Just because fish in the wild don't encounter certain ingredients found in processed foods off your LFS shelves don't mean it's not good, or unhealty for them. I'm pretty postive that the majority of fish kept in aquariums are pretty well fed.
Recommendations for fish food
- Thread starter AquariArt
- Start date
The problem with "natural" is that fish aren't going to be eating grains in their wild habitat. It's one thing to feed them peas if they eat plants, but, if they eat insects or small fish and maybe some plant matter, how can you justify grain in their diet? That would be like feeding a tropheus meat products, or carnivores plant products. You want it to at least be similar to their natural diet, in that you don't feed them something totally off the wall. You don't feed your fish cardboard, so why a random ingredient like rice? Certain grain products, like I said, are used as binders, to keep the flakes or pellets together, but, throwing it in as a filler is just that, a filler.
Whole salmon meal was an example. "Fish meal" is a generic term basically. It could be tuna heads and tails, or anything else. As long as it is made of fish and dehydrated, it can be called fish meal. On the other hand, whole salmon meal means that the entire salmon was used (not just heads, scales and fins) and that it was definately salmon. Salmon is a big one because it's a great color-enhancer. You can also find Whole Halibut Meal, whole cod meal, whole herring meal, etc. Obviously you're not going to catch a betta attacking a salmon, but, bettas will eat small fish fry in their natural homes. It's a substitute. When you substitute, you use like ingredients, not completely different ingredients.
Whole salmon meal was an example. "Fish meal" is a generic term basically. It could be tuna heads and tails, or anything else. As long as it is made of fish and dehydrated, it can be called fish meal. On the other hand, whole salmon meal means that the entire salmon was used (not just heads, scales and fins) and that it was definately salmon. Salmon is a big one because it's a great color-enhancer. You can also find Whole Halibut Meal, whole cod meal, whole herring meal, etc. Obviously you're not going to catch a betta attacking a salmon, but, bettas will eat small fish fry in their natural homes. It's a substitute. When you substitute, you use like ingredients, not completely different ingredients.
I haven't looked at that food yet, but, you can't use their acceptance as a definate for nutrition. Not all kids (hell, even adults) are going to eat their brussel sprouts, but that doesn't mean that they're unhealthy. And, just because some finicky kids will snap up a twinky in a heartbeat doesn't mean it's healthy.
Not saying that the food is bad, just saying that acceptance doesn't mean nutrition.
If it is a substitute it shouldn't matter what you substitute it with as long as they are getting the nutritional value they need. At that point you should be looking at the analysis of the food (min/max crude protein, fat, fiber, etc.) not exact ingredients. If they eat it and they are healthy it's fine for me...
Again, you can't rely 100% on the "guaranteed analysis" of foods. They guarantee that it's in there, but that doesn't mean that it is digestable. Unfortunately, not enough pet owners research into foods, what goes into the foods, what the law requires with the labels, etc, etc. I just find it fascinating, so, I dive into it all the time. Anyways, if they put old dirty boot leather into fish food, they could technically call it "meat by-products" and give it a guaranteed analysis of say 70% protein (just pulling a number out of my arse), that doesn't mean that the fish can actually digest 70% of that protein. They might only get 10% protein from that boot leather because, well, it's undigestable. Yes, it is protein, but that doesn't mean that it's digestable. Not only that, but, it also depends on the exact species of animal that you're feeding. A carnivore is not going to be able to utilize the same ingredients as a herbivore. You throw a random "tropical flake" into a tank, and some fish may be able to digest the meat proteins (whatever is digestable in that particular food), while others might be able to digest the plant proteins, but, the label calculates ALL of the combined protein, even the totally undigestable protein. That doesn't mean that they're getting anywhere near that protein (or any other nutrient) level...
No different then the whey powder I drink, or vitamins ppl take. The body can only absorb so much.
I could go on for pages and pages with information purely on fish food nutrition... Once you learn to read labels and understand what your particular fish should be eating, you can choose your own foods. Of course, some of it is trial and error. Just because a food is highly nutritious doesn't mean that the fish will like the texture, shape or taste of it. I have so many different fish foods in my home that it is unreal. Some work, some don't, if it doesn't work for one fish, I can usually work it into the food cycle for the omnivores, sell it off, use it in homemade foods as a different additive, use it for the cultures (Redworms, grindals, microworms, mealworms, etc). And, if I get overwhelmed, it goes on freecycle. I try anything that passes my "label test", then it goes for the "acceptance test" with the fish. I just don't understand giving subpar foods simply because fish will eat it. It's like giving children frozen pizzas, twinkies and soda for their diet. If they're active enough, they'll look healthy, but that doesn't mean that they are...
Anyways: Carbohydrates in fish foods:
Scientific research shows protein is highly digestible by most fish, carbohydrates are not, poorly digested ingredients pollute your tank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_food
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishfood/understanding.php
There is research out there, there is sooo much information available to the public, you just have to look instead of trusting pet food companies and the fact that your fish are still surviving the food.
Anyways: Carbohydrates in fish foods:
Scientific research shows protein is highly digestible by most fish, carbohydrates are not, poorly digested ingredients pollute your tank
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fish_food
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/fishfood/understanding.php
There is research out there, there is sooo much information available to the public, you just have to look instead of trusting pet food companies and the fact that your fish are still surviving the food.
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