How to Know when my Fish is Hungry

Fish show some simple Behavioural signs that they are looking for something in the aquarium, which means your fish is hungry.

Following are some behavioral signs that show your fish is hungry-

• Your fish is digging around the substrate searching for food.
• Your fish is swimming in areas they don't usually sit, they may be looking for food.
• If your fish attacks other fish if they are hungry.
• If you see any behavioral changes and give more effort to eat as much as possible in record time, it might be that your fish is hungry.
• If your fish swims slowly, it might be a sign that you have not been feeding it enough food to them.
• If you see your fish tends to open its mouth wide when they eat the food. This kind of action indicates a hungry fish.
• Fast-moving and aggressive eating of food indicates that the fish are hungry.
• When you see that you put some food in the tank and the fish is very much aggressive in eating then that means the fish is hungry.
• They start being aggressive by eating hastily and greedily when you feed them.
• Your fish frequently visits the top surface of the water in the fish tank, it signifies that the fish are hungry.

Do fish only eat when they are hungry?

Yes, fish eat whenever they are hungry and food is available for them. Fish will always act like they are hungry. This behavior of wanting to eat food all the time is expected for fish due to their high metabolic activities. The increased metabolic activities are due to their constant state of swimming. Your aquarium's appearance will give clues as to whether you're feeding your fish too much. If food is accumulating in the tank and the filter, it's a sign that you're providing too much food.

Red or black algae are growing on the glass surface of the aquarium within a week of cleaning, it's another sign that you're overfeeding.

How to provide the proper amount of food to your fish?

The perfect way to know if you're providing your fish with the proper amount of food is to watch them after feeding. Fish will eat as much as they need, so dispense the food in a few servings when they start spitting out the food, they've eaten enough. If there is food remaining in the tank and floating to the bottom, you're giving your fish too much feed.
One method of determining the right amount is to feed until your fish slow down their consumption, however, this should never exceed the amount they can eat.

Most fish are fine with being fed once a day, but you should feed them two smaller meals a day for more enjoyment. It only depends on the species of fish that reside in your aquarium.