Best pellet for flowerhorn

[Ruturaj]

I like the "OKIKO" Platinum....it say's its for digestive improvement, high in astaxanthin (great for FH) and it contributes to color and head growth. There's also the OKIKO quick red that came with the platinum and it brought out the red in my FH x10 and he's grown tremendously over about 2-3 months of feeding

It's actually not that good of a food, it claims minimum 60% protein in it, that's too high and definitely not good for digestive system. Many foods have astaxanthin in it, synthetic or natural is the more important factor than quantity. Food can not directly improve the hump. Fish would grow on lower quality fish food as well.

also I feed him raw gulf shrimp without the shell and/or brine shrimp maybe once or twice a week as a snack

Not a fan of raw food either. Pallets are much safer and better balanced nutrition wise. Once a week wouldn't hurt overall nutrition though.

 

[JSpilo]

It's actually not that good of a food, it claims minimum 60% protein in it, that's too high and definitely not good for digestive system. Many foods have astaxanthin in it, synthetic or natural is the more important factor than quantity. Food can not directly improve the hump. Fish would grow on lower quality fish food as well.



Not a fan of raw food either. Pallets are much safer and better balanced nutrition wise. Once a week wouldn't hurt overall nutrition though.

The only fish I've ever fed raw seafood to were my Piranha. I'd soak the bite size pieces of Tilapia and shrimp in Vitachem to ensure they got additional nutrients. My FH gets only pellets. Going back to the floating/sinking topic, I'll probably train mine to eat sinking but I have more than a years worth of floating pellets, so once that runs out, I'll consider sinking pellet training ??

 

[Ruturaj]

The only fish I've ever fed raw seafood to were my Piranha. I'd soak the bite size pieces of Tilapia and shrimp in Vitachem to ensure they got additional nutrients. My FH gets only pellets. Going back to the floating/sinking topic, I'll probably train mine to eat sinking but I have more than a years worth of floating pellets, so once that runs out, I'll consider sinking pellet training ??

With advanced pellets we feed, there is no additional nutrients in raw food. It's just a treat for us to see our fish liking eating something.

The food you are feeding currently is good (if not best), I would finish it as well before getting any other. Training would be fun for sure.

 

[tsde_nnino]

It's actually not that good of a food, it claims minimum 60% protein in it, that's too high and definitely not good for digestive system. Many foods have astaxanthin in it, synthetic or natural is the more important factor than quantity. Food can not directly improve the hump. Fish would grow on lower quality fish food as well.



Not a fan of raw food either. Pallets are much safer and better balanced nutrition wise. Once a week wouldn't hurt overall nutrition though.

ive fed him a wide variety of things and the OKIKO platinum worked best for MY fish....every fish is different, I've seen FH eat cucumber and my fish won't eat anything green..it's either pellets or meat

 

[tsde_nnino]

ive fed him a wide variety of things and the OKIKO platinum worked best for MY fish....every fish is different, I've seen FH eat cucumber and my fish won't eat anything green..it's either pellets or meat

The only fish I've ever fed raw seafood to were my Piranha. I'd soak the bite size pieces of Tilapia and shrimp in Vitachem to ensure they got additional nutrients. My FH gets only pellets. Going back to the floating/sinking topic, I'll probably train mine to eat sinking but I have more than a years worth of floating pellets, so once that runs out, I'll consider sinking pellet training ??

I just give him the gulf shrimp in small bites no extra anything and so far it's working...his growth and behavior is everything you'd expect from a FH, probably on the more meaner side but w.e

 

[Ruturaj]

ive fed him a wide variety of things and the OKIKO platinum worked best for MY fish....every fish is different, I've seen FH eat cucumber and my fish won't eat anything green..it's either pellets or meat

Every flowerhorn is not that different, the basic biology and nutritional needs are still similar. All foods work well till they don't. Hobbyist like us don't know what's going on with internal organs nor do we have large enough dataset. Companies like New life spectrum put money in to research, they evaluate fish waste to figure out the actual consumption. The food they made is filler, hormone and chemical free. Long-term health is more important than immediate results. Have you tried feeding food like NLS or northfin long term?

Also what fish eats depends on what they are used to and how hungry they are. I have seen fish not eating floating pellets but eating sinking pellets of same composition.

 

[tsde_nnino]

ok sir, as I said the before....the OKIKO definitely works and my fish is fine

 

[tsde_nnino]

and no, I haven't tried NLS but ill be happy to try it once his OKIKO are gone

 

[Ruturaj]

ok sir, as I said the before....the OKIKO definitely works and my fish is fine

I am not saying it works on not or if your fish is fine or not. My point is, why, you commented in to discussion, that's why I continued. It worked for me is not good enough supportive argument nor posting what the food says on it. I can say that I always dream about my flowerhorns hump to grow when I go to bed and so far it has worked, his hump has grown.

Nor me or you can judge that fish is fine. Fish look fine until they die or develop an issue.

There is past discussions about fish food that involves OKIKO, high protein food, Carophyll Pink/Red, Astaxanthin, effects of food on hump growth. There is so much discussion on this thread as well.

OKIKO PLATINUM HEAD HUNCHER

please share your views, opinions and comments on this FH food

www.monsterfishkeepers.com

Here is one of my favorite post about foods that "work"

I always thought these were comical. Especially with hybrids. The food progression photos are a laugh. Heres my fish when he was small and undeveloped. Here he is a few months later, the food did it!
A feed test with 2 pure adult fish I could understand.

 

[Ruturaj]

Quality being a subjective term, I think I agree with RD. on this

One thing that should be mentioned here is that a more premium diet doesn't just equate to a potential longer lifespan, it typically also equates to a much healthier, stronger, and more disease resistant fish.

Some of the bioactive compounds found in the more "premium" fish foods have been shown to have biological effects in fish such as growth promotion, immunostimulation, anti-stress, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-virals. These substances will work in a positive manner no matter if the fish is 10 weeks old, or 10 yrs old.

It's not just about longevity .....

When I choose a feed for my dogs, I don't just consider if they will live to 13, or 18 yrs of age, I also factor in their quality of life, while they are alive.

As far as cost, one can't just compare sticker prices either, the true value of any food is dependent on that foods nutrient value, and it's overall digestibility. In commercial aquaculture the difference between a low feed conversion ratio, and a high FCR, can equate to hundreds of thousands of $$$$ in feed in a single year. Cheap food does not always equate to savings.

There's a reason why generic farm feeds cost a significant amount less than a more premium fish food, the same as why a low cost supermarket brand of dog food costs a significant amount of $$$ less than a more premium brand.

Like most things in life, you get what you pay for.

Part of the problem with FH keepers (and lots of MFK members in general) is they all want to see MAJOR growth in their monster fish, in as little time as possible. While there are many ways to achieve that goal, often times all it results in is a large obese fish, that will eventually die prematurely due to fatty liver, etc. Of course if/when that happens, most hobbyists won't have a necropsy performed to understand why their pet fish suddenly died, they will simply go out and buy another one. (sudden death syndrome anyone?)