API Cichlid Pellets

[neutrino]

I looked at the API once when I first noticed it as a new product at a lfs, then put it right back on the shelf when I saw all the grains in it. Seeing wheat distillers grain as an ingredient made me curious what it was, so I did a little reading on it and turns out it's basically a by-product (unfermented residue) of beer, spirits, and ethanol production, which is packaged, sold, and used as an ingredient in farm animal feed. Apparently production of whichever type of alcohol from grains produces as much or more by-product as it does alcohol of whatever type.

I also read one or two aquaculture articles where they've done some testing of distillers grain with different types of fish and, similar to other non-aquatic products, the objective of the testing seemed to be how much they can include in a fish feed without inhibiting growth (which apparently varies with species).

I do know from some of the science reading I do that there is an aspect of ecological motivation or concern at the research end of testing some of these products in fish feed, no doubt also an economic motivation. On the other hand, when I started paying more attention and really testing different products, one common denominator in the poorer results seemed to be a lot of starch/grain in the product, and that's affected what I'm willing to try out on my fish.

 

[RD.]

Chub-by ...... this is the Central & South American Cichlids folder, hence the reason behind my comment.

Wheat Germ (not Wheat Flour, such as in the API Cichlid pellets) has always been favoured by Koi breeders as a "cold water" ingredient, due to it's supposedly high digestibility rate, and its supposedly high vitamin E content, as carp species do require a higher inclusion rate of vitamin E compared to many other fish species. (1993 NRC - Nutrient Requirements of Fish)

During winter months (hence colder water temps) pond raised Koi also eat far less, so Wheat Germ has historically been used during these months as an extra boost in vitamin E. There's certainly nothing wrong with using Wheat Germ in a food that's formulated for species such as carp or Koi, quite frankly most serious Koi breeders expect it to be in a Koi formula (it seems to be a Japanese tradition in Koi formulas?), but a large inclusion rate of this raw ingredient certainly isn't required for optimum health in cichlid species. Also, if too much *wheat* (along with other terrestrial based grains) is used some of the carnivorous species of cichlids may have difficulty fully assimilating these ingredients, which means overall growth can be affected, as well as extra pollution being added to ones tank. What goes in, eventually comes out.

If a manufacturer wanted to ensure that their food contained a large inclusion rate of a natural form of vitamin E, they could simply add wheat germ oil, which is VERY high in vitamin E content. Of course it's a tad bit expensive, as according to the folks at Hikari it takes a full ton of wheat germ to make 100 grams of wheat germ oil.

Like usual, it always comes back to $$$$.

 

[Chub_by]

Thanks RD. I hope my slight derail isn't too bad since the original question has been answered ?

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