Can Fish Become Obese?

[platypus]

Silly question, perhaps, but I was curious! Does anyone have a truly fat fish? Not just large, but porky? Certainly dogs and cats can become walking balls of excess lard, but how about our finned friends? I've never seen an overweight fish that I know of, though my angels and parrot are trying their best to be the first.

[Ibn]

I've seen some before. Have to be careful with it, since feeding any fish fatty food leads not only to a fat fish, but over time, will kill them (fatty degeneration of the liver).

[scolley]

Originally Posted by Ibn

fatty degeneration of the liver

LOL! I bet I've got that! And I'm not talking about my fish!

[Aulonochromis]

They can definitely become obese, I've seem some seriously fat, ugly, overfed cichlids. Fish don't require alot of food, they are better off slightly underfed than overfed.

[bigpow]

quality is a more important than quantity

[Overfloater]

Americans have a strong tendency to overfeed their animals, even fish. I have been saying this for years and years. I've seen plenty of obese fish. Some people feed their fish -3 tiems a day and more! It's insane. Fish are cold- blooded just like reptiles, they don't require much food at all. I only feed lightly twice a week and have never lost a fish to starvation as far as I can tell.

[rayhwong]

Growing discus need food 3X a day to grow well. The cardinals in the tank get a free meal from the scraps and are getting obese. I dont think they were meant to eat beefheart.