What kind of fish food should I get???

[Mofo2713]

I am looking at www.fishstoretn.com as I saw you guys talking about it in the other post. I see they have much more than just the Omega One Flakes. I am just using regular wardley tropical flakes right now. I want to upgrade to give my fish better food and it sounds like Omega One is the way to go. Also, what other kinds of food do they like. I hatch some bbs once in awhile for them but should I get something like bloodworms or tubifex worms? Help is always appreciated

 

[happyhillbilly]

Mealworms, BBS, and other worms are good once and a while.

 

[Luke Anderson]

Omega one foods are some of the best dry foods on the market, besides the fact that they do contain ethoxyquin, which by quite a bit of research is shown to be carcinogenic. However with fish food it can be difficult to get away from... The only normal dry foods i feed my fish are hikari brand, they don't contain ethoxyquin.

Frozen foods of all types, a small amount of freeze dried stuff, some fresh vegetables etc. are all good. If you are up to it raise yourself some live food such as flightless fruit flys, earthworms, white worms etc. are all good and if you raise them yourself their is a much lesser chance of them being contaminated with harmful bacteria like other live foods.

Hommade gel and paste type foods are excellent too.

 

[TankGirl]

Variety is really important, as Luke indicates above. I use a variety of prepared foods and frozen as well, mainly bloodworms. I also feed a treat of live blackworms (well rinsed!) every couple of weeks, but my very small fish don't know what to do with those, so it depends on what kind of fish you are keeping.

Also, to cross-thread a bit more here, when you have all these different foods around to keep it varied, you tend to keep food on hand much longer than is recommended, so buy prepared foods in as small a quantity as you can.

 

[Bernie]

Pardon my intrusion here....but I thought I'd add a few comments on this.

A bit more info on the "ethoxyquin" usage. First off, ethoxyquin is a preservative
additive used in ALL "fish meal" products ....even Hikari although they don't specify it on their label. Omega One (since it is not a fish meal product) uses approx half as much ethoxyquin as all the other brands....it supplements with Rosemary extract as a balance of the preservative requirements.

Secondly, on the "carcinogenic" aspect or study done........ it was a study done using a "pregnant dog" and is hardly considered as an authorative indication for
its use as a preservative in tropical fish foods; and has not been validated by any similar testing in fish.
and, as I explained, Omega One uses under half the amounts used by all the others anyway.

Bernie

 

[Bernie]

By the way, Omega One now has freeze-dried foods on the market as well:
Blood worms, Tubifex worms, Brine Shrimp and regular Shrimp.

Bernie

 

[Luke Anderson]

Bernie:
I was also told that ethoxyquin is added to about 80% of "fish meal", but I then emailed hikari directly about this practice and they said they no longer use fish meal containing it. Yes I agree that could have been a load of ****, and thank you for bringing that up. But even so if they do use it, it is in much lower concentrations than most others as ones like tetra add it in fairly large quantities on top of whatever may be in the fishmeal.

Secondly, on the "carcinogenic" aspect or study done........ it was a study done using a "pregnant dog" and is hardly considered as an authorative indication for
its use as a preservative in tropical fish foods; and has not been validated by any similar testing in fish.

I have read several other studies besides this one pointing to its relationship in cancer. Some other studies that dont show it to cause cancer in mammals and fish have shown it to cause a relative lowered immune response. Non of this is conclusive I completely understand, but the evidence against it far outweighs the positives. I am not encouraging people to not use products containing it, i was merely warning them of the possible risk. I personally use homemade, and frozen foods 19 out of 20 feedings, and only occasionally add a bit of hikari. If I do find out for sure that hikari does contain ethoxyquin (contrary to what i was told by the company) I will quit. It may be obsessive, but it is what i choose to do for animals in my care.

 

[oscarbreeder]

WOW!!
The man knows his foods thats for sure.
Thanks for the good info Bernie.

 

[oscarbreeder]

While on the subject of food with a person that seems to know what he is talking about.
Bernie, What do you think of the O.S.I. brand foods?
How do they compare to Omega One?
Thanks

 

[Bernie]

O.S.I. seems like a good brand, if you must use "fish meal" products. We've had
some of it here on occasion, but was a bit "pricey" compared to its other fish meal competitors, so it never sold well. Their main claim to fame was that use "pre-digested" ingredients (???...not sure how that's done, but ??) ...its supposed to provide for better nutrition absorption than other fish meal based products.

Back on the ethoxyquin for a second, ...remember that ALL fish meal products use it....(and as you are finding out)..they use it in varying amounts. Omega One
uses half as much as the nearest competitor because of the Rosemary substitution
AND because it does not use fish meal binders!

Bernie

 

[oscarbreeder]

Thanks Bernie.

 

[TankGirl]

When you see the first ingredients on the Omega One label you will see how it compares to other prepared foods - fish meal is almost always the first ingredient in just about every other brand, not so for Omega One. Ideally I would prepare my own food, and I know Luke does, but currently time does not permit this, and with excellent prepared food available it makes sense to shop wisely and feel secure that you are getting the best.

I have also been trying New Life Spectrum food and have been very pleased with how my fish's colors have improved, especially my Aulonocara and boesemani's, but again, this is a "mealy" product

 

[Mofo2713]

Hey Bernie,
Thanks for the great website. I ordered a can of Omega One Flakes and some freeze-dried blood worms from the many recommendations on this site. Thanks again....you will have a repeat customer with me!