Terrible Advice Tuesdays (T.A.Tues): When Your Fish Is New, Don’t Feed It
Terrible Advice Tuesdays: When placing a new fish in a tank, it should not be offered food until it has been in the tank for at least 24 hours.
The rest of the story: I can understand the rational behind this thinking. The thought is that a new fish will not be interested in food because it is still adjusting to its new surroundings.
That may be true of the fish you just placed in the tank and this is a great example of where you have to make a judgement call vs. sticking to some black and white rule.
If the fish is hiding, acting stressed such as resting against rock work, or the side of the tank, I don’t recommend you offer it food. A stressed fish isn’t going to eat and that uneaten food can cause issues in your tank. This fact is especially true if the fish is going into a quarantine tank as a quarantine tank will have less biological filtration than a display tank.
Also, if there are other fish in the tank, then they can be so aggressive about going after the food that they will bump into the new tank inhabitant, which will only stress the fish more.
However, if the new fish is swimming around your tank and acting normal for a fish of its type, then I’ll certainly offer it food in small amounts. I’ve seen plenty of fish that will eat hours after being placed in a tank and if the fish is eating, then that will help keep their strength up and keep their immune system functioning properly.
Use your judgement and if the fish looks ready to eat…feed it!
Browse the Store! Questions?
As you mentioned I have found that it is important to give a new fish as much as they will eat. A well fed fish has a better chance of adapting to its new environment and fight off disease. I used to have trouble keeping new fish alive until l adopted this policy. Now I feed every new fish live food for the first week to get it fat and happy right away.
I usually feed the existing fish before adding the new one so the neighborhood won’t be so aggressive towards the new tenant. Then a few hours later I will feed a small amount to see what happens. If a fish is freaked it won’t eat. Then I wait until the next day and feed normally. If there is any tension between species, they will have to work it out on their own……
I’ve always thought this was is crazy as well.
I usually feed my fish within minutes of introducing a new life form. I’ve never had a new addition not eat… In fact I’d never heard of this before… But good to know.
Good advice! In fact, I am always a big fan of using our brains……..even if it flys in the face of well known “rules”.
I prefer to feed a fish as soon as it will accept the food. I believe it really does help them get a good start.
Of the fish is quarantined i most definitely want to see if it will take food. That doesn’t mean that you drop a glob in. Common sense is key. Also i found foods with selcon or Garlic supplements very help in stimulating healthy acclimation for newcomers.
hi all from down under. this IS silly advice because it has many other benefits in a community tank. Firstly if you feed the tank then the current occupants will leave the new fish alone and be to busy eating. Plus fish actually learn from watching others and if your not feeding the exact food as you LFS it will gain confidence in trying to eat when it sees other fish eat.
Kinda a way out there question my goodness its a judgement call as Mark said not rocket science here … peace Jimbo
“Use your judgement and if the fish looks ready to eat…feed it!”
Fish that don’t look ready to eat? They make those?!? 😀
I have introduced a discus fish in my discus tank a month ago but the fish is still not eating. All the other fishes are fine. What to do?