Angelfish belongs to the Cichlidae family and is native to South America. This species requires much more care and attention than most fish due to its size and environmental demands. Although their bodies appear to be round, they are actually flat.
 |
| Angelfish Food: The Complete Guide To Feeding Your Angelfish |
It is a big misconception that this species stays small. In fact, they may exceed the regularly explained sizes. In addition, they require a lot of space in an aquarium but we will come back to this later. That said, what do angelfish eat?
This species will eat anything you provide, but make no mistake about it. Numerous serious health problems can result from an unhealthy diet. The most suitable food for this fish consists of live foods such as blackworms and brine shrimp.
This is an informative article. Nodisk One is not permitted to make a diagnosis or recommend any form of veterinary care. If your pet is in pain or ill, we recommend that you take him to the vet.
What Do Angelfish Eat In The Wild?
Angelfish consume a variety of small invertebrates and insects in the wild. They occasionally eat plant matter as well. The best diet for your angelfish is one that resembles their natural diet. This can be accomplished by feeding them a variety of live, frozen, and pelleted foods.
As you can see, there are many choices available for what they eat. By providing them with high quality food, you can ensure that your angelfish stay healthy and happy in your aquarium.
What Do Angelfish Eat?
An angelfish would typically ambush small fish and insects in their natural habitat. Although he will accept all kinds of food, a diet close to their nature will be the best option. You should focus on meat products. You can start with high-quality tropical flakes and pellets, but at all costs include freeze-dried foods and live foods. Below, we'll go over all the types of fish food and explain their favorites of each kind:
Vegetables
Although meat products make up the largest portion of the diet, angelfish are omnivores. You must include vegetables to ensure a healthy and complete diet. With this species, we will have to experiment. Not all angelfish will like the same type of vegetables.
Naturally, zucchini and cucumber are all-time favorites for the majority of fish species. Also, boiled peas turned out to be a personal preference of Angelfish. Remember to remove the shells and shred them into small pieces.
Pellets And Flakes
These two types of food are the most common for all fish. In addition to this, they are the most affordable and at the same time no less nutritious. High quality tropical flakes and pellets are an excellent daily food to use for the diet. If you can, look for products made specifically for cichlids.
In addition, if you do not want to give them fresh vegetables, spirulina flakes will provide them with the necessary plant material. Otherwise, always make sure the main ingredient on the package is protein. That's why we mention high quality pellets and flakes. The cheaper ones are usually made with wheat and other less nutritious ingredients.
Freeze-Dried Foods
Freeze-dried foods are gaining popularity because they are safe and healthy. The difference with normal frozen foods is that this type is also dehydrated. Thanks to the freeze-drying process, parasites and bacteria are completely eliminated. This is also the same reason why these kinds are not very nutritious but will be a great addition to a diverse diet.
Moreover, you can be sure that you will not add any diseases to your tank. Angelfish's personal favorites are freeze-dried brine shrimp and bloodworms. Just be sure to submerge the meal in aquarium water or it will expand in the fish's stomach.
Frozen Food
Besides flakes and granules, frozen foods are the most convenient. You can simply store it in the freezer for long periods of time. Again, the most favored types will be brine shrimp and bloodworms. In addition to that, you can try plankton and beef heart, although those two might seem strange.
There is one important trick to do before feeding your angelfish frozen food. Always put it in some sort of container, cup or glass, and add aquarium water to it. Wait for it to thaw and stir it before feeding it to your fish.
Live Foods
Last but not least, live foods. This type of food is the most natural for Angelfish. The main thing is to always shop at a store that has a great reputation and is known for its quality products. This is because very often live foods can contain bacteria and parasites that are not only dangerous for angelfish, but for your entire aquarium.
Live foods are probably the most nutritious type of food and I'm sure you can already imagine what the most popular choices are. Yes, brine shrimp and bloodworms. This type of food is not always available everywhere but if you visit reputable fishmongers, they will surely have a choice.
What Is The Best Food To Feed Anglerfish?
The best food to feed angelfish is a high protein diet. Angelfish are carnivores and require a diet of mostly meat foods. A good quality pellet or flake food will contain all the nutrients your angelfish needs to stay healthy and thrive.
Angelfish Need Vitamins
It's true! Angelfish have a list of vitamins they require to stay healthy, just like humans. In nature, these vitamins are obtained from the algae and invertebrates they eat. However, in an aquarium, it's up to you to make sure your angelfish gets all the nutrients it needs.
One way to do this is to provide them with a vitamin supplement. To give your fish the vital vitamins they require, there are many commercially available liquid vitamins that can be added to the water column. Alternatively, you can also feed them vitamin-rich foods such as brine shrimp, bloodworms, and tubifex worms. A general list of vitamins you should aim to provide your angelfish includes:
- Vitamin A.
