets for fancy goldfish (prevents buoyancy issues from gulping air). Pond goldfish: stop feeding completely when water below 10°C — they cannot digest. African cichlids: 1-2× daily. Vegetable matter for Malawi mbuna (spirulina pellets). Bettas: once daily. 2-3 pellets. Smaller stomachs than most realise. Catfish/loaches: bottom-feeder pellets at lights-off. Cories are active at night, so feeding after lights-off ensures the food reaches them before more assertive daytime fish have already eaten it all.

What do I need to know about Variety Matters?

Single food diet causes nutritional deficiencies. Rotate: flakes/pellets as staple. Frozen bloodworm 2-3× per week. Frozen brine shrimp 1-2× per week. Vegetable matter (algae wafers, blanched courgette/spinach) for vegetarians. Live food (brine shrimp, daphnia) as treats. Specific dietary needs: vegetarian fish (mbuna African cichlids, plecos, mollies): mostly plant matter. High-protein animal food causes Malawi bloat — often fatal. Carnivorous fish need a protein-heavy diet — brine shrimp, bloodworm, and similar live or frozen foods provide the nutritional profile these species require, unlike a standard flake diet designed for omnivores.

What do I need to know about Temperature and Metabolism?

Fish are ectothermic — metabolism varies with temperature. Cold water (under 15°C): metabolism very slow. Feed sparingly. Pond fish: stop feeding below 10°C. They cannot digest — food rots in stomach. Tropical fish range (24-28°C): normal metabolism. Standard feeding schedules. Above 28°C: increased oxygen demand, faster metabolism. Slightly more food often, smaller portions. Care with temperature drops in winter (heater failure, power cuts): reduce feeding while temperature recovers. Holiday feeders, the slow-release blocks, can be useful for short absences, but are not a substitute for proper feeding on longer trips, where a trusted person checking the tank is far more reliable.