Platies are omnivorous fish that can eat a variety of foods, both plant and animal-based. They have a good appetite and will accept most types of fish food.
However, they also need a balanced and varied diet to maintain their health and immunity.
In this article, I’ll explain how to feed platies, including how much to feed them, how often to feed them, and what to feed them.
I’ll also share some signs of overfeeding and underfeeding so you can take swift action.
Platy fish should be fed a varied diet of live, frozen, and flake foods two to three times a day, only as much as they can eat in a few minutes. Overfeeding can cause digestive issues and water pollution, so remove any leftover food from the tank.
What do Platies Eat?
Platy fish are omnivores and can eat a variety of foods, including:
- Flake food
- Pellet food
- Live food (such as brine shrimp or daphnia)
- Frozen food (such as bloodworms or tubifex worms)
Platies need both protein and vegetable matter in their diet to support their growth and development.
They can also eat homemade foods such as fruits, vegetables, cooked meat, and live foods.
Some foods that platies like are algae, tubifex worms, blood worms, brine shrimp, garlic, strawberries, and zucchini.
I recommend adding plants to your tank. Plants can provide platies with some vegetable matter in their diet as well as shelter and enrichment.
Platies will nibble on small pieces of live aquarium plants but usually do not damage them.
They will also graze on hair algae, brown algae, staghorn algae, etc. Algae can provide them with some vegetable matter in their diet.
Feed your platy fish a varied diet to ensure they get all the nutrients they need.
When, How Much, and How Often to Feed Platy Fish?
You should feed them 1-3 times a day, only as much as they can eat in a few minutes.
I like to feed my platies small amounts of food three times a day. This will keep them active and make them comfortable around me.
Platies are active during the day and will eat from the top or bottom of the tank.
I feed them during the daytime, whenever I eat, that is when eating breakfast, lunch, and evening snacks.
I give them flakes or pellets in the morning and evening, but in the afternoon, I give them live food (usually bloodworms or brine shrimp).
This will be a good routine if you have a lot of platies, as I do.
If you only have fewer (let’s say five) platies in a tank, only feed them once or twice a day, only as much food as they can eat in a few minutes.
What I noticed is that when there are a lot of platies in a tank, they compete and try to eat all the food they can. Seeing this, I sometimes overfeed them so they all can get a piece of the pie.
This is not a good practice. Overfeeding can cause digestive issues and water pollution, so remove any leftover food from the tank.
A good practice is to feed them a high-quality pellet 4-5 times a week, and mix in a variety of live and frozen foods the other 2-3 days.
You can also feed them blanched and unseasoned vegetables and fruit once or twice weekly.
Interestingly, platies can survive for up to two weeks without food, but don’t starve them for long periods.
If you want to raise many fry, you must provide sufficient food to support the growing population.
Signs of Overfeeding and Underfeeding
Platy fish are easy to care for but can suffer from overfeeding or underfeeding.
Overfeeding can cause water quality issues, such as cloudiness, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
Underfeeding can cause health issues like thinness, sunken belly, and dull colors.
To avoid these problems, you should feed your platy fish the right amount and type of food.
Immediately remove any leftover food from the tank after feeding to avoid any toxin spike.
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