What can fish eat as treats?

If you're searching for ways to spoil your finned friends, treats are the way to go! Yes, your aquarium fish can have — and would enjoy — some tasty nibbles between regular feedings. If you've ever wondered what fish can eat as treats, how often you should offer them, or why this is a good idea, keep reading.

What Can Fish Eat as Treats?

As you browse for your usual fish food supplies, you might see a few other goodies your fishy family members would enjoy trying. Don't worry too much about whether your pets are omnivores, carnivores, or herbivores — even meat eaters like to have a salad before a steak dinner! A few treat ideas to try include:

• Frozen food cubes made of shrimp, krill, mussels, insect larvae, spirulina, bloodworms, etc.
• Dried kelp, spirulina, or algae wafers
• Dehydrated shrimp, crayfish, tubifex worms, crabs, crickets, and mealworms
• Live crickets, minnows, and mealworms

Or, you can browse your refrigerator for some tasty options. Just be sure the foods you choose aren't cooked or seasoned:

• Beef heart
• Fresh lettuces
• Cod
• Table shrimp
• Peeled pear and apple cubes
• Raw sliced zucchini or cucumber
• Fresh watermelon cubes
• Frozen, then thawed peeled green peas (these can be boiled then cooled)

As a general rule, fish shouldn't eat too many carbohydrates; otherwise, they risk health issues. Instead, stick to proteins and low-carb produce.

How Often Do You Give Fish Treats?

Treats are, well, treats, so moderation is the key here. Spoiling your pets once a week is a great way to enjoy time together without over-stuffing the pets with too many calories.

Plus, overfeeding can to lead to cloudy water, high ammonia and/or nitrite levels, or a clogged aquarium filter.

Consider starting a routine. Maybe when you treat yourself to pizza night on Saturdays, you also give a little something extra to your nearby aquarium companions. While waiting for your food to cook or arrive via delivery, enjoy watching your fish nibbling away at their special treat.

How to Combine Treats and Playtime

If you're looking for more ways to observe and interact with your fish, offer a few Stick'ems freeze-dried cubes featuring brine and Mysis shrimp. Simply place the treat inside the tank, against the glass, under the waterline. Then, squish out the air to make the cube stick, and you're ready for a fun feeding time. These new fish treats are available online and on your favorite pet store shelves and come in three varieties.

• Stick'ems™ Freeze-Dried Picky Eater Treat
• Stick'ems™ Freeze-Dried High Protein Treat
• Stick'ems™ Freeze-Dried Color Boosting Treat

The delicious flavor is sure to bring even the pickiest of eaters up to the glass for your viewing pleasure. Your fish can nip at the cubes for up to 10 minutes. This is the perfect time to snap a photo or two of your pets!

Why Should I Give My Fish Treats?

Fish appreciate treats now and then. By offering up some tasty morsels to your pets, they will look forward to spending more time with you and come to the front of the aquarium to see what you're up to — like reaching for their treat container!

Plus, offering treats to your fish is fun to watch. Whether you attach the goodies to the glass wall or tuck them in the aquarium substrate, you can get an up-close view of how they nudge, poke, and slurp up their food.

Fish are family, so why not offer them a tempting, pet-appropriate treat? Just don't go overboard! Treats are an occasional indulgence, not a daily necessity.