Food at different age

[small_ranchu]

Hi all,
I would like to know what kind of food do you feed your fish at different age. How often do you feed per day? Assuming I do my water change everyday for 60% of tank water. Thank you.

[Cincy Ranchu]

Fred,
A 60% daily water change is quite impressive.

All my tanks and tubs are drilled with the exception of four. My water changing is limited to once or twice a week when I am in town. They get a 50% water change until the tap gets too cold then they get selected warm fill ups plus the manual cold drip. The babies get a 50% water change with warm water daily when I am home.

Food is twice to three times per day when I am home, one meal is blood worms or brine shrimp in large quantities ( 1 lb per feeding). I get my frozen food in bulk from Oregon Desert Brine Shrimp 80lbs at a time.

Pellets once a day, and I am still not sold any key variety as the manufacturers do not make it in large enough quantities. I tend to always use a 1mm sinking pellet, sometimes a goldfish food, but more often a Cichlid food. I am actively looking for the new Saki in bulk or large packages. My intermeidate sized fish get 0.35 mm crumbles from New Sprectrum:yess:

I feed gell food on weekends.

My wife feeds the fish once a day when I travel ( which) is typically several days a month. When I am gone they get deli flake once a day. The babies get a 200 um dust or decapsulated brine shrimp. New Borns get APR ( artificial plankton rotifer)

This is supplimented with dried earthworms and dried bloodworms that I buy in bulk. Note I often gring dried blood worms with a mortar and pestil when the ranchu are about 4 weeks on. I have found this grows futon early.

I also pinch canned tuna between my figers and feed this to the fish when I can get it on sale. Note Sam's club sells a 5 lb can, it is great.

Near the full moon or when the fish are ready to breed they get white rice or pasta in order to enlarge and finish the eggs.

THX

[small_ranchu]

Gary,
Thanks for your information.

Recently I got 3" ranchus (3 months according to Paul) and I am feeding them
1. frozen Bloodworm (2 mins feeding period) at 6:30 AM
2. frozen Bloodworm (2 mins feeding period) at 7:30 AM
3. Saki Hikari (1 min feeding period by automatic feeder) at 10:00 AM
4. Saki Hikari (1 min feeding period by automatic feeder) at 12:00 AM
5. Saki Hikari (1 min feeding period by automatic feeder) at 2:00 PM
6. Saki Hikari (1 min feeding period by automatic feeder) at 4:00 PM
7. Steam egg ( 1 min feeding period ) at 5:30 PM



I do water change at 8:00 PM. Is it too much for the fish at that age? :youtellme::cross_fingers: Thank you.

[johnatoranchu]

Hi Fred
Your feeding/water changing regime should ensure excellent growth rate assuming food quantities are large enough and water temperature is in the 70-80F range. As far as quantity is concerned, to maximise growth Ranchu should be fed 5% of their body weight each day - more if bloodworm is used as the "weight" of the water in the bloodworm needs to be discounted. I know Gary is a keen devotee of home made gel food, but I am in the opposite camp - I won't touch it! As I think I've mentioned on another thread, my fish are fed on Saki-Hikari (Goldfish - purple (bag) and green (bag)) and frozen bloodworm only. My breeders are fed on frozen bloodworm only as "fat" fish seldom make good spawners.
John

[Cincy Ranchu]

What a great pleasure to interact with Ambassador Parker, hey John is not here in Gods' country in a quantity that is affordable. Gel food is great, but you have to have cooking experience and the we in the states can't get bloodworm from Russia or Poland. Our only economic al choice is Oregan Desert Brine shrimp where the frozen blood worms come from China. they are half the price of reatil

[King_oF_Ranchu]

How is the quality of Bloodworm compare with SF Bay and Hikari?
Since Hikari seem like cleaner than SF Bay. WHich SF Bay got fatter Bloodworm.

[bekko]

I find that goldfish live longer and with fewer problems if the protein and fat content of the maintenance diet is reduced as the fish matures. My breeders still get a rich diet though.

My staple diet is industrial pellets, but for breeders and certain critical groups of juveniles the staples are supplemented with gel food, omelet and live food. The gel food and omelets are largely a way of making use of unused resources around the farm which need to be cooked before feeding. This includes african tree snails (a pest on our flowers), duck eggs and goose eggs (the family refuses to eat them), tilapia from the drain ditches, etc. I grow bloodworms, mosquito larvae and daphnia for adults/juveniles plus moina and microworms for the fry. Whenever there is a project which involves digging the earthworms are saved and frozen for use when bringing stubborn breeders into condition.

But, while my right brain spends excessive amounts of time cooking and growing all these concoctions, my left brain is telling me that the big feed companies have highly trained nutritionists and decades of R&D invested in formulating effective fish diets. Is it plausible that we can mix up something on a whim (without even a proximate analysis) which is as good as what the professionals make for us?

-steve

[johnatoranchu]

Steve - at least in my view we can't, hence my total reliance on manufacturers and nature.
John

[bigbettadan]

I have stumbled on a pellet that really stimulates head growth. It's Atison's betta pro. I have had better luck with this pellet than any other. I do use bloodworm in conjuction......

Dan

[goldfishforlife]

I would think we could make homemade foods with higher quality ingredients than most store bought foods. I doubt many food makers are using prime human grade ingredients. But, that is not saying there are not some high quality manufactured foods out there..

I try to use a wide variety of foods.

With the sheer volume of fish that some of you raise, I understand exactly why you would favor manufactured foods.Pure amounts of food that you use. Money and ease would have to play at least some roll.

[Sabine]

I think commercial fish food (for raising farmed fish for our dinner tables) is of better quality than the pet fish foods. There are more stringent rules when it comes to additives and freshness, because we are at the top of the food chain. It has a shorter shelf life though so pet stores can't stock it, making it harder to find a source.

[meanest]

Is it ok to feed adult fish decapsulated brine shrimp eggs?