Goldfish are the most common fish every aquarist wants to add to their home aquarium. They are low-maintenance fish that are easy to maintain, making them an ideal option for beginners.
However, when deciding to raise the goldfish fry, you can face issues like your fish refusing their food. I have faced this issue and was able to know the reason and the solution for that. So, Why are my goldfish fry not eating? How to make my goldfish fry eat? Let us find out.
Stress due to inadequate water conditions is the root cause behind goldfish fry not eating. Other causes include lousy water parameters and feeding one type of food every day. Ensure good water quality and stable water temperature to prevent stress in your goldfish fry and make them eat.
The article below will discuss why your goldfish fry refuses their food. In addition, we will also learn the ways to make your fry eat their food.
Contents
Why is my goldfish fry not eating?
There can be various reasons like poor water conditions, stress, and low-grade food that make your fry lose their appetite and refuse their food.
Goldfish fry requires more food than the adult ones for their healthy growth and development.
As they are weaker than adult goldfish, not eating their food can make them lose their immune system, eventually getting prone to several diseases.
Also, read: Feeding Goldfish fry
What are the reasons behind my goldfish fry not eating?
Here are the reasons behind your goldfish fry not eating
- Poor Water Conditions
- Inadequate water parameters
- Stress
- Low-grade Food
- Boredom
Poor water conditions
Poor water conditions play a significant role in your goldfish fry refusing their food.
Inadequate water conditions can lead to various health issues in your fry, like stress, eventually making them lose their appetite and refuse their food.
Contaminated water in the tank can drop the tank’s oxygen level making your fry suffer from oxygen deficiency, further leading to the passing away of your fry.
In addition, poor water conditions can also elevate the tank’s ammonia level leading to ammonia poisoning in your fry.
Therefore, the above issues can make your goldfish fry lose their appetite and refuse their food.Â
Inadequate water parameters
Inadequate water parameters also play a significant role in your goldfish fry not eating their food.
Goldfish fry requires an ideal water temperature for their proper growth and development.
A sudden change in the water temperature can lead to stress in your fry, eventually making them lose their appetite and refuse their food.
Therefore, inadequate water parameters make your goldfish fry vulnerable and prone to several diseases and parasites.
Stress
Stress plays a significant role in your goldfish fry not eating their food.
Stress can make your goldfish fry lose appetite and refuse food.
Here are some reasons behind stress in your goldfish fry
- Bad water conditions can make your goldfish fry suffer from stress.
- Inadequate water parameters can make your goldfish fry suffer from stress.
- Overcrowding your fry tank can also make your fish suffer from stress.
Low-grade food
Providing low-grade food can also make your goldfish lose their immune system and refuse food.
In addition, low-grade food can also lead to blockage in your fry, eventually leading to the passing away of your fry.
Boredom
Providing one type of food can also make our fry refuse to eat.
When you provide one kind of food to your goldfish fry, they get bored of that food and refuse to eat.
Therefore, your goldfish fry requires various types of food for their healthy growth and development.
How long can goldfish fry go without food?
Your goldfish fry cannot survive for 3-4 days without food.
Goldfish fry requires more food than adult goldfish for adequate growth and development.
Lack of food can make your fry weak and prone to several diseases and parasites.
Therefore, we advise you to provide highly nutritious food in a moderate quantity to your goldfish fry to ensure your fish’s adequate growth and development.
How to make your goldfish fry eat?
Here are the ways to make your goldfish fry eat their food.
- Provide good water quality in your goldfish fry tank.
- Ensure adequate water parameters in your fry tank
- Feed your goldfish fry various types of food
- Break down the food before feeding it to your goldfish fry
Good Water Conditions
You should provide good water conditions in your goldfish fry tank to make your fry eat and for their healthy development.
We advise you to perform a 30% water change to maintain the water quality of your fry tank.
You should always treat the fresh water with a conditioner before adding it to your goldfish fry tank.
We recommend using API TAP WATER CONDITIONER as it eliminates chlorine, chloramine, and other chemicals.
You can buy this product on amazon: API TAP WATER CONDITIONER.
You should also add a sound filtration system to maintain the tank’s water quality.
Also, read:Â Do Goldfish Need Filters?
Adding live aquatic plants can also keep your goldfish fry tank well-oxygenated.
Keep a regular check on ammonia levels in the tank, as excess ammonia can lead to ammonia poisoning in your fish.
We recommend using the API ammonia test kit to check the ammonia level as it shows an accurate result.
You can purchase it from Amazon API TEST KIT.
Also, read Ammonia Poisoning In Goldfish.
Ensure adequate water parameters
You should provide adequate water parameters in your goldfish fry tank to ensure their healthy growth and make them eat their food.Â
| Particulars | Goldfish Fry Requirement |
|---|---|
| Water temperature | 68-74 °F |
| PH level | 7.5 |
| TDS level | 170-250ppm |
Therefore, you should always provide adequate water parameters in your goldfish fry tank to ensure your fish’s proper growth and development.
Also read:Â What Is The Ideal Water Temperature For Goldfish?
Feed various types of food to your goldfish fry.
You should provide various types of food to your goldfish fry to avoid boredom and make your fry at their food.
Goldfish fry requires a mix of all the essential nutrients for their healthy growth and development.
So, provide your goldfish fry with various live, frozen, and other commercial food to avoid boredom and for the well-being of your goldfish fry.
| Goldfish fry dietary needs | Link to buy |
|---|---|
| Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Daphnia | Freeze-dried daphnia |
| Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze Dried Bloodworms | Freeze-dried bloodworms |
| Ocean Nutrition Instant Baby Brine Shrimp | Baby brine shrimp |
| Sera Micron Nature | Sera micron |
Therefore, always provide highly nutritious food to your goldfish fry to ensure your fish’s adequate growth and development.
Also, read: Can Goldfish Fry Eat Daphnia?
Break down the food before feeding it to your goldfish fry
It would be best if you always broke down the food into smaller pieces before providing it to your goldfish fry.
As goldfish fry have small mouths, they cannot eat big-sized food.
So, whatever you are feeding to your goldfish fry should be crushed into smaller pieces making it easier for your fry to eat.
Conclusion:
- Numerous reasons like poor water conditions, stress, and low-grade food can make your fry lose their appetite and refuse food.
- Goldfish fry requires more food than the adult ones for their healthy growth and development.
- Lousy water conditions can lead to several health issues in your fry, like stress, making them lose their appetite.
- Provide adequate water parameters in your fry tank to ensure their proper growth and make them eat their food.
- Always break down the food into smaller pieces before providing it to your goldfish fry.
Reference: ResearchGate