Yes, Tropical fish can eat goldfish flakes, but NOT as the main source of their diet. Goldfish are tropical fish have different dietary requirements and therefore flakes designed to me the nutritional needs of goldfish will not provide tropical fish with the nutrition that they need.
What Are The Dietary Requirements Of Goldfish?
Goldfish are omnivores meaning they require a combination of both plants and meat in their diet. Their diet should contain a moderate amount of protein and be high in fibre.
Goldfish that do not have enough fibre in their diet are likely to suffer digestion problems and constipation. If they do not get the right amount of protein it can lead to poor growth development, bulging eyes and protruding bones [source].
Other signs that a goldfish isn’t getting the nutrients it requires include color loss, fin nipping and aggressive behavior to tank mates, rapid breathing and spending large amounts of time dwelling at the bottom of their tank.
What Are The Dietary Requirements Of Tropical Fish?
Most tropical fish are omnivores meaning they require a diet containing meat and plant based foods. However, most will benefit from a diet that is predominantly meat based.
Tropical fish don’t require as much fibre in their diet as goldfish but do require more protein.
As with goldfish, if their diet does not meet their nutritional needs, your tropical fish are very likely to lose color, be prone to aggressive behavior, lethargy, sickness and eventually death!
What Is In Goldfish Flakes?
Goldfish flakes are usually a mix of algae and fish meal and will normally have additional vitamins and minerals that have been specifically formulated for goldfish to help with their growth, general health and wellbeing and enhances their natural coloring.
Goldfish flakes tend to be around 20-40% protein and 2-10% fibre.
What Is In Tropical Fish Flakes?
Tropical fish flakes are usually a mix of meat and plant and will normally have additional vitamins and minerals that have been specifically formulated for tropical fish to help with their growth, general health and wellbeing.
Tropical fish flakes tend to be around 45-50% protein and 1-5% fibre.
However, the formulation of each brand varies. Some tropical fish flake foods contain as much as 80% protein!
What Happens If I Feed My Tropical Fish Goldfish Flakes?
If you have fed your tropical fish goldfish flakes by accident or if you feed them goldfish flake son occasion nothing sinister is likely to happen. Problems will occur if you provide your tropical fish goldfish flakes regularly or if it is their main, or only, source of food.
As stated above goldfish flakes are specifically designed for goldfish and their nutritional needs, tropical fish are very different from goldfish and so their requirements differ.
Your tropical fish are very likely to become unwell if you mainly feed them a diet of goldfish flakes and eventually they will die an unpleasant death from malnutrition.
Providing you are meeting your tropical fish’s requirements, they will happily eat the occasional meal of goldfish flakes without anything bad happening.
What Should I Feed My Tropical Fish?
Most tropical fish will thrive on a diet that is both meat and plant based. A good tropical fish food, whether it be flakes or pellets will provide all of the nutrition the majority of tropical fish require.
To add variety and to ensure they are getting a wide range of nutrients you can supplement your tropical fish’s diet with plant based food – such as algae wafers and blanched vegetables like spinach, lettuce and cucumber – and meat based foods such as live, freeze dried or frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia.
Just like us humans your tropical fish will thrive when they have a varied diet that provides all of the nutrition that they require.
Conclusion
Feeding your tropical fish goldfish flakes is not really a good idea, certainly not as their main food source. Goldfish flakes are not designed to meet the dietary requirements of tropical fish and so will not provide your tropical fish what they need. Regularly feeding your tropical fish goldfish flakes will lead to your fish becoming sick and ultimately it will kill them.
Make sure you understand the nutritional requirements of your fish and always select the food that you give them carefully. If you do, you will have happy fish to enjoy for many years!
