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Rethinking Specialist Diets with Dr Dave Pool of Fish Science

With more and more exotic species becoming popular across herpetoculture, aviculture and aquarist industries, the necessity for speciesspecific products is becoming larger.

When it comes to freshwater aquarium fish, few groups are as vibrant and diverse as the Lake Malawi Cichlids. With almost 300 known species and many available within the aquarist industry, a group of Malawi Cichlids can make for an impressive tank.

Cichlids represent a vast family of freshwater fish. Many species come from Central and South America while others inhabit waterways in the Middle East, India and Sri Lanka. Yet, the most well-known of the Cichlid species thrive in Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika in East Africa. Unlike their American cousins, most of these species are herbivores feeding largely on algae. Just like many other sectors in the exotics industry, the necessity for species-specific diets to meet unique nutritional requirements shines through in this sector of fish keeping.

Dr Dave Pool has over 45 years of experience in the aquarist industry. He completed a degree in Zoology followed by a PhD in Fish Health and had a lengthy career with industry giants Tetra before founding FishScience in 2013. Dr Pool told Exotics Keeper Magazine: “Because of the populous of Cichlids in Lake Malawi, most plants are eaten as soon as they grow, forcing Malawi Cichlids to feed mostly on algae. However, as these fish eat the algae, they also consume small insects who are also feeding on the algae. FishScience has aimed to replicate this natural diet by creating pellets comprised of Spirulina, Chlorella and Kelp, as well as a range of insect meals. Understanding the fishes feeding habits is also crucial. Cichlids are absolutely voracious feeders, so we’ve created pellets that sink at different rates to break up the feeding locations”

“In an ideal world there would be much more distinct products available on the market. Unfortunately, many keepers will have some guppies, a few cichlids diet. This means specific foods that meet specific requirements are quite limited.”

Across herpetoculture, aviculture and aquarist industries the accelerated shift towards naturalistic enclosures and natural diets is creating positive ripples for animal welfare. FishScience was created from a desire to fulfil a more natural niche in the market.

Dr Pool concluded: “Most fish are not fish eaters, so the fact that the majority of fish foods were made from fish meal made no sense. That’s where FishScience began, we created a food made from insect meal and people just ‘got it’. We began with black soldier fly larvae and eventually expanded into other insects to create an array of nutritional profiles. We managed to tailor all food to individual species, we experimented with shrimp and fish meal in small quantities too, replicating the flesh that some fish will pick at in the wild. Even our herbivorous foods, the Malawi cichlid pellets contain a very small amount of insect meal to replicate the natural diet of these fish.”

As the industry continues to diversify its products with true experts behind the helm, exotics keeping is becoming more exciting than ever. Whilst specialist products provide a refreshing service for industry experts, higher husbandry standards also become more accessible for the novice, meaning everybody wins.

For an in-depth look at FishScience visit the Exotics Keeper Website. For further information visit www.fishscience.co.uk

‘Best Aquarium Fish Food’

As voted by readers of Practical Fishkeeping magazine

Aquarium Fish Foods with Insect Meal

Uses cultured insect meal to recreate the natural insect based diet that most fish eat in the wild.

Easily digested and processed by the fish resulting in less waste.

Environmentally friendly and sustainable.