Massivore is easily one of the best if not the best foods for monster fish. Only fish I feed NLS to are africans cause of its low protein content. You won't get even close to the same growth rates with NLS as you would with Massivore. Buy the big 5 pound tubs? Only if you can use it all within 3-4 months, the nutrients in fish food begins leaching out of it as soon as you open that container. How healthy are those pellets after a period of 3-4 months? Not nearly as good as they were when you first bought it. You can extend the life of the pellets by freezing them in airtight packets but you'll need a freezer set aside for that. The only NLS food that's really worth the money is the Thera A formulas. So if you're going to feed NLS, I would suggest that pellet over the others.
But then again, if you want great growth rates along with awesome coloration, you should feed Massivore over NLS any day of the week.
Low protein content? Most "monster" fish do not require 50% protein, and 10% crude fat once they past their growth stage of life. Unless perhaps one is only feeding 3 times a week, which the vast majority of hobbyists do not. The largest freshwater carnivores in North America, Acipenser transmontanus (White Sturgeon), are raised commercially exclusively on pellet food that typically consists of 40-45% crude protein, and exceed both size & weight of the vast majority of all tropical fish kept in captivity. We're talking about fish that reach 8-10ft in captivity. Is that "monster" enough for you? lol
Listening to some people the commercial fish industry would have never existed, had Hikari not created Massivore a few years ago. LOL Think about it. Commercial fish farms spend millions of $$$ on raising fish, and the largest cost of every farm is their feed costs, where feed conversion ratios, and growth, are everything. Most hobbyists also don't consider that the protein & fat listed on tropical fish foods are listed as
minimum quantities, not maximum amounts, or for that matter even typical values. Unless you are privy to what takes place behind the label, you don't have the slightest clue as to what those values are. There are plenty of monster fish including cichla, channa, lungfish, aros, rays etc that have been raised on NLS along with LOTS of other foods on the market, long before massivore was created. I didn't even mention the most potent NLS pellet, the 10mm Mega Fish formula as most people don't have fish large enough to easily consume them.
As far as nutrient loss, I have seen test results from food containers (buckets) that have been kept in storage (room temps in the mid 70's) that show minimal losses over a 12 months period. Mostly vitamin c content, but that is easily controlled by using stable forms of vitamin c such as L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate, and reinforcing the amount when considering loss during manufacturing, and storage. If stored in a cool, dry, environment, the nutrient loss over a 12 month period is minuscule, and most of the loss is the vitamin c. Amino acids (protein) and fatty acids don't just leach out of food within a few months.
If you are happy in paying twice the amount of $$$ on a name, by all means feel free to do so. The OP was asking for different less costly options, without sacrificing nutrient value, which is precisely what I gave him.
I'm not in the least bit interested in going 'round in circles on a subject that most hobbyists barely understand, or getting into another Hikari vs NLS brouhaha. Been there, done that.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?284825-Hikari-vs-NLS
To the OP, best of luck with your fish.
