When you’re stressed, watching your goldfish swim around the tank can help you forget about it. But your peace can be broken quickly when you realize you’re out of fish food. Although your pets can last close to 2 weeks without food, starving your fish risks their health. When you can’t get to the pet store right away, you can feed your pet human food until you can get to the pet store.
Goldfish are a delight to have as pets Watching them glide gracefully around their tank can lift your mood instantly But that feeling of calm can quickly turn to panic when you go to feed your fish and realize you’re out of fish food!
While goldfish can survive up to two weeks without eating, leaving them unfed for too long can be detrimental to their health. The good news is you likely have plenty of nutritious alternatives already in your kitchen. Goldfish are omnivores that can eat a variety of fruits, vegetables, proteins, and plants.
In this article, we’ll explore 15 human foods that make great occasional substitutes when you’ve run out of regular goldfish food.
Fruits
Fruits offer natural sweetness along with important vitamins, minerals, and fiber Here are some top picks from your produce drawer
Oranges
Oranges contain vitamin C, an essential nutrient for keeping goldfish healthy. Peel the orange and remove any stringy pulp before cutting the flesh into small pieces. The acidic citrus can impact your tank’s pH balance so only feed occasionally.
Strawberries
Both fresh and frozen strawberries make tasty treats. Thaw frozen ones first. Strawberries have more fiber and carbohydrates than protein, which goldfish need. They also provide manganese and polyphenols. Cut into tiny pieces before feeding.
Raspberries
High in vitamin K, raspberries help your fish form healthy bones and blood. Separate into individual druplets and feed a few at a time, as they can dirty the water.
Grapes
Wash grapes thoroughly, peel off the skin and dice the flesh before feeding to your goldfish. One cup of grapes has 1.4 grams of fiber and lots of potassium – both support good health.
Vegetables
Vegetables give goldfish important vitamins, minerals, and plant-based nutrients. Here are some healthy options to try:
Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach, kale, and romaine lettuce provide carotenoids, vitamin K, and folate. Remove any thick stems and blanch or steam the leaves briefly to soften them before feeding.
Zucchini
Wash zucchini, peel off the skin, and slice into thin quarter-inch pieces. You can also blanch or microwave it to soften it up. Zucchini offers vitamin A, potassium, and folate.
Cucumber
Chop cucumbers into small cubes. They have vitamin C, potassium, and beta-carotene. Cucumbers are mostly water, so they won’t dirty the tank much.
Peas
Thaw frozen peas and pop them out of the skins before feeding to your fish. Peas sink to the bottom, so goldfish can easily find and eat them. They provide lots of fiber to support digestion.
Proteins
While goldfish don’t need as much protein as carnivorous fish, limited amounts help them grow and thrive. Here are some healthy protein sources:
Shrimp
Thawed frozen or freeze-dried shrimp make tasty, protein-rich treats. Remove the shells first. Brine shrimp or daphnia are other good options.
Mealworms
Purchase live mealworms from a pet store for your goldfish to chase and eat. Avoid mealworms sold as bird food, as they may contain additives.
Hard Boiled Egg Yolk
Offer just the yolk, not the white. Remove any leftover pieces after your fish feed so they don’t foul the water. Eggs provide protein for growth.
Worms
Pet stores sell safe, nutritious worms like bloodworms, tubifex, and earthworms. Dice larger worms to prevent choking hazards. Never feed wild worms.
Gel Food
Making your own gel food is easy, nutritious, and economical. Blend shrimp, spinach, garlic, and other goldfish-safe ingredients, then mix with gelatin. Pour into a pan to set, then cut into cubes to feed. Customize recipes based on what’s in your fridge and pantry!
Plants
Adding live aquatic plants to your tank provides beauty and also gives your goldfish an edible, natural snack source. Some good options include:
- Duckweed
- Azolla
- Anacharis
- Salvinia
Research first, as not all aquatic plants are safe to eat. Avoid any sprayed with chemicals or pesticides.
Foods to Avoid
While goldfish aren’t usually picky eaters, there are some foods you should never feed them, including:
- Chocolate
- Carbonated beverages
- Chips
- Pasta
- Bread
- Crackers
- Fatty meat
- Sugary treats
Avoid anything with artificial colors, preservatives, salt, or other additives. Even natural foods like corn, soy, rice, and wheat aren’t good options for goldfish.
Feed a Varied Diet
While the foods above can work in a pinch, they shouldn’t make up the bulk of your goldfish’s normal diet. For optimal nutrition and health, feed a high-quality goldfish pellet or flake daily, supplemented with treats like freeze-dried bloodworms, brine shrimp, and veggie clips.
Offering a variety helps ensure your fish gets all the protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals they need to thrive. Abide by the feeding guidelines on the fish food package, as overfeeding can cause problems.
Going on Vacation?
Leaving your goldfish for several days doesn’t have to mean they’ll go hungry in your absence. Consider these feeding options:
- Hire a pet sitter to come feed your fish daily
- Invest in an automatic fish feeder
- Use time-release vacation blocks that slowly dissolve over days or weeks
Perform a water change and tank cleaning before leaving to give your goldfish the best environment. Avoid overfeeding right before a trip.
Hopefully this article has convinced you that a lack of fish food doesn’t need to turn into a crisis. With a little creativity, you can find plenty of healthy, nutritious alternatives already in your home.
While human food can work in a pinch, be sure to restock your fish food as soon as possible. For optimal health, goldfish need a balanced diet filled with all the nutrients they require. With the right care, your aquatic pets can live happy, healthy lives for years to come!
Frequency of Entities:
goldfish: 27
fish: 16
food: 15
tank: 7
vitamin: 6
protein: 5
fiber: 4
potassium: 4
carbohydrates: 2
brine shrimp: 2
peat moss: 0
tadpoles: 0
1 Sweet Potato
The sweet potato is an inexpensive vegetable with a higher carbohydrate content than any of the items on our list. Like other superfoods, sweet potatoes are rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber. One sweet potato contains 26 grams of carbohydrates, 3.9 grams of fiber, and 2 grams of protein. The Covington sweet potato is the most common variety in grocery stores, but you can feed any type to your fish. After washing and skinning the potato, chop it into small pieces. You can bake, steam, or microwave the flesh to make it easier to digest.
1 Leafy Greens
Leafy greens like spinach, romaine, and kale can be steamed, chopped, and served to your goldfish. Darker greens such as baby spinach are typically more nutritious than lighter greens and provide more carbohydrates. Some of the nutritional benefits of feeding spinach, when using a 1 cup portion, to your fish include:
- 24 milligrams of magnesium
- 167 milligrams of potassium
- 86 grams of protein
- 145 micrograms of vitamin K
- 09 grams of carbohydrates
Savoy spinach has thick, fibrous stems that need to be cut off. Baby spinach has shorter stems that can be chopped up.
While not as good for a goldfish as fruits and vegetables, a hard-boiled egg can be used instead of fish food. Eggs are sometimes fed to young fish to help them grow, but adult fish need foods that are lower in protein than eggs. The most significant disadvantage to using an egg is how it muddies the water in the tank. You’ll have to clean the tank more often if you serve eggs more than a few times a week.
Grapes are healthy substitutes for fish food, and you can supplement your goldfish’s regular diet by adding grapes once or twice a week. One cup of red grapes contains 27.33 grams of carbohydrates, 1.4 grams of fiber, 288 milligrams of potassium, and 1.09 grams of protein. Of course, you will only need one or two grapes to feed a single adult, and you should remove the skin and dice the fruit into small pieces before serving.