Care & feeding guide

What to Feed Community Fish (Tetras, Guppies, Corys & More)

Flakes, micro pellets or sinking food? How to feed top, middle and bottom swimmers in one tank, how much, how often, and keeping food fresh.

Tetras, guppies, platies, corys and their tankmates all eat a good dry staple. The trick is getting food to every fish, because they eat at different levels of the tank.

Pick foods by where each fish eats and how big its mouth is. Then feed small amounts and take out anything left over.

A small pinch, a few times a day, and nothing left over.

At a glance

Best staple Flakes or micro pellets, plus a sinking food
How much What they finish in 1 to 3 minutes
How often 2-3 small meals a day, per most labels
Leftovers Take out what's left after a few minutes
Freshness Use within 90 days to 6 months of opening
Avoid Flakes alone for corys, big pinches, wet fingers

Who eats where

Fish tend to stay near the top, the middle or the bottom. Each layer needs food that reaches it.

Side view of a planted community tank: guppies and platies near the surface with flakes floating, neon tetras in mid-water with small pellets drifting down, and corydoras catfish on the sand beside a sinking wafer — Feed the top, the middle and the bottom. Tap a number to see why.

Top: guppies and platies eat at the surface. Flakes float, so they suit these fish.
Middle: tetras pick food as it drifts down. Micro pellets sink slowly through their level.
Bottom: corys and loaches eat off the floor. They need a food that sinks.

Top swimmers: guppies, platies and other livebearers.
Middle swimmers: tetras, rasboras, danios and barbs.
Bottom swimmers: corys, loaches and other catfish.

Flakes float first, then drift. Micro pellets sink slowly. Granules and wafers sink faster and reach the bottom.

Flakes, micro pellets or sinking food

Flakes for the top, micro pellets for small mouths and mid-water, something that sinks for the bottom.

Flakes

Tetra says its tropical flakes are for top- and mid-feeding fish. They float, then drift down.

Micro pellets

Hikari makes its Micro Pellets for small-mouth fish such as tetras and barbs. They sink slowly through the middle of the tank.

Granules

Aqueon says its granules sink faster than flakes and suit larger fish.

Wafers

Hikari says its Micro Wafers sink slowly and reach several levels of the tank, bottom included.

A neon tetra facing a single large flake almost as big as its head, beside the same fish eating tiny crumbled pieces — Match the bite to the mouth.

Small mouths

Neons and other tiny fish do best on micro pellets or crushed flake.

Crumble it

Crush flakes into smaller pieces for tiny fish, or switch to micro pellets.

A bite it can't swallow

ends up on the bottom, where it rots.

One good staple plus a sinking food covers most mixed tanks.

Compare community fish foods: protein, fat and first ingredient

Food	Form	Protein	Fat	Fiber	Moisture	First ingredient
Hikari Micro Pellets	Slowly sinking pellet	43.0% min	7.0% min	7.0% max	10.0% max	Fish meal
Hikari Micro Wafers	Slow-sinking wafer	44.0% min	8.0% min	2.0% max	10.0% max	Fish meal
Hikari Vibra Bites	Slow-sinking stick	46.0% min	7.0% min	5.0% max	10.0% max	Fish meal
Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Flakes	Flake	46% min	8% min	1.5% max	6% max	Black soldier fly larvae
Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Granules	Granule, some sink, some float	40.0% min	12.5% min	5.0% max	10.0% max	Black soldier fly larvae
New Life Spectrum (community)	Pellet, most sink	37% min	8% min	7% max	10% max	Krill
New Life Spectrum Thera+A	Pellet, most sink	39% min	9% min	8% max	10% max	Krill
TetraMin and TetraColor flakes	Flake	not listed	not listed	not listed	not listed	not listed
Aqueon flakes and granules	Flake or granule	not listed	not listed	not listed	not listed	not listed

Figures are each maker's guaranteed analysis. Tetra and Aqueon don't post theirs online, so read the can.

No "complete and balanced" line. AAFCO, which sets pet food standards, publishes no nutrient profile for aquarium fish, so you won't find that line on the can. The guaranteed analysis and ingredient list are what the label gives you.

Feeding top, middle and bottom

A tank with corys or loaches needs a sinking food as well as flakes.

Two views of the same tank floor: corydoras searching bare sand while flakes float far above, and the same corys gathered around a sinking wafer — Bottom feeders need food that reaches them.

