What food do you or recommend?

[CHINABOY1021]

Just a general survey of the many different kinds of foods being used in todays aquaria market and homes. Has the food you fed your fish made an impact, please share.

also im looking for recommendations on good foods targeting over all healthy.

also those "color-enhancing" foods, they are 100% natural right?

[Matak]

For small fish, I like the tiny pellets by Hagen. The only food that isn't bigger than my neons :D

[aquariumfishguy]

Since I don't have the time to make fancy recipies and whatnot, I have to buy expensive fish food...to ensure my fish get all the required vitamins and dietary needs. For my goldfish, I prefer pellets. I buy the "O.S.I. Ocean Stars Goldfish Pellets". For my tropical fish, I buy the "Tetra Select Tropical Crisps". I have never had any problems with either of these foods.

[NatakuTseng]

Something I do is buy a few different variety's of food, meaning some freeze dried stuff, high end color enhancers, brine shrimp flakes, just a variety. Crush everything up so its small enough and mix it together. That way your fish are getting a good variety of food each time you feed them. The mix I feed to my Rams and other guys right now has, Hikari Oscar color enhancing pellets, Brine Shrimp flakes, Freeze Dried Krill, Golden Pearls, Shrimp pellets, and a Color enhancing flake food.

[jeffro426]

For my Mbuna i use "Ocean Nutrition" Cichlid Vegi Formula Flakes...so far ive been pretty satisfied with the quality/price of it..every now and then ill feed them Hikari Cichlid Gold pellets.

[valerie]

I feed Omega one color enhancing pellets, Veggie flakes and super veggie flakes, Hakari cichlid gold. I also feed NLS all purpose pellets to all my tanks. In addition to these i also feed my africans HBH graze flakes and hakari cichlid excel. There are also other but these are the ones i feed on a regular basis.

[NJ Devils Fan]

I recommend Hikari. Good quality and my fish like just about everything. I feed Hikari frozen bloodworms, frozen brine shrimp, frozen squid, and flake food(staple). Also, I recently purchased Sera flake food to try out. Fish like everything so far. Their favorite is still the frozen bloodworms, they love them more then everything else.

[Leopardess]

Variety is important:)

Wardley Tropical Fish Flakes
Tetra Select crisps - my fish dont really like them...odd
Freeze-dried Bloodworms
Freeze-dried baby Krill
Hikari or Wardley brand Sinking Algae Wafers
Wardley's Sinking Shrimp Pellets
Hikari Frozen Bloodworms - Best ones imo
Frozen Brine Shrimp
Frozen Spirulina Mix
Frozen Beefheart
Frozen Baby Krill - boy are these things gross lol. And of all the fish, my white fins like them the best.
Various frozen foods that came in a pack
Hikari BioGold Betta food (all my fish love them!)
Goldfish flakes (all the fish like these too)
Sinking Goldfish crumbles (cories like these as well)
Zucchini
Boiled, skinned Peas
Lettuce (sometimes the gouramis will eat it)

[RustyRay]

Variety is important when you're a human being, but fish don't care if they eat the same thing everyday.

[NatakuTseng]

They may not care, but its much healthier for a fish to eat a variety of foods, sure they can survive if you just feed them one thing all their life, but they may not be as healthy, colorful, well proportioned, or large as ones that are fed a varied diet.

[Leopardess]

They may not care what it tastes like, but their body sure as heck cares about the nutritional value of the food they get.

You can live your whole life on corn flakes but how healthy would you be?

Feeding your fish a well balanced diet IS important. And there is nothing more to say about that.

[CHINABOY1021]

thanks for sharing.

im considering getting wardley shrimp pellets and omega one. but omega one has soo many varities, its hard to choose. same goes with fish food in general.

[RustyRay]

Since most foods are nutritionally complete a variety of foods is not usually necessary. A good staple food along with a treat of frozen or live foods twice a week is all that's really required to fulfill a fish's diet. So variety does not really enter into it.

[Leopardess]

Many "complete" fish food "staples" such as flake are NOT truly "complete." They lack many essential acids and nutrients.

I did not say that ALL the things I feed are necessary, but a diet that contains different foods on the list IS.

A varied diet provides them with a wide spectrum of nutritional offerings. You can say it isn't important, but I know it is.

WHy do you think that at zoos or animal refuges that deal with lots of animals feed such a specifically targetted diet full of variety? It is because they need it to be healthy/happy/vibrant - and also to recreat their NATURAL diet.

Flake is not what fish are meant to eat - they eat a large variety of things in the wild.

When you come right down to it, at the cellular level, fish aren't all that "dietically" different from humans. Food is used the same way for the same means. We don't live on one staple food because no matter how hard you try you can' t include every necessary trace in it. Point blank. Food is meant to nourish, not to just maintain a body weight.

