Feeding Fish (AKA Golden Piranhas)

By Goldenpuon:

This is an comedic narrative essay I (goldenpuon) wrote for a college class. It is about my experience feeding my goldfish. (They are crazy about food I might add.)


Dinner for My Golden Piranhas

It is 6:00 PM. It’s time to feed the fish! As I grin and wonder what antics I will see from my goldfish this evening, I recall why they are so dear to me. My beloved pets were once feeder fish that were raised for the sole purpose of being eaten by larger aquatic animals. But did that mean the inch-long creatures were treated well? No, the poor souls were packed like sardines into small tanks with hundreds of other sick and malnourished individuals. Many lay dead in heaps or weakly flailed their fins in the filter’s current. They were pushed into aquarium walls, other debilitated fish, and even cannibalized by their famished brethren. That is when I became involved. I was on a mission to save the few goldfish I could. I hand-chose the most active and disease-free fish I could find and took them home.

It has been years since the goldfishes’ rescue, and they have blossomed. They have completely lost their fear of humans and gladly accept food given by hand. The fishes’ scales shine, their bodies are plump, and they really seem to enjoy their spacious, clean aquarium. I have done a great service by saving these animals’ lives. This realization brings me even closer to these critters that are as precious to me as any dog or cat.

I suddenly cease daydreaming. It is now a quarter after six. I have mouths to feed! I jump up from my computer desk and scamper to the kitchen cupboard. Using my right hand, I grab the cupboard door knob and hastily swing it open. I eye the cabinet’s contents only a second before I spot my desired quarry: Omega One Goldfish pellets.

After I snatch up the container of food, I close the cupboard door just gently enough not to make a racket. I stride over the old, blotchy kitchen tile. Then I set the fishes’ evening meal on the spotless countertop ledge adjacent to my forty gallon aquarium. I can already see the fish swarming to the left side on the tank they are always fed on. I run back over the discolored tiles and to the nearly spotless kitchen sink. I twist the cold water knob on full force, speedily rinse my hands in the cool water flowing from the faucet, and once more sprint across the kitchen to the tank. After thoroughly drying my hands on a thrice-used yellow rag, I twist open the lid to the aliment and place the lid face-down on the counter.

By now, the ever more gluttonous and eager goldfish are feverishly dancing near the glass. A white little fish paces up and down in frenzy, jerking its entire body eagerly from side to side. Another opens its round, capacious mouth and franticly nibbles on the glass. The largest, orange fish even forgets itself and gives its small silver friend a hardy nip. The rest of the goldfish madly speed through the water carelessly bumping and prodding one another. “You’re silly fish!” I laugh as I give my aquatic pets a caring grin. I reach my hand into the food container and seize a few dozen tiny pellets between my thumb and index finger.

I hold the pellets firmly in my hand to prevent them from dropping to the thick, beige carpet, where they are difficult to spot. At this point, the fish have lost all sense. Eight wild savages beg for their meal at the speed of light. They jostle near the water’s surface with crazed ferocity as they mindlessly smack and strike one another with their fins and bodies. Slowly, the eight goldfish─ still side-by side and miraculously uninjured─ make their way to the water’s surface.

Smiling to myself, I lift the translucent plastic lid of the tank and slide my hand inside the aquarium. I hear clicking and popping noises as a two goldfish nibble at the surface, envisioning that the object of their desire. Casually, I dip my hand into the cold aquarium water. Eager mouths are ready. I smile as several of the toothless creatures bite at my fingers with all their might. I have no concerns about the fish hurting me; even their most forceful bites don’t leave a mark on my hand. Still, their antics, love of food, and reckless, piranha-like behavior amuse me. As I ponder what drives them, I release the fishes’ dinner.

After this, chaos ensues once more. Fish dash for slowly pellets slowly descending to the tank bottom. They rush to gobble up as many bits as they can. Several of the fish practically inhale three pellets at once. Another greedy food-addict nips a tangerine-colored fish’s mouth in hopes that the harassed fish will spit out its partially digested meal. After I screw the lid back onto the Omega One Goldfish pellet container and deposit it safely back into the cabinet, I amble back to the aquarium.

There is no provender left in sight. None is floating in the water column, motionless on the aquarium bottom, or concealed among decorations and green and yellow leaves. However, the ambitious quest for left-overs will persist for a minimum of three hours. I gaze in awe at the fish poking their heads into bushy plants’ fronds, scouring every inch of the tank bottom and sides with their mouths’, and even taking an occasional nibble at the cylindrical filter intake tube. I wave at the fish to both to be silly and express how much I love my goofy, single-minded pets.

After fifteen minutes, I step back from the aquarium. I gaze around the living room until I spot my mother slouched forward on an armchair, carefully reading over paperwork. “Want to know what the goldfish did?” I ask excitedly as I do every evening. She turns away and peers closer at the documents, visibly tormented by my constant talk about fish. But I don’t give her reaction much thought. I merely shrug and return to the aquarium.

Two of the goldfish abandon their futile search. They swim up to me, wiggling their fins in greeting, but not with as much enthusiasm as before. I shake my head. Their calmness will be short-lived. As soon as I disappear from sight, these two will join the other savages speedily foraging once more.

Crazy goldfish, I rescued you, and your behavior has forever changed me. Without me, none of you would have ever experienced the comfort of a clean tank or known the heart of a caring human-being. If I had not seen the terrible suffering in that tiny tank and taken you home, I would not be the person I am now. Golden piranhas: the creatures that form the fishy center of my world.

