Live Bearers

Information on Live Bearer Food & Diet

Live bearers are not picky eaters and will eat a variety of foods. A good diet includes some dry foods and some live foods. Flakes, sinking pellets and crisps are all good choices for dry foods. Frozen or freeze dried brine shrimp, blood worms and tubifex worms are good choices for live foods. Combining some dry and some frozen foods will give the fish a good variety to their diet and will help to keep them healthy.

Live bearers should be fed 2 times per day and should be fed no more than what they are capable of eating in about 5 minutes. The best times to feed them are in the morning and at night. Feeding them when there is time to watch them eating is a good idea. This is the best time to observe the fish for signs of stress or diseases. Any fish that shy away and don't eat or show other sins of live bearer diseases can then be treated right away.

Be careful when feeding live bearing fish and be sure to not over-feed them. Over-feeding can lead to food sinking to the bottom and not being consumed. Not only is it a waste of food but uneaten food will decay on the bottom of the tank and cause the ammonia levels in the water to increase. Ammonia is toxic to fish and will increase the stress levels of the fish. One good way to help prevent food from being left on the bottom to decay is by getting some bottom feeding fish. Miniature catfish are perfect tankmates for live bearing fish and will help keep the bottom clean of scraps of food that sink to the bottom of the tank.