storage is easy, it is ready for use when needed, and the fish love it. Frozen brine shrimp, mysis shrimp (high in protein), and bloodworms can last a year in the freezer. If you have a garden, earthworms should be available during the summer. They can be made to eliminate their soil by placing them in damp shredded newspaper. For smaller fish you can chop them up with a razor blade. Do not use earthworms if insecticide or weed killer has been sprayed anywhere near the area they are taken from. Cooked table food, such as chicken (white meat is less fatty), salmon, and shrimp, can be chopped into small bits. Make sure to rinse it Microworms. Photo by Wallace Deng before feeding to the fish. This food goes over big time with most tropical fish. Sliced zucchini or lettuce, weighted down, are great foods for some catfish. Frozen peas also work well. Flakes, pellets, and wafers seem to be the primary choices for most fishkeepers. Each manufacturer states on the label whether it is for carnivores, omnivores, or herbivores. In the wild, even herbivores eat small insects, and carnivores eat fish guts loaded with vegetable matter. The ingredients should be listed on the package. Manufacturers a l l say theirs is the best, but I haven’t seen any independent, impartial comparisons. Most fish food containers do not show an expiration date. Outdated fish food can contribute to some fish diseases. Consumer beware! I’m not a chemist, but I will try to give you in simple terms what I look for in a fish food. Proteins are the building blocks of life, but food package labels do not always tell you about the quality of the protein. We want animal protein, and to avoid too much grain, which is harder to digest and can cause digestive problems. Carbohydrates, in the form of grains, are used primarily to hold the food together. Grains are cheaper, so watch out for a high content of grains. More undigested waste is produced by an excessive amount of carbohydrates. Lipids (fats like omega 3&6) are high-energy nutrients. Some fish food manufacturers recommend that lipids should comprise no more than 5 to 10% of your fishes’ diet. Moisture should not be any more than 10%. Why pay for water? Ash (from bones, shells, and scales of marine animals) should be kept to a minimum. The fish can only assimilate so much mineral content, and the rest will add to unwanted pollution. The highly digestible food usually costs more, but is worth it. Less food is needed, and fish waste is reduced. 16
Preservatives are needed to prevent the oil found in fish foods from becoming rancid in a short time. I still refrigerate (and sometimes freeze) my fish food. My hands are always thoroughly dried before handling the food. If the food package is large, I place a two-week supply in a smaller container. Good quality fish foods do not use hormones. Any color enhancers should be natural. Variety is the spice of life, and since you would be bored eating the same food day in and day out, why serve the same thing to your fish every day? However, fish do not get bored, and many species in the wild do eat the same thing every day. As long as the food is of high quality to maintain maximum health it would be safe using one high quality food every day. I use flakes, pellets, wafers, gel, table food, freeze-dried, frozen, and live. (Did I miss a form of food?)
Mysis shrimp.
Should you use flake or pellet? Pellets are much more nutrient-dense, and much more stable in water, whereas flake foods are paper-thin, absorb water more quickly, and tend to leech out into the water. Since flake food spreads out, even your timid fish will get some. Pellets will remain more stable in the water for a longer period of time, thus the chance of fouling the water is less. Commercial aquaculture has proven this since the inception of pellets. To prove the point, take this test: put some flake food in a container, and pellet food in another container. Then add water to each container, and wait a few minutes. The water in the flake food container should become cloudy, and the container with the pellet food should be less so. Gel foods can be made from recipes available on several websites, and one gel food is being sold in powdered form. Just add hot water, mix, let stand to harden, and store it in the refrigerator. This powdered form uses a natural gel that is much more easily digested. I use this prepared gel food with much success. Cubes of gel can be placed in the tank, it stays together, and the fish graze on it. This is especially beneficial for fry and bottom feeders. Remember, your fish are what they eat (and so are you). Try some variety—it will add to your enjoyment watching your fish eat and thrive.
September 2013
Modern Aquarium - Greater City A.S (NY)