And, while my fish are thriving and showing exceptional colors, and have a strong defense against disease, I'll be thinking of everyone who only feeds flake;)

[RustyRay]

You are making an argument supported by little evidence. Zoos feed variety to mammals because mammals appreciate variety for psychological reasons. But fish are not so picky about their diets. Most manufacturers of fish food make nutritionally complete staples foods, and you saying they don't is false and based in ignorance of the facts. You should not spread myths in the aquarium hobby. It does not help anyone.

[Leopardess]

I think you yourself should look up some info. There is no possible way taht one food can provide every single essential nutrient. Sorry, but that is sheerly impossible. To believe that they could is ignorant yourself. I also did not say that THEY care what it TASTES like, or simply the variety of it, I said their body at the cellular level greatly benefits from the ORGANIC diversity at the nutrient level. Apparently you aren't reading very closely. Its variety for nutrional value, not psychological stimulation. Fish can LIVE on flake, not THRIVE on it. Period. If you don't want your fish to thrive, why keep them? I believe I am done talking to you now, as you seem hellbent on arguing and putting me down. Goodday.

[NatakuTseng]

Here's a fact Ray, if aquarium fish food was a complete dietary great food, why is it essential with many species to suppliment their diet with other things such as plant matter, because they require it, but yet if you only fed them that "completely" essential food, would those fish not get the nutrition they needed? Many malawi cichlids need plant matter, Ottos need algea otherwise the bacteria in their stomachs will die off and then they themselves will die, and tangyanikian cichlids (ya I know huked on fonix werked fur me) need Iodine to be healthy. not so complete now?

[matty150]

fact is variety is always good when it comes down to diet. its funny to see how my fish(which are fed a large variety of foods) and the fish in our store(which are fed only flake food) grow in comparison, its really amazing. I agree that you shouldnt go nuts after all most foods produced today are nutritionally sound because there fortified with vitamins and minerals. on the other hand its good to mix it up here and there. For example if you take your average domestic dog, it can surivive and infact flourish on just a good premium dog food, but if you look at their diet in the wild it consists of just meat. fish on the other hand usually have a varied diet in the wild because of the availability of different sources of nutrition. All animals have different requirements for nutrition.

[NJ Devils Fan]

Originally posted by Leopardess
There is no possible way taht one food can provide every single essential nutrient. Sorry, but that is sheerly impossible.

NOOOO!!! I can live on tropicana oj, as long as its the one with extra vitamin C and E.;) :p ;)

[Kanstar]

I have way to much crap for my cichlids taht I really can't number off and type them out. I'm jsut lazy. but variety is key.

[shewlett]

Our corydoras julli really like the Nutrafin Sinking Tablets. They do not like Hikari Sinking Wafers and they are not fond of Wardley's shrimp pellets but will eat a small amount of that if they are really hungry. The c julii do like frozen brine shrimp.

Our pet store betta which we just got yesterday really likes Hikari Bio-Gold baby pellets but is not really fond of the Tetramin flakes. We are going to experiment with some more floating foods to try and vary his diet.

Our plakat likes live food (bloodworms, brine shrimp, blackworms) and we are trying to get him interested in Hikari Bio-Gold.

[Uncle Bete]

someone go shove a kangaroo in an apes cage and see if he eats it!

:rolleyes: sorry lol but after sitting here looking at my tank full of swords running around eating who knows what sense they ate all the tetra flakes an hour ago I couldn't help myself.:p

[Hans]

marine land makes really good food called BIO BLEND, you feed with it the same way you would sprinkle spices on a pizza, just pop the top and shake shake shake! easy and fun! also i like the mysis shrimp, its beefyer then brine, and the wardley shrump pelluts are good for da cats! oh and spirulina flake for silver dollers

[fdiaz78]

Originally posted by Hans
marine land makes really good food called BIO BLEND, you feed with it the same way you would sprinkle spices on a pizza, just pop the top and shake shake shake! easy and fun! also i like the mysis shrimp, its beefyer then brine, and the wardley shrump pelluts are good for da cats! oh and spirulina flake for silver dollers

Fancy packaging. There are better alternatives out there and much cheaper IMHO. :)

[Hans]

well ive never seen barbs go quite as crazy as they do for the bioblend! its even got immune boosting!

[CHINABOY1021]

my fish go crazy for any food. i find it cool how people can say their fish like one kind of food more than the other.

edit: i recommend colorbits by tetra. i just been using mine for no more than a week. but a few buddys of mine have seen great improvements in their fish's color. also the nutrients in it is good too. also omega one is highly recommend by a few guys i know.