The problem with fatty deposition is that typically the fish will be dead before one actually sees a physical change in the fish. The damage (necrosis) is internal, sometimes even leading to secondary infections due to a suppressed immune system. So saying that "I can't see any difference", or "my fish all seem fine", is a rather non scientific approach to what is commonly referred to as fatty live disease. Some of the nations leading experts on fish nutrition (Juli-Anne B. Royesa, Ruth Francis-Floyd, et al) have stated:
Fatty infiltration of the liver has also been designated "the most common metabolic disturbance and most frequent cause of death in aquarium fish"
The ingredients actually look a lot better than the kens fish cichlid formula I've been using considering there are no wheat or soy bean fillers... I'll continue to try small amounts. If our fish can eat things like hot dogs and cheap pond food I'm sure this stuff is fine. We will see.
The bulge in the side of this pacu I believe is from being fed bologna and hotdogs by the former owner all it's life. Now I'm feeding tetra jumbo min, $12 every2 weeks. 4lbs tilapia $10 every month. And a 40lb bag of commercial floating catfish food when I'm out or low on the other stuff. That's just the staple stuff. My kids got caught me mayflies yesterday, peacock bass and arowana loved them. Probably have two weeks mayfly gathering here in Ohio. And cicadas are around too. I feed the pacu alot of berries bananas and nuts also. And I'm always on the hunt for clearance fish food at lfs. Just picked up a bunch of marineland sinking shrimp wafers $1.50 a pouch. Rtcs love it.
I remember the bad old days when I fed lots of Trout Chow to my larger aquarium fish; I was just a dumb kid who didn't know any better and hadn't yet developed the "trust no-one!" philosophy I now rely upon when dealing with retailers. The local Big Al's (who wouldn't steer you wrong...would they?) repackaged and sold it in 5-lb bags and it was a common practice among local keepers to use some or a lot of this food. I shudder now when I see the fat content of this stuff, listed as anywhere from 14% and up. To add injury to insult, many of my fish...Giant Gouramy, Pacu, etc...were largely herbivorous, and yet were forced to eat this high-protein/high-fat stuff. The unique oil-slick that appeared with each feeding needed to be addressed to keep the house from taking on that unique...aroma...
I am now eyeballing Purina AquaMax Sport Fish Largemouth as a possible addition to my feeding regimen. It's 45% protein, 10% fat (hmmm....), and comes in nice big 3/4" x 1" floating pellets. But...Purina really seems to avoid providing an ingredient listing...which makes me...suspicious. Anybody have any experience with or data on this product as a possible food item for carnivorous aquarium fish? Or at least some info regarding what they make it out of? @RD
Yeah, yeah, I know...responding to another years-old thread before noticing just how vintage it is. Still worth a read, though.
I think I could vaguely guess for you from the price per pound the worth and the possible unwanted ingredients and their % of this fish food and its quality, although I personally would not buy fish food with an a priori concealed ingredient list.
