Hey guys:

It's been a long time since my last post. Due to your guidance, I've
made it through my first 18 months or so of fishkeeping, and my two
lovelies are generally thriving.

I've got two, a fantail and an oranda, in a 20-gallon, long, rather
than tall, type of tank. Overfiltered, lots of aeration, no gravel,
good water parameters, weekly treated water changes, heater set at
78--all of the basic, mostly "general consensus" stuff.

The problem is my pop-eye fantail. Man, does she get floaty. I've read
elsewhere that this is common. She has grown a lot in the last year,
and has the nice wide bodied, egg-shape. But the second I give her ANY
sinking pellet food, she floats like crazy. I have used Hikari,
BioBlend, and even recently tried Pro Gold. And soaking doesn't help!
It doesn't matter how much I spend on food, she is up and floating in
no time. Last night she had trouble staying right-side up. I gave peas
and today she is better, but I can't stand seeing her that way, ever!

Okay, so I am thinking I need to forgo pellets altogether, despite
their convenience. So now what? I used to use the SF Bay Brand frozen
bloodwoorm, brine shrimp and veggie "gumdrops." I wonder if this is
okay as a standard diet? The different flavors give them plenty of
variety, but I seem to understand that most people serve bloodworms
and brine shrimp as an occasional treat!? I even bought some of that
"fake" crab meat, but I've yet to serve it.

I am willing to make my own food with that "gel" stuff that is sold in
various places on the web, or even, if this is the case, to make my
own with store-bought gelatin. I just don't want to feed them
improperly. What are some of you more experienced folks doing to
ensure good nutrition if you forgo pellets?

Thanks, as always. . .
Jenn