What can i feed my fish if i run out of food?

It is not unusual that you may find yourself forgetting to buy fish food every now and then. When this happens, is it possible to feed your fish human foods and other types of food? You naturally want your fish to be fed and keep the tank clean as well. Good news is that it isn’t difficult to do both.

Feeding Fish Without Fish Food

So, you’ve run out of fish food for the fish in your aquarium and you’re wondering, what can fish eat besides fish food? Some of the answers may surprise you because with some exceptions, fish can eat a lot of the foods that people and other animals eat as long as you’re careful. For starters, if your fish accept plant matter, which most tropical fish do, you can feed them:

• Cucumber
• Kale
• Lettuce
• Spinach
• Zucchini

Remove any seeds and  soak them first so that they are easier for the fish to eat.

You can occasionally give them peas, but only give them one pea once or twice a week. Otherwise, it can cause digestive problems in some fish.

For feeding, boil the green peas and peel of the outer skin and break the seeds into small pieces. It is recommend that you only use frozen organic peas and not canned peas because it contains preservatives that are harmful to your pet fish.

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Some fish, for example, goldfish, will eat orange slices, but you’ll want to be careful if you feed them any type of citrus fruits. Why? Because they are both sugary and acidic, which means they can mess up the quality of your water.

Other Alternatives

Meat & Seafood
Now, what can you feed a fish that accepts meaty foods? Your best choices are small pieces of shrimp and fish. You can feed them fish such as cod and tilapia as well; however, oily fishes such as tuna or salmon should be avoided because they tend to be very messy. Having said this, it’s best to choose either frozen or freeze-dried foods for your fish because those tend to be the freshest. Never give them canned foods because there are too many preservatives and salt and therefore, these foods can actually harm your fish.

While you can treat your fish with chicken, pork or beef but note that animal protein is difficult for fish to digest. Essentially, you’ll want to keep meats away from your fish if the meats aren’t fat-free. Always cut off the fat from the meat before feeding. Meat with high fat content damages liver which can be fatal.

The only exception to this rule is beef hearts, which you can feed to your fish as long as you shred it first.

Egg Yolk
Hard boiled egg yolk is another option to consider if you ran out of fish food as many small fish love egg yolk. However downside to feeding egg yolk is that when it disintegrates into small pieces it can make water in the tank cloudy.

Rice & Pasta
Beside egg yolk, rice and pasta are other human foods you can give to your fish especially because they love eating them. Break them into tiny pieces before dropping them in the fish tank.

Now let’s take a look at some of the other foods that people ask about. These include:

• Breads. This is a big no-no because the yeast and preservatives in most breads cause a ton of digestive problems in most fish, including bloating and constipation. If you’re in a pinch, a tiny piece of bread is alright occasionally, but you should consider this an emergency fish food only.
• Dog food. Why would anyone want to do this anyway? This is another no-no, mostly because it is made specifically for the nutritional requirements of a dog, not a fish, and it won’t be good for the “insides” of a fish.
• Fruits. Some fruits are alright, but you should feed your fish fruit no more than once or twice a week. Any more than that and it can mess with your water quality and even the pH level of the water. Acceptable fruits include strawberries, raspberries, and oranges.

Of course, in a pinch, just like bread, a teeny piece of dog food may hold the fish over until you can get to the store and buy more fish food. But if you can avoid giving your fish either bread or dog food, please do so.

What If None of These Foods Are Available?

On rare occasions, you may have none of these foods in your home and you might therefore wonder what alternative fish food options are available. The truth is that fish can live for up to one week without eating, and when all is said and done, it’s better not to give them any food at all than to give them the wrong foods. The wrong foods can cause digestive problems for the fish and a lot of other problems for the quality of the water in your fish tank.