Flowerhorn pellet food

[islandguy11]

However much my flowerhorns love frozen bloodworms, I swear never to it to them ever again....I believe they can transmit parasites. Considering the effort I put into the care of these valuable fish, when they started falling ill, the only source came down to the frozen bloodworms. I found the safest treat was freeze dried bloodworms & shrimps.

Ultimately, a good quality staple diet along with pristine water will keep them happy.

Not sure yet but yesterday saw that my Kamfa might have HITH -- I mostly feed pellets but every 2 or 3 days I give some frozen bloodworms for one meal -- I wonder if he got a parasite from the bw's...Maybe better to avoid as you suggest. Unfortunately freeze dried fish food isn't easy to find where I live.

 

[raja]

Not sure yet but yesterday saw that my Kamfa might have HITH -- I mostly feed pellets but every 2 or 3 days I give some frozen bloodworms for one meal -- I wonder if he got a parasite from the bw's...Maybe better to avoid as you suggest. Unfortunately freeze dried fish food isn't easy to find where I live.

Even freeze dried and frozen foods can contain bacterial cysts and even sometimes parasite eggs, unless the manufacturer states that it's uv treated or something like that. I suggest you to go with ocean free, because they process their freeze dried and frozen foods extremely well.

 

[RD.]

In Thailand, I would avoid blood worms.


raja - you live in India, yes? In North America, all cichlid foods contain color enhancing agents. The vast majority of people keep fish at least partially due to their vibrant coloration - which is why colorful fish sell, and bland ones do not. This is not unique to FH, or discus, or any of the other designer fish of today. This does not mean that a cichlid food, or any food, has to list each and every one of the color enhancing agents being used in each formula. As an example, many foods contain Carophyll Pink and or C Red. I know this for a fact - yet I cannot recall ever seeing this listed on a label, anymore than I have seen it listed on a fillet of salmon at the market.

And I didn't say that FH food was all crap, I said that it was over hyped, and over priced, and it is.

 

[raja]

In Thailand, I would avoid blood worms.


raja - you live in India, yes? In North America, all cichlid foods contain color enhancing agents. The vast majority of people keep fish at least partially due to their vibrant coloration - which is why colorful fish sell, and bland ones do not. This is not unique to FH, or discus, or any of the other designer fish of today. This does not mean that a cichlid food, or any food, has to list each and every one of the color enhancing agents being used in each formula. As an example, many foods contain Carophyll Pink and or C Red. I know this for a fact - yet I cannot recall ever seeing this listed on a label, anymore than I have seen it listed on a fillet of salmon at the market.

And I didn't say that FH food was all crap, I said that it was over hyped, and over priced, and it is.

I get what you are saying, but like you said in places like India, FH specific foods are actually cheaper than something like a new life spectrum or even hikari bio gold for that matter.

Just for reference we pay 200 Indian Rupees(3 USD approx) for 100 gms of okiko platinum and 1500 Indian Rupees(27 USD Approx) for 130 gms of any NLS food. And with this kind of pricing, a good quality flowerhorn specific food from a reputable brand like Ocean free makes more sense over NLS or hikari.
But of course pricing differs from place to place, so there's no one answer that fits all.

 

[#.$]

Thx Rd for input. No local shops on the island carry NLS but I can order from a big shop in Bangkok. The Okiko Platinum has astaxanthin, but it lists 63% protein so I only give it every 2 or 3 days.

On the topic of high protein food in the 60s is high I'm not aware of any animal product that's not engineer to contain this amount of protein. Brings into question what's really in the food. Also im pretty sure that a over abundance of protein in a diet can have adverse side effects as well.....

 

[raja]

On the topic of high protein food in the 60s is high I'm not aware of any animal product that's not engineer to contain this amount of protein. Brings into question what's really in the food. Also im pretty sure that a over abundance of protein in a diet can have adverse side effects as well.....

Freeze dried krill alone has about 62% protein and blood worms contain 60% protein, so 60% of protein is actually not uncommon, but yeah excess protein unlike fat is directly transfered into fish waste which in turn affects water quality.

If you want to know something more crazy most Thai foods that are made for flowerhorn fries have more than 75% of protein

 

[RD.]

raja - yup, most definitely, but the OP lives in the USA.

Even a small juvenile fish, that is classified as a carnivore (which FH are not), does not require 63% crude protein. Of course we have no way in knowing what the main ingredient is in that Okiko formula, as it is listed as "Special Head Growth Enhancing Ingredient". LOL What a farce, which is why I hate these types of specialty foods. Total BS hype. For all anyone knows the main ingredient is soybean. A large water kok such as they display on the package of that Okiko formula comes from GENETICS, not fish food.

An adult FH only requires approx. 35% crude protein as part of a maintenance diet. 40% would be on the high end, even for adult breeders.

 

[islandguy11]

 

[RD.]

Freeze dried foods, yes, but in their normal state, without being dried, the protein in both krill and BW is quite low, the rest is mostly water (70-95%), a non nutrient.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=16865

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=9061



BTW - excess protein can work in reverse, as excess protein needs to be deaminated by the liver before being excreted. That process requires energy, energy that could have ben used for growth, or other normal metabolic functions. Not to mention that waste simply turns into water pollution.

 

[#.$]

Freeze dried krill alone has about 62% protein and blood worms contain 60% protein, so 60% of protein is actually not uncommon, but yeah excess protein unlike fat is directly transfered into fish waste which in turn affects water quality.

If you want to know something more crazy most Thai foods that are made for flowerhorn fries have more than 75% of protein[/QUOTE
Ok krill 62%, bw 60. That means 61%. How do they get 60% when 25% has no protein, this also excludes moisture which is 0% added protein this also does not include the binders.... So what's the other 10-15% that has to be close to 100% coming from?