# What Food For Fancy Goldfish?



## Bettabubble3 (Aug 17, 2009)

My fish food for my three fancy goldfish is running out and I need to buy some. What your favorite fish food for fancy goldfish? (healthiest)


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

I feed my three shubunkin on a mix of New Life Spectrum Goldfish Formula and New Life Spectrum Large Fish Formula and have had no complaints. In fact New Life Spectrum is the only brand they willingly take. 

However, I know fancy goldfish can be prone to digestive/swim bladder problems so I'm not sure how they would fare on these foods. Also my goldfish are fairly large so you may need a smaller pellet if your fancy goldfish are smaller.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

The Fancies love NLS as well but you definitely need to give them more veggies with fiber to help in digestion, spinach and kale are great for them.


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## Bettabubble3 (Aug 17, 2009)

thank you!


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Hikari is the best food, imo. It's what a lot of showers/breeders feed. NLS is good too


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## Cacique (Jul 12, 2014)

Omega One goldfish pellets are good, but my goldie loves Repashy super green. I swap back and forth between the two.


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## KafkaDream (Dec 30, 2013)

I've kept goldfish longer than I've kept bettas and New Life Spectrum has been the best option available at almost all pet stores (at least in my area). My goldies love it, it keeps them very nice and round, and helps keep their color vibrant. Of course, when keeping fancies, I think its necessary to give them veggies as well, to best mimic their diet in the "wild". Not only do they really help your fish happy and healthy, but it makes them look amazing. I have a calico telescope eye petco thing and his orange patches are nice and bright. 

If you decide to go with NLS, make sure that they are sinking pellets. You don't want your goldfish to have any swim bladder problems. But even if they are a problem, like with my girls (I think), I soak them in some tank water for a few minutes until they've expanded fully. (also be careful with how much you're feeding, they could just be super stuffed. They don't need to eat super often but be warned! They are notorious beggars c: )


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

NLS goldfish/cichild, Repashy foods, Northfin goldfish/cichild. Hikari Saki can also be fed as a supplement.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Mine love the spirulina flakes and tropical fish flakes. He has a thing for those and gobbles them right up. He likes brine shrimp that I give him every so often, makes a nice treat, Mysis too but we go very low on the protein. Emerald Entre isn't bad though it's more omnivorous than they need so better as a treat again. They need some protein in the diet, but lean much more towards plants. Some will eat water lettuce plants and other aquatic plants right up too. Mine will occasionally snag himself some duckweed. 
Fresh blanched veggies like kale as another mentioned is good, I'd stay away from spinach though, it can cause calcium to build up in their kidneys. Blanched romaine lettuce, really minced up squash or zucchini(remove the seeds and most of the rind). Some people give yams, pumpkin or sweet potato as a treat but I don't know much on those myself. 
I'd give him a shelled pea twice a week, especially since they're prone to swimbladder issues. Help keep the issues at bay.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Young goldfish, under a year for -healthiest- growth need a very high protein diet. As the fish ages you would transition to low protein. Baby goldfish need a lot of animal protein (fish/insect), something up there at the level of betta food. After they are done growing they are transitioned to lower protein foods (more Repashy veggie snacks).
Some purists for certain breeds (tosakin) feed young fish a very low protein diet when they are young. This is done in an attempt to stunt the head growth and make the tail as large as possible. However for your typical companion goldfish you need to give a lot of protein when they are young.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Olympia said:


> Young goldfish, under a year for -healthiest- growth need a very high protein diet. As the fish ages you would transition to low protein. Baby goldfish need a lot of animal protein (fish/insect), something up there at the level of betta food. After they are done growing they are transitioned to lower protein foods (more Repashy veggie snacks).
> Some purists for certain breeds (tosakin) feed young fish a very low protein diet when they are young. This is done in an attempt to stunt the head growth and make the tail as large as possible. However for your typical companion goldfish you need to give a lot of protein when they are young.


I haven't heard that before. But I admit it makes more sense and I've been wondering about it since they are pond fish and will eat bugs too. 

Here's a question though, how do you know the age of the younger ones? I've only raised orandas and fantails, but they're usually around two to three inches long when I get them. I've never raised them from fry and watched them grow, so age is difficult to figure out, especially since most fish slow down on growing at a certain point.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I would feed all store bought fish high protein for a year just to be sure (except those extra large goldfish they sell)... A lot of pet shop fish go through horrible conditions, so they may need an extra boost anyways.


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## Sylverclaws (Jul 16, 2012)

Well, if it can't hurt. My kiddies do pretty well. Let's see how they do with some more protein. 

Can I give him the uh...oh what are they, the flakes I give my cichlids. Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Flake Food. I do more frozen greens and proteins though. Guy at the shop said that for my cichlids and goldfish, but even though he has fish, I rarely use their advice unless I check it out first(I'm new to cichlids, so pretty much used him as a sound board, didn't make much sense to feed them saltwater fish food....but hey, my mollies like it), so I feed them sparingly to my cichlids and stick to emerald entrée, blanched greens and frozen brine shrimp and Mysis and the like.


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Food for cichlids is good for young goldies (and bettas, if you are having trouble finding a good food for them).


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