How Often Should You Feed Tetra Fish Updated

How Often Should You Feed Tetra Fish

How Oftentimes to Feed Tetras

Tetras are my favorite fish to add to a planted freshwater aquarium. They come in vibrant colors, move-in lively groups, are not-ambitious, and are relatively low-maintenance.

This guide will focus specifically on food requirements for these remarkable picayune fish and will look at the best food for tetras, how often to feed tetras, how much they should exist fed, and how long they can get without food.

Best Food for Tetras

Tetras have pretty basic needs when it comes to the type of food they similar. High-quality dry flakes make a skilful base for their diet and can be found in but virtually any fish store.

In addition to their regular diet, tetras should also exist fed some supplemental treats two – iii times a week. This is due to the fact that most varieties in the wild are omnivorous, which ways they eat both plants and other animals and often spend their time searching for anything they tin can consume in the murky waters of the Amazon.

Adding some of these options to your tetra'south nutrient will help mimic the variety they are used to in their natural surround:

Keep in listen, though, that tetras will have trouble eating anything that isn't in pocket-sized pieces, then exist certain to break upwardly bigger chunks of nutrient like shrimp or worms before adding them to the tank.

How Much to Feed Tetras

A good rule of pollex to follow when determining how much food to requite your tetras is to add as much food to their tank every bit they can consume in two – 3 minutes and and then a little extra.

This will vary depending on how often you feed your fish – which will be discussed in the next section – simply you lot want to brand sure your fish aren't going hungry. Watching them eat for two – 3 minutes will assist you determine how much food they really need.

Since these fish should always be kept in groups of xv or more than, throwing in a niggling extra will help ensure all the fish in your school get a chance to consume their fill.

On the other manus, though, you lot want to make sure you're not over-feeding your tank. Excess nutrient breaks downwardly into biomatter that can cause ammonia spikes. These can exist harmful to your fish and inconvenient for you as y'all volition have to spend more fourth dimension irresolute the water and filters to keep the tank clean and safe for your fish.

How Oft to Feed Tetras

How often yous feed your tetras volition depend on what stage of life they are in, how much you lot feed them each time, and what works best for your tank.

Young Tetras

As a full general rule, immature and adolescent tetras should be fed at least twice a day, though some tetra owners like to become for 3 or fifty-fifty 4 times a twenty-four hours. Four times a day is probably a flake excessive but feeding your fish several times a day will help ensure they are getting all the nutrients they need to grow and develop properly.

Developed Tetras

In one case your fish achieve adulthood, feedings tin be cut dorsum to once a twenty-four hour period, though again, many enthusiasts like to stick to 2 or more than times a twenty-four hour period. This is because tetras are continuous feeders in the wild, which ways they are used to eating smaller amounts throughout the day instead of consuming and processing large quantities of food at one time.

The widely-accepted approach to keeping wild fish in captivity (even if the particular specimens you have didn't come from the wild) is to mimic their natural surroundings and way of life as closely every bit possible. If you desire to follow this arroyo, twice a day feedings are a expert idea even for adult fish.

Other Considerations

If you feed your fish often, you should be certain not to provide too much food at each mealtime. Feedings that take place two or more than times a day should probably only last i – ii minutes, with only a footling food left over after this time.

Every tank and school of fish is unlike. It might take some experimentation to observe out the food amount and schedule that works all-time for your setup.

But proceed on eye on the health of your fish to make sure they're not condign listless or losing color due to lack of food, and lookout your ammonia levels and filtration buildup to ensure yous're not overfeeding.

How Long Tin Tetras Go Without Food?

Tetras shouldn't go for longer than a mean solar day or two without food on a regular ground. It can put a strain on their system if they're only fed every other twenty-four hours or every 3 days.

In a pinch, tetras can go without food for anywhere betwixt ane – 2 weeks but only if they are being regularly fed several times a day in the days leading upwardly to this time menstruum. If you need to leave your tetras and know they won't be fed for a week or longer, it tin help to brand certain there are plenty of suitable plants growing in your aquarium for your fish to nibble on to assistance sustain them.

You can besides expect into an automatic fish feeder , merely continue in listen that you'll probably take to worry about ammonia spikes if y'all become longer than a week or two without cleaning the tank. This volition probably be a problem for your tetras long before lack of food is.

Last Thoughts

Hopefully, this guide has given you everything you need to know in order to feed tetras properly, including how often to feed tetras, what to feed them and when, and how long they tin can go without nutrient.

As you tin can see, these fish are pretty low-maintenance and make an like shooting fish in a barrel, beautiful add-on to any planted freshwater aquarium.