What to Feed a Goldfish: Fancy vs Comet, Sinking vs Floating
Pick goldfish food by body shape: sinking for round fancies, either for comets. Small meals twice a day, leftovers out, and why overfeeding fouls water.
Goldfish are cold-water omnivores with no stomach. Food passes straight into a long gut, so small meals often beat one big one.
Pick the food by your fish's body shape, feed what it finishes in a minute or two, and take out the rest.
At a glance
- Best staple A goldfish pellet or granule matched to shape
- Float or sink Sinking for fancies, either for comets
- How often Small meals, twice a day
- How much What they finish in a minute or two
- Water Net out leftovers; they rot into ammonia
- Avoid Bowls, unfiltered containers, one big daily meal
Start with the body shape
Long, slim goldfish eat almost any goldfish food. Round fancies do best on a sinking food.
- Comet or common
- Fancy
- Comet or common
- Long, slim body. Floating or sinking food is fine.
- Fancy
- Round, compact body. Choose a sinking food, or soak a floating one.
Comet, common and shubunkin
A long, slim body with a single tail. Any goldfish flake or pellet works, floating or sinking.
Fancy goldfish
Fantails, ryukins, orandas, lionheads, ranchus and black moors have short, round bodies. They're the fish every maker's swim-bladder warning is about.
Why shape matters
Aqueon, Hikari and NorthFin say round fancies gulp air feeding at the surface, which can tip them over.
Floating or sinking
For a fancy, use a sinking food, or soak a floating one for a few minutes first.
- Floating food
- Sinking food
- Floating food
- A fancy gulps air at the surface.
- Sinking food
- It eats down low, the way it would naturally.
Do
- give a round fancy a sinking pellet or granule. Hikari makes sinking foods for lionheads and fancies for this reason.
- soak floating food in a little tank water for a few minutes, as Hikari and Aqueon suggest.
- pick the right pellet size for your fish, or one size smaller, per Hikari.
Don't
- think floating food is "wrong." Hikari sells floating goldfish foods too. It's about the fish.
What's in goldfish food
Goldfish foods carry more plant matter than tropical foods. Protein varies a lot, even within one brand.
- Flakes
- Floating pellets
- Sinking granules
- Gel
- Flakes
- Float. Soak briefly for a fancy.
- Floating pellets
- Fine for comets. Soak for a fancy.
- Sinking granules
- The easy choice for fancies.
- Gel
- You mix it yourself. It sinks.
Plant matter
NorthFin calls goldfish true omnivores with a big appetite for greens. Fluval says its goldfish foods are fiber-enriched for a healthy gut.
Protein isn't the deciding number
Hikari's own goldfish foods run from 32% to 46% protein. No maker sets a goldfish protein target, so choose on float or sink and your fish's shape.
Fresh vegetables
Our sources don't give a list or amounts for goldfish, so we stick to prepared goldfish foods here. Ask us if you want to try something.
Pick a sinking food for a fancy and either kind for a comet. Then compare the labels below if you like.
Compare 21 goldfish foods: float or sink, protein, fat and fiber
| Food | Floats or sinks | Pellet size | Protein | Fat | Fiber |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hikari Goldfish Gold | Floats | 1.7-2.0 mm | 32.0% min | 4.0% min | 3.0% max |
| Hikari Goldfish Staple | Floats | 1.7-2.0 mm | 32.0% min | 4.0% min | 3.0% max |
| Hikari Goldfish Wheat-Germ | Floats | 2.7-4.0 mm | 32.0% min | 4.0% min | 4.0% max |
| Hikari Oranda Gold | Floats | 2.5-2.8 mm | 45.0% min | 6.0% min | 5.0% max |
| Hikari Lionhead | Sinks | 1.7-2.0 mm | 46.0% min | 6.0% min | 5.0% max |
| Hikari Sinking Goldfish Excel | Sinks | 1.7-2.0 mm | 40.0% min | 6.0% min | 2.0% max |
| Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Balance | Sinks | 1.3-1.5 mm | 45.0% min | 5.0% min | 3.0% max |
| Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Color | Sinks | 1.3-1.6 mm | 45.0% min | 7.0% min | 3.0% max |
| Fluval Bug Bites Goldfish Granules | Slow-sinking | 1.4-2.0 mm | 32.0% min | 10.0% min | 6.0% max |
| Fluval Bug Bites Goldfish Pellets | Slow-sinking | 5-7 mm | 40.0% min | 12.5% min | 5.0% max |
| Fluval Bug Bites Goldfish Flakes | Flake | not listed | 33% min | 8% min | 3.5% max |
| NorthFin Goldfish Formula | Slow-sinking | 2 or 3 mm | 36% min | 5% min | 5% max |
| Ocean Nutrition Goldfish Pellets | Floats | 1.8 mm | 40.0% min | 4.5% min | 1.0% max |
| Ocean Nutrition Goldfish Flakes | Flake | not listed | 49.0% min | 9.5% min | 0.5% max |
| Repashy Super Gold | Gel, sinks | Mixed by you | 40% min | 6% min | 5% max |
| Aqueon Goldfish Flakes | Floats | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Aqueon Goldfish Granules | Sinks | About 1.5 mm | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Aqueon Nutrinsect Goldfish Pellets | Sinks | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| API Goldfish Flakes | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| API Goldfish Pellets | Sinks | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
| Seachem NutriDiet Goldfish | Flake | not listed | not listed | not listed | not listed |
Figures are each maker's guaranteed analysis. Aqueon, API and Seachem don't publish one for their goldfish foods.
