This food is not designed as "all a fish needs" kind of food. It's mostly to attract wild fish to a specific location and to give them a little sustenance. It's way too cheap and in the world of fish pellets, you get exactly what you pay for.
I don't feed Hikari anymore and I feed only 10% NLS pellets to my fish while 50% of overall diet of my fish is baitfish I catch in the Gulf of Mexico and also buy from vendors selling frozen bait fish. That's what I'd recommend for your purposes. It is best to buy from wholesale places direct and have it delivered or mailed to you still solid frozen.
It's economical, at $1 or less per pound.
As for pellets, the bulk of my pellet needs is fulfilled by Ziegler Bros. pellets at $30 per 44 lb bag wholesale before shipping, ~$45 with shipping.
