Fish Foods.. Flakes / Frozen Bloodworm.
- Thread starter Boq
- Start date
I just wanted to second this. Hikari frozen, in my experience is just a cleaner product. If you've ever used their frozen mysis, compare it to others. The first expression that comes to mind is "squeaky clean". Worms carry a pretty broad spectrum of parasites, and you should be very picky about the source. Live blackworms from a LFS got permanently crossed off my list last year.
It takes a bit of patience, but getting your fish accustomed to a varied diet will benefit you and the fish in the long run. While your fish won't necessarily get "fat", some species may grow at an abnormal rate, and some fish actually need a balanced diet to sustain longevity.
There's just a few things I don't get cheap or lazy about anymore, water changes, the fish's diet, and the brand of heater I stick in each tank.
I thought I was doing my fish a favor by feeding them bloodworms rather often. Ohhhh AC always learnin' me somethin' new.
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I think bloodworms are fine for a once or twice a week treat, once you have them taking flake or pellets well without hesitation. They are also good for a fish that has been sick and off feeds, as most fish will find the will to eat a bloodworm! I also agree it should be a high quality frozen worm like Hikari. If you want to feed a worm based diet look into freeze dried blackworms.....at aquaticsuppliers.com. These can be used as a dietary staple and your fish will absolutley love them.
As others have set you straight, frozen foods like blood worms, daphnia, and brine shrimp are treats, but lack the nutritional values to be fed routinely.
Also, not all flake fish food is created the same. Many use low quality fish meal (often the waste from fish processing) that requires copious amounts of starch (usually wheat, oat, soy or rice flour) as a binder/filler and to increase crude protein values. Fish can't process this and just produce more waste.*
Search for brands that use either fresh fish or whole fish meal listed as the first ingredient. Omega One, Ed's Almost Natural, New Life Spectrum come to mind.
*Since I switched to fish foods made from whole fresh fish, I notice much less fish waste...'believe it or not'.
Also, not all flake fish food is created the same. Many use low quality fish meal (often the waste from fish processing) that requires copious amounts of starch (usually wheat, oat, soy or rice flour) as a binder/filler and to increase crude protein values. Fish can't process this and just produce more waste.*
Search for brands that use either fresh fish or whole fish meal listed as the first ingredient. Omega One, Ed's Almost Natural, New Life Spectrum come to mind.
*Since I switched to fish foods made from whole fresh fish, I notice much less fish waste...'believe it or not'.
Yep - same as using a higher quality dog food without all the fillers, less waste and not nearly as stinky for what they do produce
as far as flake goes, i would recommend Omega One tropical flakes and Omega one Algae wafers as far as BRAND NAME stuff, but for the most part I go with food from Kens Fish, I use the Immune Booster plus flake that has extra vitamins and nutrients to protect from diasese and overall health, I also use Kens Super Premium Tropical Flake and it is a very high quality flake
I've got a can of TetraMin tropical flakes and a can of Omega One tropical flakes. Even the texture/feel between the two is much different. The Omega one has a much hardier feel to it. My fish love either though! I've also got a can of Omega One freeze dried blood-worms. I originally bought them for the betta, but he actually seems to take the flakes better. He loves flakes.
