10 Best Goldfish Foods You Need to Try

Goldfish have been bred for hundreds of years to have special features like elegant double tails and egg-shaped bodies. That compact physique can sometimes cause constipation and digestion issues, so goldfish owners devote a lot of time and energy into finding the best foods for their water piggies. We have been keeping goldfish for decades and these are the top 10 foods we love to feed our goldfish.

Not all people believe goldfish should be fed floating foods. They could choke on the air and have intestinal problems. We have never seen any problems with our fish eating floating food. This is despite years of experience. In fact, floating fish food is sometimes preferred because it remains at the surface for fish to find and doesn’t get stuck in the substrate or behind aquarium decorations.

1. Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish

Saki-Hikari fancy goldfish is a brand that we recommend if you are looking for a high-quality, fish-specific, prepared food. This 3 mm sinking pellet is loaded with beneficial probiotics, wheat germ, and seaweed to improve digestion and support intestinal flora. Astaxanthin or spirulina can be used to enhance the color of your goldfish. These pellets contain Vitamin E, C and other nutrients to support your fish’s immune system. It is no surprise that the Saki Hikari brand of specialized food for goldfish has been so beloved.

2. Vegetables

The single-tailed, sleek-looking goldfish have torpedo-shaped bodies, while double-tailed, balloon-shaped fish can have blockage, bloating and swim bladder disease. Many owners add vegetables to their fish’s meals as a preventative measure. We prefer canned green beans, canned zucchini slices, canned carrot strips, and leafy veggies like lettuce and spinach. You may need to blanch the vegetable first, by boiling it briefly in water until it becomes soft enough to eat by the fish. You can also use unshelled potatoes to cure constipation. But they can be difficult to feed and messy when placed in water.

3. Frozen Fish Food

It is important that you give your goldfish lots and lots of plant material to help them digest food efficiently. However, they are also omnivores so make sure they get plenty of protein. Frozen foods can be a high-quality, safe food that doesn’t quickly dissolve in water. This allows your goldfish to explore the tank and find any leftovers. These frozen foods can be purchased at your local fish and pet shops. They come in foil-sealed or frozen slabs. Daphnia (krill), spirulina brine shrimp and daphnia are our favorite frozen foods to feed goldfish. Exoskeletons from these crustaceans can be digested but are not usually digested. This helps to flush out fish’s bowels and keeps things moving.

4. Hikari Cichlid Excel

For bloat prevention, fish such as African cichlids or freshwater herbivores require plant-rich diets. We love feeding these specially formulated Cichlid Pellets. They contain a complete nutritional mix of fish protein, wheat germ and alfalfa for easy digestibility, as well as spirulina or krill for color enhancement. These pellets, as with all Hikari brand foods are fortified with important minerals and supplements like vitamin A, D3, E, and E. Hikari Cichlid Excel is available in both floating and sinking forms for your convenience.

5. Repashy Super Gold Gel Food

Is there a goldfish food that doesn’t contain pellets? Repashy teamed up with experts to create the highest quality gel food available. Gel food is soft and moist and easy to digest for the fish. Repashy Super Gold has an amazing blend of krill (algae, black soldier fly larvae), seaweed, egg and plant proteins. This mix is rich in essential vitamins, minerals, and beta carotene to enhance color. Goldfish owners enjoy feeding Repashy Soilent Green. This gel mix is rich in algae and plants, and has an incredible 8% fiber. Read this article for easy instructions on how to make Repashy instant gel food in less than 10 minutes.

6. Xtreme Pellets

Xtreme Aquatic Foods has one of the best, all-in-one formulas for omnivore fish, and we regularly feed their pellets to our goldfish, community fish, and cichlids in our retail store and personal aquariums. Their special recipe contains appetite-enticing ingredients such as krill, shrimp, squid, and spirulina algae. To make a well-rounded, complete diet, they also include important nutrients, vitamins, and minerals for healthy growth and natural color enhancement. All Xtreme products are made in the USA. You have the option to choose between 1.5mm Floating Pellets, 1.5mm Slowly-Sinking Pellets, or 3mm Big Fella Pellets.

7. Hikari Silver

Have you ever wondered how goldfish are related to koi? These distant cousins were created originally from carp in East Asia. Therefore, consider bringing in Hikari Gold koi food into your goldfish’s meal schedule. This high-quality floating pellet is made for cold water pond fish. It contains easy-to digest ingredients that move through the body quickly in cooler temperatures. The food is specifically formulated to provide excellent health and vibrant colors, while avoiding fat accumulation. These pellets are a great option for anyone looking for a low-cost, healthy diet that will encourage the best growth of their goldfish.

8. Xtreme Spirulina Flake

Spirulina, a blue-green algae or cyanobacteria, is widely used for food. It is a common type of blue green algae that can be used to feed humans, poultry and livestock. It is naturally rich in protein, iron, beta carotene, vitamins, and fatty acids. Xtreme makes spirulina flake foods that fish love by adding it to fish, shrimp, or beneficial supplements. You can easily reduce the size of the flakes to make them more manageable for fry. If you prefer a sinking food instead, Hikari Algae Wafers have an excellent balance of proteins and veggies like seaweed, alfalfa, and spirulina.

9. Hikari Red Parrot+

Most of the foods on this list have been focused on providing good fiber and roughage, but what about getting your fancy goldfish to display the most amazing colors possible? Hikari created a floating pellet that can be used to increase the coloration of bloodparrot cichlids. It also works well for goldfish. The recipe includes a lot of natural color-enhancing ingredients, including chili pepper, phaffia yeast and marigold flowers. It also contains beneficial probiotics that promote healthy growth and help with digestion. Hikari Red Red Parrot+ is a great addition to your goldfish’s weekly meals.

10. Leftover Plants and Algae

As you probably know, goldfish are more than happy to eat most aquarium plants if given the chance. You might be able to feed your goldfish from an aquarium that is too full of plants or algae. Got aquarium decorations covered in hair algae? You can temporarily move your aquarium decorations into your goldfish fish tank to give them a thorough cleaning. Prune your overgrown stem plants, scoop out your excess floating plants, and toss the trimmings into your goldfish aquarium.

If your tank’s water surface is completely covered in duckweed, consider transferring a goldfish into the afflicted aquarium until all traces of duckweed are gone. (Just be aware that your water piggies may snack on smaller fish if given the chance.)

Thankfully, there are some live plants that are tough enough to withstand goldfish, so if you’re looking to set up a planted goldfish tank, see the following article to learn about the top 5 easy plants we recommend.