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Watching your goldfish swim around the tank can ease tension and make you forget about the stress in your life, but your peace can abruptly end when you realize you’re out of fish food.
It’s normal to feel panicked when you realize you’ve run out of fish food. However, as we’ll explain shortly, in most circumstances, you likely don’t need to panic. And for those special circumstances, there might be alternatives you can easily acquire or find for your goldfish.
Let’s dive into feeding your goldfish when you’re out of fish food.
You’re Out of Fish Food – Should You Worry?
As a pet parent, it’s normal to worry when you see that you’re out of fish food for your goldfish. It’s very normal for many people to think of their pets as family and akin to children (in the sense that they have to care and provide for them). Though there’s nothing wrong with having a sentimental appreciation for your pet, it’s also important to keep in mind that you’re not dealing with a person. As such, you should appreciate the remarkable facts about a goldfish’s relationship to food.
Unless your goldfish is exceptionally young, they are more than capable of handling several days of not being fed. In fact, this form of fasting (not to be confused with starvation) is considered relatively normal for goldfish. After all, they wouldn’t eat every single day in the wild, and as such, have adaptive mechanisms which account for this possibility
Goldfish lack a stomach and are opportunistic feeders that process whatever they eat quickly. The lack of a stomach means there’s no “holding chamber” for their food, and they’d also not feel full shortly after eating, which would promote opportunistic feeding.
Despite not having a stomach, goldfish can feel hungry. Their hunger is controlled by a hormone called ghrelin. This hormone only begins to show a substantial increase in a goldfish’s body after they’ve been fasting for a period of about 3 to 5 days 1. Furthermore, it takes around 7 days of fasting for it to be substantially higher in their gut. The studies that determined these timelines also found that during this time, goldfish didn’t experience any detrimental effects to their health. They have effective mechanisms to regulate their metabolic processes, which, perhaps surprisingly, are different from those of wild carp 2.
In essence, if your goldfish are healthy juveniles or adults, you really don’t have any reason to panic if you can’t feed them for up to a week. Goldfish that aren’t brumating can withstand not being fed for possibly even 2 weeks (however, this isn’t recommended in fishkeeping practices).
In addition, do keep in mind that goldfish are cold blooded, and, as such, their metabolism (and therefore their hunger) will be influenced by the water’s temperature. In the colder months, they would need to eat less.
A Few Other Reasons to Consider Patience
Perhaps you’re still keen on making sure your beloved fish do eat something while you’re waiting on their food to be delivered. There are a few other reasons to not add random food from your pantry into their aquarium.
It Increases Aquarium Bioload
Goldfish that are fed produce more ammonia than goldfish that aren’t fed. You might go overboard with feeding your goldfish food items from your pantry (after all, they don’t come with a feeding guideline), which could in turn lead to unwanted ammonia spikes in your aquarium. Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish and in high amounts can even crash your tank’s nitrogen cycle.
Altered Water Chemistry
Anything you add to your goldfish’s tank will alter the water’s chemistry, and often unfavorably. For example, almost all fruits are inherently acidic, and therefore, they would undoubtedly have an impact on your water’s pH levels. This would be detrimental for your fish.
It May Pollute the Water
Anything that doesn’t get eaten by your goldfish will inevitably spoil and pollute the water. Again, this is far worse than having your goldfish tolerate not being fed for some days.
The 6 Things Your Goldfish Can Eat When You’ve Run Out of Fish Food
The following food items are considered safe for goldfish as an alternative to fish food on a temporary basis.
1. Aquatic Plants
The best answer might already be in your aquarium! If you temporarily run out of food, your pet can rely on the aquatic plants for sustenance. The most palatable plants include Azolla, Salvinia, Lemnoideae (duckweed), and Elodea (water weeds). Suffice it to say if you have a well-planted tank, you really have very little to worry about. If you’re interested in using plants to decorate the tank that most goldfish will avoid eating, you can use anubias or java fern.
2. Tropical Fish Food
Though not recommended on a long-term basis, food intended for tropical freshwater fish is often readily accepted by goldfish and also readily available for purchase at most pet stores.
3. Gel Food
If you’re willing to get creative with your fish cuisine, you can make homemade gel food for your goldfish. Gel tablets and powders are available online and at pet stores, but you can save money by using vegetables and seafood from your kitchen. The commercial instant powders only take a few minutes to make, but most DIY recipes should only take an hour or less. Some popular recipes use brine shrimp, spinach, sweet potato, and gelatin. After steaming and blending the vegetables and shrimp, you add the seasoning and mix the material with gelatin. After the gel has set, you can cut it into servable pieces.
4. Worms
Keeping a colony of pet-store worms in your home can serve as a nutritious food snack when your fish food runs out. Avoid using wild worms from your yard to prevent tank contamination and harming local ecosystems. Worms that make excellent meals include:
- Tubifex worms
- Earthworms
- Bloodworms
- Mealworms
- Waxworms
When using larger worms, you can dice them up to make them easier for your fish to eat.
Many goldfish die as a result of improper feeding, diet, and/or portion sizes – which can be easily prevented by proper education.
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5. Cucumber
Cucumbers are readily accepted by most goldfish, though they should only really be offered if you don’t have any aquatic plants at hand. Cucumbers offered to your pet should be thoroughly washed and sliced, and they need to be pinned down to the aquarium floor with a weighted item (such as a fork).
6. Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach, romaine, and kale can be steamed, chopped, and served to your goldfish. However, do note that they will likely leech colors into your tank’s water (especially if they are steamed).
Tips for Caring for Goldfish While on Vacation
It’s unfortunate that you cannot take your goldfish on vacation, but unless you secure a tank on a trailer with superior shock absorption, your pets will have to stay at home. Hiring a fish sitter or asking a friend to care for the fish are the best methods to ensure your fish do not suffer in your absence.
When you’re away, a power surge or thunderstorm could shut off the filter, lights, and aerators. Your trusted pet sitter can move the tank to another home or call someone to restore the power. They can also check the water chemistry and temperature, clean the tank, and ensure the filter functions correctly.
If you cannot get someone to care for the fish and will be away for more than a week, you can consider installing an automatic feeder that remains outside the water and only dispenses a small portion of food per day. Most models are battery-powered and unaffected by power outages.
Prior to leaving for a short vacation, you would have to do a partial water change (as your absence for a prolonged period of time would mean that your goldfish may not get their weekly partial water change). Aquatic plants are highly recommended for such scenarios as well, as they provide goldfish the opportunity to graze and forage on extra food in your absence.
What About Feeding Blocks?
Another option for feeding that you might be considering is using time-release food blocks that slowly dissolve and release fish food. These are not advised, as they often quickly spoil and rapidly compromise water quality.
Conclusion
Fish food, leafy treats, and aquatic plants provide a healthy diet for your goldfish, but goldfish do possess a remarkable tolerance for fasting for periods of up to 7 days easily. There are safe snacks you can offer your fish in the absence of fish food. However, goldfish that are healthy juveniles or adults often have no issues handling a slight delay in the delivery of their food.
Featured Image Credit: Kravchuk Olga, Shutterstock