- Vitamin B1 (thiamin).
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin).
- Vitamin B3 (niacin).
- Vitamin B12.
- Biotin.
- pantothenic acid.
Some of these vitamins can only be found in specific types of fatty acids, so be sure to vary their diet to ensure your angelfish is getting all the vitamins it needs.
How To Feed Angelfish Fry?
We'll go over the difficult details of raising angelfish as that's a topic for another time, but since we're talking about feeding this species, we can't leave out hatchlings. Angelfish fry have completely different dietary needs than adult specimens. For starters, the fry of this species need much longer to actually function like fish, if you can call it that. It will take time for them to start swimming.
Instead, they will hang out around their birthplace. On top of that, they won't eat flakes and pellets because they're just not ready. It is very curious that they actually feed on their own egg yolks. As soon as they leave their spawning ground in a few days, you can switch to more serious food. As for the feeding cycle, you can experiment by feeding them around three times a day with small portions. They can be fed four or five times if there are no leftovers. Test it and see for yourself.
Brine Shrimp
It's no surprise that you should also feed the fry brine shrimp. The big difference is that you need to get newly hatched ones. It's the perfect food simply because hatchling angelfish have huge nutritional needs and brine shrimp will supply them.
You have several options to choose from. One of them is to buy brine shrimp eggs and hatch them yourself. The second easiest is to buy freeze-dried baby brine shrimp food and simply feed them the same way you feed adults.
How Much Do Angelfish Eat?
There is a commonly accepted rule among professional fish keepers that angelfish should only eat the amount they can eat in 30 seconds. This, of course, can never be true for all specimens and you will have to try for yourself. Never overfeed them; simply extend the feeding time. Angelfish would naturally jump on food as soon as it dropped into the tank.
If you see them refusing to eat, test the water. If everything seems fine in terms of water parameters, don't give them food for a few days. If even after this short period of starvation they refuse to eat, it could be some kind of disease and you will need to do more serious observation and testing.
How Long Can Angelfish Live Without Food?
An adult angelfish will most likely last a few weeks without issue. Perhaps even more, though I wouldn't advise either. If you leave them starving in a community aquarium with smaller species, chances are Angelfish will try to eat them. Naturally they become more aggressive with age and there is no guarantee what will happen if you leave them hungry.
There are countless affordable automatic fish feeders available for purchase. These devices are great not only when you're away, but you can also use them daily. The majority of newer models are battery operated and have low battery indicators. It's a surefire way to always keep your angelfish fed and happy.
Related Questions
Can Angelfish Eat Goldfish Flakes?
Angelfish and Goldfish can easily eat the same type of food. There are a few points worth to be mentioning, though. Goldfish food is not as nutritious simply because they don't need it. Angelfish need lots of protein, vitamins and minerals that are simply lacking in goldfish flakes and foods in general.
Do Angelfish Eat Other Fish?
There is a simple rule in preserving fish. If a smaller fish fits in the mouth of a larger one, the superior will most likely eat it. Therefore, small fish such as Guppies, Tetras, Danios can become a meal for a large enough Angelfish. In fact, people would use a special kind of baby guppies to feed the angelfish. You can check out this guide at Tank Mates for Angelfish.
Overall, it's not a good idea to keep such small fish together in a community tank. Although tetras and angelfish naturally come from the same habitat and are used to living together, as the angelfish grows it will become more aggressive and will likely eat them anyway. If you always plan to keep them together, make sure the aquarium is heavily planted so that there are enough hiding places for the smaller species.
Do Angelfish Eat Their Fry?
Many fish farmers have big problems with angelfish eating their fry. This can happen for a few simple reasons. First of all, angelfish usually need to breed several times before they learn to parent properly. If the parent fish are also young, chances are they will eat all the fry instead of caring for them. Also, a few years ago it was mentioned in a magazine that angelfish in captivity were losing their parental instincts.
The second common reason Angelfish eat their fry is other fish in a community aquarium. This species would rather eat the fry themselves instead of giving the honor to other species. Therefore, if you really want to give them a chance at parenthood, you will need to set up a secondary breeding tank that is at least 25-30 gallons and the correct water parameters.
In Conclusion
In conclusion, angelfish can eat a wide variety of foods, including freeze-dried bloodworms and commercially produced flake foods. It is important to provide your fish with a varied diet as this will ensure that they get all the nutrients they need to stay healthy.
We hope this article helped you figure out what to feed your fish! Providing healthy angelfish food is an important part of the angelfish keeping process, and we encourage you to do your research to find the best food products for your fish.
Only credible sources, such as peer-reviewed studies, are used by Nodisk One to substantiate the information in our articles.
Comments