10 Best Goldfish Foods You Need to Try

Over the years, hundreds of generations have been breeding goldfish to be able to display unique characteristics like double tails and egg-shaped body shapes. The compact size of goldfish can lead to constipation and digestive issues. Therefore, owners invest a lot in finding the best food for their pets. These are the top 10 foods that we have cultivated over decades to provide goldfish with a variety of nutrients and color-enhancing substances.

Note: Some people believe goldfish shouldn’t be fed floating food. They could swallow air from the water surface and develop intestinal problems. Our years of experience have shown that floating foods are safe for fish. 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 Fishfish is our recommendation if you want a professional-grade, 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. Color-enhancing ingredients, such as astaxanthin and spirulina, help to boost your goldfish’s red coloration without muddying the white areas. Finally, these pellets are packed with Vitamin E and C to strengthen your fish’s immune system against diseases. It’s no wonder that people have fallen in love with the Saki-Hikari line of specialized foods for goldfish.

2. Vegetables

While single-tailed goldfish have streamlined, torpedo-shaped physiques, double-tailed goldfish have balloon-shaped builds that can be prone to blockage, bloating, and swim bladder disease. As a preventative measure, many owners supplement their fish’s meal plans with vegetables to increase the fiber content in their diets. We prefer canned green beans, zucchini slices and canned carrot slices. Leafy vegetables such as lettuce and spinach are also good options. If the vegetable is not soft enough for the goldfish to nibble on, you may need to blanch it first by briefly boiling it in water until it reaches the desired tenderness. Also, unshelled peas are often recommended as a cure-all for constipation issues, but be aware that they are a bit messy when placed underwater and can be labor-intensive to feed on a frequent basis.

3. Frozen Fish Food

Although goldfish are advised to eat lots of plant matter in order to maintain their digestive systems working efficiently, it’s important to remember that they are omnivores, which means they also require healthy amounts of protein. Frozen foods are a very high-quality, clean food that does not quickly disintegrate in water, allowing your goldfish to forage throughout the day and find leftover pieces on the tank bottom. Sold at most local pet and fish stores, they often come in packages of individually foil-sealed cubes or frozen slabs that you can break off into smaller chunks. We love krill, daphnia and spirulina salt shrimp as frozen foods for goldfish. Much like fiber, the exoskeletons on these crustaceans are not typically digested and thus help to flush out the fish’s bowels and keep things moving smoothly.

4. Hikari Cichlid Excel

To avoid bloat, freshwater herbivores as well as African cichlids need a plant-rich diet. 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. Hikari Cichlid Excel pellets come in both floating and sinking versions, just like many Hikari brand food products.

5. Repashy Super Gold Gel Food

You are looking for a specific food for goldfish that is not a pellet. Repashy teamed up with experts in the field of goldfish to develop a premium gel food using the finest ingredients. Goldfish love gel food because it is soft and moist, easy to digest, and gentle on their sensitive swim bladders. If you really want to spoil your goldfish, Repashy Super Gold contains an incredible blend of krill, algae, black soldier fly larvae, squid, seaweed, egg, plant proteins, fruits, flowers, and more. This mixture is also chock-full of essential vitamins, calcium, and beta carotene for color enrichment. Goldfish owners love to feed Repashy Soilent Green to their goldfish. This is an alga- and plant-rich gel mix that has an amazing 8% fiber content. This article will show you how to make Repashy Instant Gel Food in just 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. The special recipe includes krill, shrimps, squid, and even spirulina alga. They also contain important nutrients, vitamins and minerals to ensure a healthy diet and natural color enhancement. Xtreme fish foods are all made in the USA, and depending on the size of your goldfish, you can choose between their 1.5mm Floating Pellets, 1.5mm Slow-Sinking Pellets, and 3mm Big Fella Pellets.

7. Hikari Gold

Have you ever wondered how goldfish are related to koi? These distant cousins were created originally from carp in East Asia. Hikari gold koi foods can be added to your fish’s daily diet. This floating pellet of high quality is made for cold water fish. It has easy-to-digest ingredients and can pass through the body quickly even in cooler temperatures. This food is specially designed to give your fish the best body condition, optimal colors and avoid unhealthy fat accumulation. These pellets can be a cost-effective way to feed your goldfish.

8. Xtreme Spirulina Flake

Spirulina is a type of blue-green algae (or cyanobacteria) that is widely used as a food source for humans, poultry, livestock, and fish. It naturally contains protein, iron and beta carotene as well as vitamins and fatty acid. Xtreme created a spirulina flake diet for fish by mixing it with shrimp, fish, and other beneficial supplements. When raising goldfish fry, the flakes can be easily crumbled to a smaller size that the babies can eat. Hikari algae wafers, which contain an excellent mix of vegetables and proteins, are great for those who prefer sinking food.

9. Hikari Red Parrot+

The majority of foods on this list focus on providing good fiber, roughage, and other nutrients. But what if you want your goldfish display the most stunning colors? 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. For the ultimate boost in color, add Hikari Red Parrot+ to your fish’s weekly food rotation.

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.