There are largely three different categories that the preferred diet of your fish will fit into: carnivorous, herbivorous, or omnivorous. Carnivorous fish are ones that get most of the energy that they need to survive from a meat-based diet. This can include insects, other fish, and other invertebrates worms, snails, shrimp, etc. Some predatory fish are active hunters that will either chase down prey, like sharks, or wait for the food to come to them.
Fish that exhibit these behaviors will usually have a larger mouth, like bass and groupers. Some carnivorous fish will also have large teeth and have a more aerodynamic body for quickly swimming through the water, like barracuda.
Other species resort to scavenging; these fish clean up after other sea life in more ways than one. Most of these species available will be a catfish or loach, as they catch all the food that has sunk to the bottom of the tank. Likewise, cusk-eels can be seen along the bottom of the ocean searching for sunken particles, especially taking a liking to larger carcasses like those of whales.
Some of the most common carnivorous aquarium fish are specific types of cichlid , arrowana, and piranhas. Live food and frozen food, like feeder fish , brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, worms, mollusks, and other invertebrates should regularly be offered to your carnivorous fish. Herbivorous fish are ones that get most of the energy that they need to survive from a plant-based diet. This mainly includes algae and plants in the wild but pet fish can also be supplemented with fruit and vegetable matter in the aquarium.
Herbivorous fish are usually constantly grazing on rocks, substrate, wood, or other areas that have grown algae. These fish will often have flat teeth or a beak that helps pull off algae, like some tangs, blennies , plecos, and parrotfish.
Some of these fish eat algae from coral reefs and are important for keeping a healthy balance between corals and algae. However, there are not many species of fish that can truly be categorized as herbivorous and most will need a balanced diet of animal- and plant-based foods. Most herbivores you see at your local pet store are difficult to keep; they need to be constantly grazing so food needs to be abundant.
Sadly, many of these fish actually starve once introduced into the aquarium due to the lack of things to eat, but supplementing their diet with algae wafers and pieces of seaweed can help! While some fish may be labeled as omnivores, there are some species that actually tend to lean to one side of the spectrum and should be given a more meaty diet than a plant-based diet and vice versa.
Rather than chewing on their meat, carnivorous fish they are able to tear parts of their prey up and swallow them whole. While a carnivorous fish might eat plants, the plants provide no nutritional value to them.
Instead, their digestive track is developed to handle large pieces of meat and have room for a whole fish in their stomach.
Typically in the wild these fish will feed on other smaller fish, insects such as blood worms, and larva. Omnivore fish get the best of both worlds. Omnivore fish eat both plants and other meat in the ocean. Their digestive track allows both vegetable matter and meat to travel through unlike herbivorous and carnivorous fishes digestive tracks. Different types of omnivorous fish include Freshwater Fish, Freshwater angelfish and Barb.
From ocean to indoor tank, there are a lot of fish in the wild that would make a good pet fish to spruce up your aquarium. Accommodations can be made for all types of herbivorous, carnivorous and omnivorous fish in the tank.
When adding to your community of fish in your tank take into consideration the history of the fish and if it will get along with other fish. You do not want your carnivorous fish to eat the entirety of your tank.
There are about four different kinds of dry food that include flakes, pellets, granules and discs. Flakes and pellets are the most common types of dry food, but there are key differences between them.
There are different types of food that are made to be more suitable for some fish more than others. Flakes are better to give pet fish that come to the top of the water to eat. Bigger pellets and discs however are better for bottom feeders as they sink to the ground when put in water.
With dry food such as pellets it is easier to overfeed your pet fish. Overfeeding fish is very important to avoid to ensure a long life for the fish. Their semi-aggressive nature is linked more to their territoriality than it is to their predatory instincts. Some freshwater carnivores such as piranhas are simply not adaptable enough to try to play nice with peaceful fish species. Ironically enough, some predatory carnivorous fish will be quick to hunt but too skittish to fight.
Here is a list of some of the most common freshwater aquarium fish with a carnivorous diet:. While they have an omnivorous diet in the wild, Angelfish are mainly meat-eaters. Their list of favorite food includes brine shrimp and mosquito larvae. Angelfish Pterophyllum scalare. Angelfish are best kept with other angelfish or in a tank large enough to deter them from eating smaller tank mates.
Oscars will eat an omnivorous diet in their natural habitat, but they are carnivores at heart. Oscar fish Astronotus ocellatus. Keeping Oscars in a community tank puts smaller fish at risk of getting eaten. They do well with similarly sized peaceful fish in a large-enough aquarium. Not R ecommended. Discus are a bit more high-maintenance than other carnivorous fish, as they have a strong preference for some particular water conditions.
They will eat crustaceans, amphipods, copepods, bloodworms, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, and even chunks of beef heart. Discus Symphysodon. Discus are among the most peaceful carnivorous fish for a freshwater aquarium. They can even get bullied and harassed when sharing a tank with aggressive fish species. Ideal Tank Mates. Not Recommended. Killifish a family that includes over species prefer eating live food and are harder to wean onto nonliving food. You can feed them brine shrimp, mosquito larvae, daphnia, white worms, black worms, and fruit flies.
Killifish Cyprinodontiformes Family. Killifish are notorious for getting aggressive with other males, from their own species and other fish species their size. Females, on the other hand, can peacefully share an aquarium with lots of popular community tank fish.
Jack Dempsey fish have a quick temper, which results in aggressive displays of territorial behavior. They will eat smaller fish in a blink of an eye. Their diet typically includes crickets, snails, bloodworms, brine shrimp, and small feeder fish. Jack Dempsey cichlid Rocio octofasciata.
Jack Dempsey cichlids do best when sharing a large aquarium with similarly-sized semi-aggressive fish. Some of the most common fish in the hobby are avid meat-eaters, while also being beginner-friendly.
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