The absolute best food for fish has been found...to not exist.
Bear with me here, if that caught your eye.
First, fish don't exist. The word has meaning, but is kind of meaningless. A lot of different fish lineages exist, and we have to break down our fish into what they eat, if we want to understand their diets. They don't all have the same natural history, the same internal anatomy or the same needs. It makes sense. You and I wouldn't get far on a moose's diet.
We'll obviously keep the word 'fish' but it doesn't make anything but superficial sense.
There are fish evolved to eat insects, fish, eggs of fish, scales and fins, algae, creatures that live in algae, plants, poop, rotting detritus, wood and biofilm, onwards and upwards. All of these foods have different protein, lipid, micronutrients and overall profiles, as we'd expect. Some fish need to grow fast, other need to grow slowly, big, small etc.
Most studies seem to favour aquacuture foods as superior to hobby brands, because they are designed for fish grown for human consumption. They have to maintain higher standards of purity and avoid contaminants that foods for ornamental fish don't. That's a thought for us.
Frozen foods are often overfed, although they are mostly water. Overfeeding with any food, especially very 'rich' foods causes not just obesity, but liver malformation and deformed bone growth, in many fish. Some reputable foods formulated for one type of fish can cause malnutrition in other types. This generally affects fishbreeding more than fish keeping.
Some studies show different nutritional needs for male and female fish. In quick growing species, females need better diets as in their relatively short lives they have to produce quality eggs in fair quantities. In some species, females have longer intestines to get more out of their food. As hobbyists, we aren't likely to feed them differently, but it's out there in studies of fish grown for laboratories.
The foods we feed our fish have relatively short shelf lives and aren't cheap. First, be certain what your fish eat in nature. You won't be able to give them their natural diet. Try to get close. If this thread generates a lot of comments where people declare in favour of one brand over another, take note and get all the ones that sound good in small quantities. As far as I know, no one takes their fish apart to see if their livers have grown badly, etc. We work off sharing stories and observations of what we can see.
Try to find foods formulated for the type of diet your fish need. Proteins, fats etc matter. My suggestion is vary, vary, vary. Find several brands that look right, and rotate them. Think of every species in your tank, and aim for them. Ideally, all of this points us to single species tanks, as community tanks are harder to manage unless the fish are similar. That's a radical idea to the hobby, one that won't catch on.
Variety is our best strategy. Overspending.... buying a number of different brands and targeted formulas, and not just trusting one manufacturer. Reading nutritional labeling, just as we do with our own foods. Using dried, frozen, and live. Realize you'll never get it right, but try to come close.
Bear with me here, if that caught your eye.
First, fish don't exist. The word has meaning, but is kind of meaningless. A lot of different fish lineages exist, and we have to break down our fish into what they eat, if we want to understand their diets. They don't all have the same natural history, the same internal anatomy or the same needs. It makes sense. You and I wouldn't get far on a moose's diet.
We'll obviously keep the word 'fish' but it doesn't make anything but superficial sense.
There are fish evolved to eat insects, fish, eggs of fish, scales and fins, algae, creatures that live in algae, plants, poop, rotting detritus, wood and biofilm, onwards and upwards. All of these foods have different protein, lipid, micronutrients and overall profiles, as we'd expect. Some fish need to grow fast, other need to grow slowly, big, small etc.
Most studies seem to favour aquacuture foods as superior to hobby brands, because they are designed for fish grown for human consumption. They have to maintain higher standards of purity and avoid contaminants that foods for ornamental fish don't. That's a thought for us.
Frozen foods are often overfed, although they are mostly water. Overfeeding with any food, especially very 'rich' foods causes not just obesity, but liver malformation and deformed bone growth, in many fish. Some reputable foods formulated for one type of fish can cause malnutrition in other types. This generally affects fishbreeding more than fish keeping.
Some studies show different nutritional needs for male and female fish. In quick growing species, females need better diets as in their relatively short lives they have to produce quality eggs in fair quantities. In some species, females have longer intestines to get more out of their food. As hobbyists, we aren't likely to feed them differently, but it's out there in studies of fish grown for laboratories.
The foods we feed our fish have relatively short shelf lives and aren't cheap. First, be certain what your fish eat in nature. You won't be able to give them their natural diet. Try to get close. If this thread generates a lot of comments where people declare in favour of one brand over another, take note and get all the ones that sound good in small quantities. As far as I know, no one takes their fish apart to see if their livers have grown badly, etc. We work off sharing stories and observations of what we can see.
Try to find foods formulated for the type of diet your fish need. Proteins, fats etc matter. My suggestion is vary, vary, vary. Find several brands that look right, and rotate them. Think of every species in your tank, and aim for them. Ideally, all of this points us to single species tanks, as community tanks are harder to manage unless the fish are similar. That's a radical idea to the hobby, one that won't catch on.
Variety is our best strategy. Overspending.... buying a number of different brands and targeted formulas, and not just trusting one manufacturer. Reading nutritional labeling, just as we do with our own foods. Using dried, frozen, and live. Realize you'll never get it right, but try to come close.
