As fishkeepers we all like to get tips on anything from water changes to lighting. Not many people think about the feeding of their fish and how much there is to learn about that. This seems like a very basic thing to many people but it can actually get as complex as we want to make it. Most people however take feeding the fish loosely like they only have to drop the flakes in once or twice a day and don't worry about it. You can however have far less problems and a healthier tank if you do the right things and use the right methods when feeding your fish.
There are many things to think about such as the type and brand of food to feed them as well as the amount of food. There are two basic types of fish food; live food and flake food. Some people like to feed live foods but the majority feed freeze dried flakes. This is a decision that you should think over carefully. The live food is more expensive, more trouble, and can spoil and kill your fish. On the other hand it is better for some fish and for others it is needed as part of their essential diet. Flakes are inexpensive, easy to get, and easy to store and feed with which explains their popularity. On the other hand they are not as good to many fish as live foods and some fish can't eat the flake foods.
I personally use flake foods in my own tank because of their convenience and their low cost. I don't think it is worth it to use live foods in my current tank setup however I may consider it in the future. Many of the marine aquariums like to use brine shrimp and brine shrimp eggs. You should be careful if using live foods in a freshwater aquarium because it could have salt in it which would contaminate your tank with salt and you don't want to get too much of that in there. I know the brine shrimp eggs have salt in them so you probably need to avoid that. The brine flakes however are perfectly safe for freshwater.
Most hobbyists tend to overfeed their fish which can cause some little known problems to aquariums. One of those such problems is excessive growth of what appears to most hobbyists to be algae. This green substance could be bacteria that looks like algae. If you have this substance growing in your tank whatever you think it is you should try feeding the fish less. If the substance has disappeared within a few weeks then you have solved one more problem and made your tank even more healthy.
Another problem in addition to causing growth to unwanted bacteria and algae you will also lead to poor water quality. This could lead to disease, death, and many more problems. The reason it will lead to poor water quality is because the rotting food will form amonia and other unhealthy things in your tank. The most basic thing is to make sure you are not overfeeding.
There are many ways to tell if you are overfeeding. You could get either of the scenarios listed above or you could also have uneaten flakes on the ground several hours after feeding. You may need to have these flakes on the ground for some bottom feeders however if the food is not consumed in several hours you are overfeeding.
There are a few variables that play a part in a new tank when feeding. The first and most important is the amount of times each day to feed them. It is usually only one or two feedings a day. It may be in your best intrest as a new aquarium owner to have one feeding a day as long as you remember to feed your fish that one time.
If you feed the fish less often like once a day instead of twice you will usually have less problems with the bad chemicals in the water that you will have only when you start up. There is one of the chemicals that the fish "Poop" turns into. It is also made from rotting plant leafs and other rotting things like uneaten food.