Flakes alone don't work for bottom feeders. The top fish eat them first, and little reaches the floor.
Add a sinking food such as a wafer or granule for corys, loaches or a pleco.
Many bottom feeders feed at night. Our bottom-feeder guide covers wafers and timing.

How much and how often

What they finish in 1 to 3 minutes, two or three times a day. The label is the final word.

Two views of the same tank: a few flakes being eaten at the surface, and a cloud of flakes with a pile of uneaten food on the gravel — If food reaches the gravel and sits, that was too much.

Makers agree on small meals but differ on the clock:

Hikari: what your fish eat in about a minute, two or three times a day.
Fluval granules: what they eat in two minutes, two or three times a day.
Tetra: what they eat in three minutes, two or three times a day.

One label disagrees

One Fluval flake page says two or three times a week. Follow the label on the food you feed.

When in doubt, feed less

If food is still on the bottom after three minutes, that was too much.

Fish	Best food	How often
Top swimmers	Flakes	2-3 times a day, small meals
Middle swimmers	Micro pellets or crushed flake	2-3 times a day, small meals
Bottom swimmers	A sinking granule or wafer	As the label on the sinking food says

What each label says

Food	How much	How often
TetraMin and TetraColor flakes	What they eat in 3 minutes	2-3 times a day
Hikari Micro Pellets	What they eat in about a minute	2-3 times a day
Hikari Micro Wafers	What they eat in about a minute	2-3 times a day
Hikari Vibra Bites	What they eat in a few minutes	2-3 times a day
Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Granules	What they eat in 2 minutes	2-3 times a day
Fluval Bug Bites Tropical Flakes	Up to 1 minute	2-3 times a week on one page, 3 a day on another
Aqueon, New Life Spectrum	not listed online	not listed online

Directions are paraphrased from each maker's product page.

Feeding, step by step

Measure a pinch, watch them eat, take out what's left.

Measure: shake a small pinch into the cap, as Fluval suggests, not your fingers.
Watch: sprinkle it in and watch. Most labels say it should be gone in 1 to 3 minutes.
Clean up: net or siphon out anything left after a few minutes.

Pinch, watch, clean up.

Is it the right amount?

A slightly curved belly is what you want, per Fluval. Clear water is the other sign.

Belly

Fluval says slightly curved bellies are ideal.

Cloudy water

New cloudiness after you add fish is often too much food. Tetra's own label says uneaten food causes water problems.

What to do

Cut back the pinch, skip a day of feeding, and test for ammonia.

Bloated or floating sideways? Overfeeding is one common cause of swim bladder trouble.

Treats and color foods

Frozen and freeze-dried foods are treats on top of a staple. Color foods bring out color your fish already has.

Treats

Bloodworms, brine shrimp and daphnia are extras, not the main food. Frozen cubes can go into a community tank still frozen. Never heat them. Our [frozen fish food guide](/care-guide/frozen-fish-food/) has the details.

Color foods

Tetra, Aqueon and Hikari all make color claims for ingredients such as spirulina, krill, astaxanthin and marigold. These bring out color the fish already has.

A pale fish

is usually a water or stress problem, not a food problem. A stressed fish stays pale on any food.

Bettas

have their own guide. Hikari and Fluval both list bettas among the fish their micro pellets suit.

Keeping food fresh

Use an open can within a few months, and keep it closed, cool and dry.

Two cans of fish flakes: one sealed in a cool cupboard, and one left open on a warm tank lid with damp, clumped flakes — Close it, keep it dry, keep it off the warm lid.

Hikari says use the package within 90 days of opening.
Fluval says it should be eaten within 6 months.
Keep the lid on, out of sun and heat, in a dry spot.
Buy the size you'll finish. A big can at a pinch a day can outlast both windows.

Quick answers

How much do I feed? What your fish finish in about 1 to 3 minutes, depending on the label. If food sits on the bottom after three minutes, that was too much.

How often? Most labels say two or three small meals a day. Follow the label on your food.

Flakes or pellets? Flakes for top swimmers, micro pellets for small mouths and mid-water, and a sinking food for the bottom.

Will my corys eat the flakes? Not enough of them. Add a sinking wafer or granule.

My water got cloudy after I added fish. Why? Usually too much food. Cut back, skip a day, and bring us a water sample.

How long is an open can good for? Hikari says 90 days and Fluval says 6 months. Keep it closed, cool and dry.

Do color flakes work? They bring out color your fish already has. A pale fish usually needs better water, not new food.

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Reviewed by our team 2026-11-09. Nutrition figures are each maker's published guaranteed analysis.