Does anyone still use flaked food?

[GaryE]

Somewhere out there, a lot of people work in flake food factories and go home smelling like it.

When I was a kid, tetra min was the gold standard. I loved the smell of it. Then Wardleys was big here, before an explosion of small companies. They're being bought out now and we're getting back to big companies again, and on we go. It's very regional, and very different from country to country when we debate these things. I see so many weird processed fish foods when I travel and can never resist checking out aquarium stores.

I still think it's like debating the merits of frozen lasagnas from different grocery chains. The differences are there, but none even come close to the real thing made with attention to detail.

My grandfather swore the best flake was "Hartz Mountain". I wonder what was in that?

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Somewhere out there, a lot of people work in flake food factories and go home smelling like it.

When I was a kid, tetra min was the gold standard. I loved the smell of it. Then Wardleys was big here, before an explosion of small companies. They're being bought out now and we're getting back to big companies again, and on we go. It's very regional, and very different from country to country when we debate these things. I see so many weird processed fish foods when I travel and can never resist checking out aquarium stores.

I still think it's like debating the merits of frozen lasagnas from different grocery chains. The differences are there, but none even come close to the real thing made with attention to detail.

My grandfather swore the best flake was "Hartz Mountain". I wonder what was in that?

I've got good news for you. You can still get some.

 

[Back in the fold]

Hartz Mountain ! Oh Man does that bring back memories . Used to be they had the market cornered on food for all the small pets except cats and dogs . If you had a parakeet or a canary you fed Hartz Mountain or the bird starved .

 

[BanjoFish]

Apologies for fishing this topic out of the dust.

Being my first day of feeding fish I will be continuously looking to improve the quality of the food the fish are fed.

I did the same when I owned hamsters.

 

[GaryE]

@BanjoFish Here's my advice. Before you look at the food, look at the fish. Do a deep dive on their natural history. Determine whether they are:
herbivores, needing a green food with roughage;
insectivores, needing protein and fibre;
omnivores or detritivores, open to a general commercial diet.
There are also fish specialized in biofilm, other fish, snails, scales, fry, eyeballs (yup), and pretty well anything else that nutrition can be derived from.
One you establish how evolution has equipped your fish, then look at the ingredients in food. I keep small fish that tend to be insect eaters, so if I buy prepared food, I aim for some fibre. Insects are eaten whole, exoskeletons and all. Bug bite or insect based foods are good for them.
Pygmy corys are a twist of the corydoras model. They swim more midwater than many larger corys, and I would grind up the bottom feeder food (I have the same food here) between my fingers before I used them. Small fish have small mouths, and most pelleted food is made for larger species. It's a reason why I still use flake when I buy commercial foods.

 

[Essjay]

@BanjoFish You currently have ember tetras and pygmy cories. This website comments on what the fish eat in the wild which will help you choose food in the future.

Hyphessobrycon amandae – Ember Tetra — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

Corydoras pygmaeus – Pygmy Cory — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

They will also appreciate live food, though cultivating that is a big step for a new fish keeper. You can buy frozen live food from many fish shops. They come in blister packs with each cube being way more than enough for the fish you have so it's worth using sharp knife to shave some off a cube. You would need to choose small 'live' food as both your species have tiny mouths.
If you decide to grow your own live food, lots of members on here do that and will be able to guide you as to what type, and how to do it.