Color formulas
add ingredients such as astaxanthin, spirulina or marigold. Dyes: Hikari Oranda Gold lists FD&C Red 3, Yellow 5 and Blue 2, and Hikari Wheat-Germ lists Red 3, per their labels.
Gel food
Repashy says mix 1 part powder with 2-3 parts boiling water. It keeps about two weeks in the fridge or six months in the freezer.
How much and how often
Small amounts, twice a day, gone in a minute or two. Net out the rest.
- Right amount
- Too much
- Right amount
- Gone in a minute or two.
- Too much
- Leftovers sit on the gravel and rot.
- Little and often. Hikari says goldfish are grazers, so smaller, more frequent meals are best.
- Twice a day fits inside every maker's range. Add a third small meal for young, growing fish.
- Gone in a minute or two. Makers' windows run from 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
- Take out leftovers. Aqueon says remove uneaten food about five minutes after feeding.
- Begging isn't hunger. Goldfish always act hungry. API notes goldfish are known to be overfed.
| Fish | Best food | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Comet or common | Floating or sinking | Twice a day |
| Fancy | Sinking, or floating soaked first | Twice a day |
Switching foods. Aqueon says change to a new food gradually. Mix the new one in with the old over several days.
Feeding a fancy, step by step
Soak floating food first, feed a pinch, watch, then net out what's left.
Pinch: take a small pinch, about what your fish clears in a minute or two.
Soak: if it's a floating food, let it sit in a little cup of tank water for a few minutes.
Feed: pour it in and watch your fish eat for a minute or two.
Net: lift out anything left on the gravel.
Soak, feed, watch, then net.
Overfeeding and water quality
Uneaten food rots and raises ammonia; take out leftovers.
API spells it out: uneaten or poorly digested food turns into waste and ammonia. High ammonia is toxic to fish and can damage their gills.
- Filter: carries the waste every meal adds.
- Thermometer: fancies 68-74°F, comets 60-70°F.
- Test kit: aim for ammonia 0 and nitrite 0.
- Gravel vacuum: lifts out leftovers and waste.
- Filter: carries the waste every meal adds.
- Thermometer: fancies 68-74°F, comets 60-70°F.
- Test kit: aim for ammonia 0 and nitrite 0.
- Gravel vacuum: lifts out leftovers and waste.
- No bowls. Aqueon, Hikari and API all say never a bowl or unfiltered container. Goldfish make a lot of waste.
- Tank size. Aqueon says at least 20 gallons per adult comet, common or shubunkin, and 10 per adult fancy. Hikari and API ask for more.
- Filter, test kit, gravel vacuum. The filter carries the waste. The test kit shows if food is fouling the water: aim for ammonia 0 and nitrite 0. The vacuum lifts out leftovers.
- Temperature. Aqueon gives 68-74°F for fancies and 60-70°F for comets and shubunkins. A fancy in a cold room may need a small heater.
- Goldfish only. They're cold-water fish, so keep them apart from tropical community fish.
Floating upside down
Skip a day, then switch to a sinking food or soak what you have. Still floating? Ask a vet.
- Problem sign
- Healthy
- Problem sign
- Floats, tilts or can't stay down.
- Healthy
- Swims level and moves up and down freely.
A fancy that floats, tilts, or can't stay down may have swim bladder trouble. Overfeeding, constipation and cold water can all play a part.
- Skip one day of food to give the gut a rest.
- Switch to a sinking food or Hikari Wheat-Germ. Hikari's FAQ suggests both.
- Soak floating food first if you keep using it.
- Check the water. High ammonia or cold water makes things worse.
Hikari says the problem is often a swim bladder that didn't form properly, not the floating food itself.
Cold water and storage
Feed less in very cold or very warm water. Use an open container within about three months.
- Temperature. Hikari says feed less when the water stays below 50°F or above 86°F.
- Wheat-germ food. Hikari makes it for colder water and easier digestion. An indoor tank doesn't need a seasonal switch.
- Freshness. Hikari says use within 90 days of opening. API says replace fish food every 60-90 days after opening.
- Buy the size you'll use. A big tub for one or two fish goes stale before it's finished.
Quick answers
Which food for my goldfish? For a slim comet or shubunkin, any goldfish flake or pellet. For a round fancy, a sinking pellet or granule, or soak a floating one first.
How much should I feed? A small pinch, twice a day, gone in a minute or two. Net out the rest. Your food's label is the final word.
My goldfish always looks hungry. Should I feed more? No. Goldfish always beg. Extra food rots and raises ammonia.
Can my goldfish eat tropical flakes? It will, but goldfish foods carry more plant matter and many sink, which suits a fancy better.
Can a goldfish live in a bowl? No. Aqueon, Hikari and API all say goldfish need a filtered tank. Aqueon says at least 10 gallons per fancy and 20 per comet.
My fancy is floating upside down. What do I do? Skip a day, then feed a sinking food or soaked food. If it keeps floating, see a vet and bring us a water sample.
How long does an open container last? About 60-90 days, per Hikari and API.
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Reviewed by our team 2026-11-09. Nutrition figures are each maker's published guaranteed analysis.
