why are these things in fish food?

geekrockgirl85

geekrockgirl85

aquadork padawan
Dec 2, 2005
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my boyfriend and i were at the lfs last night looking for bottom-feeder food. we picked up the hikari sinking wafers, because we've heard nothing but good things about people feeding their stuff. however, upon examination of the ingredients, we noticed that they put monosodium glutamate (MSG) in them! :eek:

considering the headaches, allergic reactions, etc. commonly associated with this, we instantly decided against feeding it to our fish. i know it is supposed to be used as a "flavor enhancer", but why use it in fish food? they'd eat it anyway. and knowing what side effects it causes in people, why would you want to subject a creature so much smaller than a human to such a questionable chemical?

here is an ingredients list from petsmart's amazon site.
 
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MSG Myths

Monosodium glutamate is a naturally produced food additive. The glutamate part is actually a naturally occuring amino acid found in everything from nuts to seaweed. People may have allergic reactions to it because of the large amounts added to human food. It is not toxic or artificial. And wild fish are consuming it all the time from natural food sources.

Hikari food is very high quality. And MSG is probably going to be found in all fish foods. It is not something to worry about.
 
Natural or not, there's not reason for it to be in there. It doesn't offer any benefits to the fish except making the food taste better. And I've never noticed fish complaining about the taste of pretty much anything they eat, including each other.

Yeah I wouldn't get all enraged about it, but you do have a point. There's no need for it to be in there and I would prefer they removed it unless they can demonstrate a concrete logistical reason for its inclusion in their products. There is really a good deal of debate as to whether or not this substance is worth the worry that is given by those who claim to have adverse effects from its consumption.



I would hardly consider the notion of MSG being questionable as a "myth." I can say from personal experience that the "MSG headache" is not a myth at all. I never used to get them (in fact I didn't even know what it was) until one day I started noticing a dizzy, uncomfortable feeling after eating cheap Chinese food or Doritos. A friend told me about "MSG syndrome" and from then on, I tend to partake lightly in MSGs.

It's not in all fish foods, and if it's produced by a man-made process, then fish are not consuming it in the wild. (Unless you refer to the glutamate part, but that does not take into account that this is in reference to a synthesized form of the amino acid.) For this reason, it can be assumed that Hikari is using MSG as a less expensive means of adding glutamate protein to their product. I would consider that a little bit less than ideal.

I hear Hikari is excellent stuff, but now I might be a little more reticent to use it. It seems too artificial for my tastes.

Synthesizing can alter a chemical quite drastically, as we can see in many drugs, both pharmaceutical and recreational. It can render certain substances more benign, but can make others even more dangerous. (re: the debate about Marinol.)
 
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Hikari's track record has always been good for me even if they put Msg in it I'll still use it.
 
If I may, I will hijack this thread. I just found ASH in my ingredient list.

What does ash do in food?
 
It's a filler.
 
I'm pretty sure that ash is a byproduct of the manufacturing process. Just like a bit of charring on a steak.

But the glutamate of MSG is found in most plant and animals. The human body naturally produces it, as do most animals. I don't think it is being added in large quantities to fish food. It just originates in the plant and and animal tissues of the ingredients being used in the fish food.

But I'm beginning to think aquarium people are nutty.
 
Ash helps to unlock the niacin in corn so that it can be used.
 
I don't know if it applies to fish food or not but, in human food, if an ingredient is listed it's usually because it has been added in.
 
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