Aquarium Chemistry Suggestions; from Everything Aquatic

Threads from Everything Aquatic Members

This post takes posts from many different threads at the Everything Aquatic Board (which do not appear in internet searches as Pro Boards uses “no follow” tags)
The obvious theme is aquarium chemistry as it pertains to minerals and buffers in aquariums and the importance of positive mineral ions for fish health, disease prevention/treatment and more.

Kagome:
I put a medicated wondershell in my 20g and this cleared up the floating algae. I now that I have changed the light in the ceiling next to it and have blocked off the sun coming in the nearest window I think I have finally beaten this back enough to resolve this issue. I am still very careful with food and have upped the cleaning schedule a bit. Things in that tank must not be going too bad because the rams are about to spawn again. They have dug a new nest and are guarding it.

fishfever:
So in summary I'd say you need to focus on getting the tank cycled either with fish or without (without is less work IMHO and usually won't require a lot of water changes). I'd consider upgrading the filtering depending on how much of a bio-load you plan on having. For example mollies are great community fish and very personable and friendly (ours lets us pet them for example) but they are also voracious eaters and create a lot of waste. They also get quite big (the 2 adults we own have doubled in length and probably quadrupled in mass/weight) so I'd say one is plenty for a 10g tank! Keep max fish growth size in mind unless you plan to upgrade to a larger tank in the future. Spot test your tap water so you know what you are dealing with; for example my tap water is soft and acidic so I treat it by adding Wonder shells to my tank to get the missing minerals and adding buffer to raise the pH to a level I'm targeting (and more importantly adding buffering capacity to keep the pH stable). Good luck and keep us posted!

fishfever:
You said the molly was hanging around the top which is usually a sign of stress and/or not being able to get enough oxygen. I've seen this before - in fact just recently with a blue Mickey Mouse platy we just got. We put her in an isolation tank with a medicated Wonder shell for about 1.5 weeks and gave her a couple of salt/MB baths and now she is doing very well in our main tank. Mollies are pretty hardy fish but if this one is already stressed it may not be the best one for cycling with fish.

fishfever:
I also have livebearers and tetras in the same tank with tetras generally preferring somewhat more acidic, softer water and livebearers preferring more basic, harder water. So I kind of split the difference on the pH (tap is very soft and acidic, about 6.4) and use Malawi buffer to keep it in the 7.0 to 7.4 range. Your GH/KH seems like it might be enough for tetras but I think you want higher numbers for the livebearers... an excellent and cheap way to do this is to keep Wonder shells in your tank. I always have 2 medium sized ones in my 26g, one that is almost wasted and one that is almost new. As babygeige says, once you decide on a target pH (if different from your tap), keep it consistent (so if it's different from your tap use the right amount of buffer with each water change).

Although this is subjective, the general health of my fish over the long term has improved since I started using the UV sterilizer. I am using the 5W terminator in my 26g (the UV Bulb should be replaced every six months for optimum effectiveness). I would recommend getting the kit form with the pump and tubes so there's nothing else to buy to get going with it. I was able to get mine hooked up and running in much less than an hour.

babygeige:
A lot of the science can be confusing, but I think the most important thing is to keep your tank consistent. Chasing after a specific pH, GH or KH number with chemicals will usually cause more harm than good. Wonder shells are handy for helping with minerals and such. Consistent cleaning and water changes will help you keep things in order.

ironbiker:
All the other fish appear fantastic, including the two other Monos.. I use the Seachem Malawi /Victoria Buffer in conjunction with the Salt...I also used a product called AragaMight by CaribSea I was told it was a similar product to Wonder Shells, which I cant find locally. I just re-read the whole thread and noticed you mentioned the salt ratio of 1 " Tablespoon" per 5 gal. .....my ratio is basically 1 "Teaspoon" for 10 gal which would mean I am at a lot less them your recommendations...3 teaspoons =1 Tablespoon...and my ratio is based upon 10 gal instead of 5... I am guessing my salt levels are way to low... ::) I have spent many hours on this forum reading the many informative and very helpful tips and articles posted by you , I have learned SO MUCH, since I found this place , I really cant thank you and everyone else enough for all your help and guidance....and A Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family

goldenpuon:

I counted my fish (Guppies) and again I got the feeling that a fish was missing. I kept trying to get the number of fish (again they swim super fast so trying to get their numbers is extremely difficult) and came to the conclusion that there was only 9 plus one of my blue tailed females was nowhere to be found. I searched around and then finally found her, mildly wet and flopping on the floor under my dresser. I immediately put her back in but shockingly, her only symptoms of stress was that her breathing was slightly heavy, her tail fin was dulled in color, and her dorsal fin partially down. I put in a regular wonder shell for a day to help with stress just in case. She is doing better now and is schooling with the others and eating well.

goldenpuon:
I have had scoliosis develop in young bettas and guppy fry before. Much of the time, even if the scoliosis was bad, they still ate well and acted healthy. I actually have a male betta that is almost two years old that developed scoliosis about a month ago. I have increased his food intake (he was losing weight as well) and added wonder shells and he is doing better now.

My best advice would be to feed her good quality food, keep the best water parameters possible, and if she is lacking any nutrients, add a wonder shell to the tank. Also, is she showing any other symptoms? In my experience, scoliosis is a sign of a deformed fish but not sickly one. If it is scoliosis and you take good care of her, she may last a while to come. Best of luck with her!

For recommended related reading information:
*Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle- this is by far the most accurate/researched article dealing with the aquarium & pond nitrogen cycle!

Other Suggested Resources:

*Aquarium Chemistry
*Aquarium Redox
*A Healthy Aquarium; Disease Prevention
*Freshwater Care, Basics to Advanced
*Aquarium Tap Water Use