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Feeding techniquesHaving learned about the ingredients in the feeds, the requirements of the individual fish groups, and how to compose a suitable feeding programme for your fish, you now need to know "how often, when, how much and in what way".How often?Adult fish, of whatever kind, need less frequent feeding than young fish. One or two feeds per day are sufficient for adult fish. Young fish should be fed 3 4 times daily.As all aquarium fish are usually sold as young fish, fish should be fed at least 3 times a day initially. An automatic feeder may be used for times when you are not at home. Later reduce the frequency of feeds to 1 2 per day. Adult fish should have an occasional "fasting" day when they are not fed at all.
 An automatic feeder will feed your fish during your absence or holiday.
When?The number of feeds should be evenly spaced throughout the day. Choose the main feeding time so that you are at home to observe the fish feeding.
How much and how ?A basic rule: Only so much per feed as the fish can eat up in approx. 2 3 minutes. A fish's instinctive habit is to constantly search for food. As fish also do this in an aquarium, the temptation is to overfeed them. Do not let this behaviour tempt you to give more feed. You will only create unnecessary amounts of debris in the aquarium.Do not use feeding rings, instead scatter the feed on the surface of the water where it can disperse. This gives the smaller fish an opportunity to feed undisturbed. If you are not sure of the amount of feed, use a measuring spoon or similar. This avoids the danger of overfeeding.
 Feed sparingly and carefully. Do not simply tip the feed directly from the pack onto the surface of the water. From the technical aspect, it would be better to switch off the filter when feeding to avoid clogging it with particles of feed which might be sucked in. However, since the damage which would be caused if it were not turned on again would be so great, it is better to leave it running. When the filter is turned off, the bacteria settled in it decompose rapidly and produce poisons which can destroy the entire stock of fish if the filter is switched on again without being cleaned. Not to mention the loss of useful filter bacteria.
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