You should try feeding Wardleys pond food

[pacu mom]

Wardley Pond Pellets
Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Corn, Wheat Middlings, Fish Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, Lecithin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Calcium Propionate (a preservative), DL-Methionine, Wheat Flour, Inositol, Vitamin E Supplement, Ethoxyquin (a Preservative), Niacin Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Mononitrate Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Cobalt Proteinate


Hikari Cichlid Staple
White Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Wheat Germ Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Soybean Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, B12 Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Choline Chloride, D-Activated Animal Sterol, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite, Inositol, Para-Aminobenzoic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Salt, Ferrous Chloride, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Sulfate, Aluminum Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate.

Wardley Pond Pellets------------Hikari Cichlid Staple
Crude Protein 30% min---------30%min
Crude Fat 4% min---------------4% min
Crude Fiber 5% max-------------5% max
Moisture 10% max---------------9% max

When I compare Wardley Pond Pellets with Hikari Cichlid Staple, I don't see much difference between the two, except that one had Ethoxyquin, different sulfates and salts are used, and one might have a little more supplements. These two products are more similar than they are dissimilar.

 

[pacu mom]

Wardley Pond Pellets
Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Corn, Wheat Middlings, Fish Meal, Corn Gluten Meal, Fish Oil, Calcium Carbonate, Brewers Dried Yeast, Lecithin, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (Source of Vitamin C), Choline Chloride, Calcium Propionate (a preservative), DL-Methionine, Wheat Flour, Inositol, Vitamin E Supplement, Ethoxyquin (a Preservative), Niacin Supplement, Ferrous Sulfate, Biotin, Manganese Sulfate, Zinc Sulfate, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Mononitrate Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (Source of Vitamin K activity), Copper Sulfate, Sodium Selenate, Vitamin A Supplement, Folic Acid, Ethylenediamine Dihydriodide, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Cobalt Proteinate


Hikari Cichlid Staple
White Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Wheat Germ Meal, Brewer's Dried Yeast, Soybean Meal, Dehydrated Alfalfa Meal, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Vitamin A Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, B12 Supplement, Calcium Pantothenate, Biotin, Choline Chloride, D-Activated Animal Sterol, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite, Inositol, Para-Aminobenzoic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Manganous Oxide, Salt, Ferrous Chloride, Copper Sulfate, Cobalt Sulfate, Aluminum Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate.

Wardley Pond Pellets------------Hikari Cichlid Staple
Crude Protein 30% min---------30%min
Crude Fat 4% min---------------4% min
Crude Fiber 5% max-------------5% max
Moisture 10% max---------------9% max

When I compare Wardley Pond Pellets with Hikari Cichlid Staple, I don't see much difference between the two, except that one has Ethoxyquin, different sulfates and salts are used, and one might have a little more supplements. These two products are more similar than they are dissimilar.

 

[RD.]

Not all protein is created equally. I could grind up my leather work boots, place them in a bag, and slap a label on that bag that stated a crude protein percentage.

In fish feed, like most animal feeds, it is the amino acid content that determines the quality of that protein. It doesn't matter what the protein value is, if the essential amino acids required by a fish are not present in that protein percentage. This is simple fish nutrition 101.



Pacu Mom ....... The following is how Hikari describes that product;

An Economical Daily Diet For Cichlids And Larger Tropical Fish.

The key word being economical. There is no questioning the fact that Hikari makes some lower quality feed. I'm not sure what your point is? I would certainly not recommend that food for anyones piscivores either. But the main difference that you apparently missed between those two formulas, is that Hikari has a fish product as the main ingredient, not soybean, corn, wheat and then fish, followed by even more corn, such as seen in the Wardley product. That's a rather important point when one is comparing those two foods.






I'm glad to see that at least some are now in agreement that this pond food isn't ideal, or a quality diet, especially when one is considering a fish eating species such as a piscivore.

 

[raideranch]

For continued discussion click here...

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...t-food-brings-out-the-best-color-in-your-fish

 

[Sarmo]

[/QUOTE]Really? So if I eat 4 loaves of white bread each day what isn't broken down simply becomes dietary fiber? That's the only result of a human consuming large amounts of low cost carbs? Think about it. .[/QUOTE]

I'm no fish food expert but I can tell you for sure, "if you eat 4 loaves of white bread per day" you will definitely grow, not taller but a lot WIDER!!!!

good discussion, I think one of the best points here so far is to feed a varied diet. some cheap stuff thrown in once in a while isn't going to make a huge difference (food costs or dietary requirements) Trout eat periwinkles in a lot of the streams I fish, a periwinkle is a grub covered with a rock and wood shell it "glues" to itself. I think we would all agree that the rock and wood just pass through the trout. it also eats a LOT of other things.