# Feeding fish only homemade food



## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

A couple of weeks ago, I started feeding my guppies with a medicated homemade food for a week that they quickly took a liking to.

When I switched back to the flakes that they always ate up prior to the homemade food I had recently gave them, they just looked at the flakes as if it was slop and eventually ate it.

I want to make up a batch of this food without the meds but what I would like to know is if it's okay to feed them just homemade foods instead of flakes or pellets? Does anyone else feed their fish with just a homemade food?

Thanks.


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## Cliff Mayes (Jan 29, 2007)

I made and sold a food for many years but feeding exclusively was never an option.

Homemade food is a good thing as long as they recognize it as food but feeding just one type of food is not a good thing. There are many type of homemade foods to feed and you and your fish should be encouraged to eat a variety of food.

Any commercial food is made and sold for the purpose of making money, not to assuage anyone’s hunger although some prepared food is better than others.


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## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

For months, I have been feeding only home-made food prepared as described in:

http://www.loaches.com/articles/home-cooking-your-own-frozen-fishfood

Instead of beef liver and clam, I used chicken liver and tiny frozen scallop. So far, I haven't seen any problem. Plants are doing well and fish are healthy.



Red_Rose said:


> they just looked at the flakes as if it was slop and eventually ate it.


Yup! That was exactly how my betta see flakes. To him flakes were just disgusting! He ate them because he had no other choice. But he loved home-made food, even better than frozen blood worms. When he saw me approaching with food, he behaved like a dog wagging his tail eagerly anticipating his food. Looking at his way of picking up the food, he was having a good time.

BTW, I got the above mentioned link from Diana's post at:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...arium/67118-flake-food-enough.html#post509890

In that message, Diana also mentioned couple variations.


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## boon (Feb 19, 2010)

For homemade food, does it take time for the fish to get use to it or do they go right after it? I tried feeding them veggies but no one wants to go near it.


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## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

boon said:


> For homemade food, does it take time for the fish to get use to it or do they go right after it?


No, it did not take any time. The fish went right after it.



boon said:


> I tried feeding them veggies but no one wants to go near it.


The food prepared according to Loaches Online's recipe is very tasty! Yes, I did taste it while preparing the food - it smelled too good to resist the temptation. 

Speaking of smell, months ago I made a large batch and placed it a freezer. At feeding time, I dissolved a little chunk into a small cup of water. To this day, I still detect the rich aroma coming from the cup water when breaking a chunk into tiny bits. Fish are capable of smelling (through nostrils) and tasting (through the taste buds in mouth and body). The rich aroma might have stimulated their appetite to go after the food even the very first time. And I know of no commercial fish food that gives off a rich aroma.

Sometimes when a larger than usual bit got dropped into a tank, a fish would dash toward it, hold on to the food, and wouldn't let go - even though the food was just too big for the mouth and other fishes were chasing after him for the very same piece. With the big piece holding right outside of his mouth, the fish escaped from chasers and swam to a place away from the frenzy feeding gang, released the bit, and chipped it off into mouth size pieces. This is how much they like the food.

But the fish that loved the home made food by far is a betta - also the most picky eater of all. Judging from his expressive response, I do not recall seeing any other fish food as welcoming. I often saw him facing the front glass wagging his tail like a dog in anticipation of the first drop of food. Occasionally his food-anticipating movements reminded me of a dance, not a Balanchine number by any means but a betta dance nonetheless.

BTW, one day I noticed a tiny new born tetra fry in a tank. I did not have any fry food readily available. So I fed him the home made food. He loved it! Since then, he has been fed only that food and is still growing.


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