How do i Identify good or better fish food

[humvee]

What do the nutritional value figuers mean in real terms for fish. What should it have high amounts of? what should it have low amounts of?

eg which of these are better and why?

Crude Protein >50%min

Crude Ash <9%max;

Crude Fat >5%min

Moisture<8%Max;

Crude Fibre <5%max

OR

Crude Protein>44%

Crude Ash<9% max

Crude Fat>5% min

Moistue<8%

Crude Fibre<5.0% max

OR

crude protein>=52%

phophoru0.9% max

crude fat >=8%

nacl<=2%

moisture<=7%

lysine<=2%

crude fibre<=5% max

LHC<=2%

culium2%max

OR

Crude protein 45.2%

Crude fat 5%

Crude fibre 1.5%

Crude ash 9.7%

OR

Protein = 38 - 40%

High oil content = 26 -27%

Carbohydrates = 19 -22%

Gross Energy = 22.8 - 23.3 MJ per kg

[phoenix44]

are you feeding the same fish as in your signature line?

then id say either 1 or 3.

personal preference. lol

[humvee]

are you feeding the same fish as in your signature line?

then id say either 1 or 3.

personal preference. lol

Pretty much - numbers have changed a bit but the mix of fish is about right

[phoenix44]

number 3 sounds like tetra colour bits or something pretty similar... is it?

[humvee]

number 3 sounds like tetra colour bits or something pretty similar... is it?

3 is Spirulina Flake

[alanmin4304]

There are not the same controls on animal food as there is on human food and there are different types of each ingredient specified. I know of examples where completely un utilizable protein was added to stock food to raise the protein content. Not all protein, fat etc are the same and the ash could be rubbish or non combustible required minerals. It is therefore a bit hard to tell. The stuff manufactured by a reputable company will probably cost more but will probably be better.

[AMAZONIAN]

On looking at the spec's you quote , number 3 is the only one I would consider and believe me I have tried a lot of fish foods before I began importing my own in bulk.

As alanmin says there are no definitions for a lot of the category's so you will never know what the final product is made up of.

We overcame the problem of not knowing by getting an analysis done by cawthron Institute who gave us an honest appraisal of what our selected food was made up of and the percentages.

There was a small discrepency in the spec's we were given by the manufacturer but not enough to stop us importing their product.

Basically it's the old story:..." YOU PAYS YOUR MONEY, YOU TAKES YOUR CHANCES".

[reef]

how do i Identify good or better fish food

The ones that are not made in china.

As mention you pay for what you get, nothing in life is free.

[Alienara]

live food, Brine shrimps, cow heart ftw!!! LOL

i thought phosphorus was bad for fishes?

[Stella]

live food, Brine shrimps, cow heart ftw!!! LOL

Bingo!

It also depends so much on what sort of fish you are feeding. Try to find out what their diet in the wild would consist of. (Indeed learn as much as you can about your fishies' natural habitat, much easier to work with nature than fumble about in the dark)

Alanmin is right about the figures potentially being dodgy or meaningless. 'Crude fat' is pretty meaningless in my book - there is a big difference between saturated mammalian fat (non-desirable) and the various others.

My fish completely object to commercial foods (apart from one fish liking the carnivore pellets that Zev sent me ) . I feed ox heart as a staple, daphnia and wrigglers when I can get them, earthworms for my giant kokopu (and meanworms but he isn't a huge fan), bloodworm only for the fish too small to deal with much else as I find it isn't overly nutritious, and whiteworm when the culture works.