How long goldfish live without food

You can also treat your tap water with a de-chlorinator and use it for your goldfish. Remembers, you should never use untreated tap water. Tap water contains components such as chlorine, heavy metal and other impurities that could kill your fish. The ideal water temperature for common goldfish is approximately 65 and 68 degrees Fahrenheit and for a fancy goldfish it is between 65 and 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

To keep the temperatures constant, keep a water heater and a thermometer in your aquarium. Goldfish are not aggressive fish. They can live well with other tank mates. However, their tank mates should be live in water conditions that much those of the goldfish. In the wild, goldfish are omnivores. They eat aquatic plants, insect larvae, other smaller fish, fish eggs and crustaceans. One of the major mistake goldfish breeders forget is that you ought to feed your fish what they would feed in the wild so as to ensure they receive all the nutrients they require.

Most goldfish breeders assume it is okay to feed their pet tropical fish food. However, goldfish menu should contain less protein and more carbohydrates. Feed your goldfish specified goldfish flakes and granules, supplemented with fresh vegetables, fruits, shrimp, live Daphna and freshwater.

Additionally, you can feed your finned friend small invertebrates, mosquito larva, blood worms, duck weed and scalded peas. When feeding your fish freeze dried food, soak them first to avoid causing digestive problems. Vegetables such as rice, beans and carrots should be finely peeled, chopped or boiled before being fed to the goldfish. Feed your goldfish a small amount of food two to three times in a day.

Remember, you should only give your goldfish food that it will consume in two minutes. A general rule to determine how much food to give your fish is to feed it as much as the size of its eye. Left-over food will sink at the bottom of the aquarium, decompose and cause water pollution.

Most people believe goldfish are suitable for people who travel often. They are known to survive from 8 days up to 2 weeks without eating anything. Are you going for a long business trip or vacation and wondering if your precious goldfish will go without food? If this is you, then you are in the right place.

We will answer this and many more questions. So, how long can goldfish live without food? It is proven that a goldfish can go for weeks without food. However, you should not leave them unfed for this long as they will become malnourished and extremely hungry. If going on vacation maybe consult your neighbor or use the tips we will share below. This is one of the questions that numerous hobbyist ask. As earlier mentioned the goldfish can survive for 2 weeks.

But, this can take a toll on their health especially their immune and color. Basically, they can go without food for about 4 days or so and still remain healthy. Moreover, several factors such as the health, size, and age of the fish dictate how long it can go without food.

Naturally, carnivores and omnivores tend to stay for long without food. Fish sitters can range from your next door neighbor to commercial sitters. They can literally make the difference between life and death.

Commercial sitters are commonly found in public aquarium in hospitals, schools, etc. Besides that, they are available for hire for domestic tasks. In fact, this is the best option rather than entrusting a neighbor. That said, you should bring them onboard on what your fish needs, feeding schedule, how to tend to the aquarium and other important aspects. They are designed to release feeding blocks between specific intervals for a certain amount of time.

Check this on Amazon. To mitigate this, manually introduce the desired food into the chambers and the feeder will seamlessly drop the food without any fuss.

There are numerous benefits of using this method. They include:. To ensure the fish become accustomed to the new feeding method, gradually introduce them before going for your vacation. Similar to vacation feeders, they dispense freeze-dried or dried feeds once a day or after a few days. It depends on how you will set the timer. Should the filter, unfortunately, stop working, continued dispensing of food could pollute the water and ultimately lead to the death of the goldfish.

So if you are taking a trip, why not consult a fish feeder or purchase an automatic or vacation feeder? There are several ways you can tell that your fish is hungry. Normally, people are quick to tell when a fish is full but rarely can notice a hungry goldfish.

So how do you know when to feed your fish? The above are some of the ways you can tell that your fish is extremely hungry. Ensure you feed it in the right proportions and at the right time. Underfeeding is a phenomenon that most fish keepers overlook. You might think you are feeding the fish with the recommended amount of food but maybe you are starving them.

So how can you prevent this? Automatic feeders ensure your fish is fed even when you are away. In fact, it dispenses the right amount of food just at the exact feeding time. This ensures that your goldfish is neither under or overfed.

Do you desire to feed your fish at 2 pm or 11 am or perhaps 7 am? Whichever the case, stick to a consistent schedule. Why not set a reminder for this? In this case, the goldfish should devour the food in minutes. There should be some little leftovers too to ascertain the fish is full. Just like any other aquarium fish, there are numerous reasons why your goldfish is not eating. Besides, goldfish have their unique requirements. During this time, they scavenge their aquarium and feed off algae.

In ponds, depending on the size and available algae sometimes goldfish also eat plants, check out this list here and insects, goldfish can go without feeding indefinitely. Now, it must be said that goldfish and most betta fish too are great and strong fish that can survive a period without feeding. There is even a case published on the British news website The Telegraph where a goldfish survived for an impressive days after an earthquake in New Zealand.

The poor fish fed on algae and other tank inhabitants that had passed away. While this is a sad and extreme example, it shows the strength of goldfish. Here are some of your options. This is because, as you probably know, goldfish look hungry all the time. The chances that your friend or neighbour will overfeed and pollute your aquarium are high, and this could kill your fish. If you leave longer than two weeks, you probably have to ask another person to check on your tank.

If you can afford professional fish-sitters, which exist, try getting a hold of them. If you opt for a friend or neighbour, give them proper instructions and potentially even prepare all the servings they have to give their fish. Providing them with a feeding schedule is also important. There are many options available that you can program just the way you would want. But I would be very careful to say the least. It got me into so much trouble! Be sure to pay attention to the type of slow-release fish food you buy because some are made for Goldfish, but others are food tropical fish, bottom feeders, betas, and even specifically for pond fish.

However, keeping live plants in your aquarium can provide some food for your Goldfish if they are desperate enough. Goldfish and much other fish are known to nibble on algae and plants if they have no other available food.

If for some reason, your automatic feeder stops working or your neighbor forgets to stop by, your Goldfish can nibble on the plants, and it might just be enough to keep them from starving. Goldfish are used to eating food in the middle section of the water in their natural habitat, so using pellets works best because they sink. I like to feed a few pellets at a time and watch my Goldfish eat them up before they reach the bottom. This helps prevent any pellets from sinking to the bottom of my tank and rotting.

However, Goldfish are great at sifting through the gravel and eating any food that reaches the bottom. Each time you feed your Goldfish, give them enough to ensure all your fish get something to eat and that all of the food is consumed within two minutes. When you feed your fish, your goal should be to ensure that all your fish get something to eat and that they appear full.

You can do this by spacing out your feedings throughout the day if you notice they become a little sluggish in the afternoon. Many experienced fish keepers skip at least one day of feeding each week to help clear out the digestive tract of their fish.