I've been feeding my american cichlids hikari pellets and they been loving them. but... i've read a few threads saying that these pellets arent high quality and not that great of food. Is this true? If so what food would you guys recommend for growth and color in american cichlids?
Hikari pellets
- Thread starter JackSparrow
- Start date
Hikari is somewhat better than a lot of brands, but they tend to use a lot of filler and aren't the best. Fluval Bug Bites and New Life Spectrum (NLS) pellets are my two favorites for cichlids based on quality and how well the fish eat them. I've had reasonably good success priming apistos and other cichlids for breeding on just NLS. Other than that, frozen/live foods are highly recommended by most (if available at affordable prices).
Most of my fish hate NLS and spit them in and out but the water is cleaner than after feeding Hikari and my zebra plecos also got conditioned well enough to breed just eating NLS. Guess that says something but my fish don’t go nuts for it like Hikari
A lot of those posts you've seen are probably from me 
Hikari is garbage. Of course fish like it - the same way a kid will go nuts for McDonalds but not be as thrilled about steak and caesar salad. You couldn't pay me to feed any of my fish (mostly CA cichlids) any formula from Hikari.
Depending on the species (aka omnivores or carnivores), Fluval Bug Bites are an awesome option and they are the favourite of all my fish. They LOVE Bug Bites. NLS and Northfin are the other two brands I feed (I have a handful of the three brands in different formulas and mix up what I feed daily). Agreed the NLS is the least favourite of the fish, but they do eat it without issue.
If you're looking for more of a mid-grade option that is a bit cheaper but still a way better food than Hikari, look at Omega One.
Hikari is garbage. Of course fish like it - the same way a kid will go nuts for McDonalds but not be as thrilled about steak and caesar salad. You couldn't pay me to feed any of my fish (mostly CA cichlids) any formula from Hikari.Depending on the species (aka omnivores or carnivores), Fluval Bug Bites are an awesome option and they are the favourite of all my fish. They LOVE Bug Bites. NLS and Northfin are the other two brands I feed (I have a handful of the three brands in different formulas and mix up what I feed daily). Agreed the NLS is the least favourite of the fish, but they do eat it without issue.
If you're looking for more of a mid-grade option that is a bit cheaper but still a way better food than Hikari, look at Omega One.
I use a variety of different foods, Hikari and others; rarely feed the same thing twice in a row. Generally speaking, Hikari seems to be somewhat more readily accepted by fish than many of its competitors...and this is quite possibly analogous to kids and candy versus kids and nutritious food. 
But there's one fish I have, a young Lophiosilurus apurensis (Jelly Cat), for which most fish foods are simply too small to bother with. Especially during the winter months, that fish is fed almost exclusively with jumbo-sized pellets from Hikari and Northfin, with frozen fish or shrimp added a couple times a month. On one occasion I had only Hikari Massivore for several months, and it seems to me that the colouration of the fish, specifically the orange-ish base colour, grew noticeably brighter then; less brown and more a bright orange.
So I must swim against the current on this issue; I'm not saying Hikari is the best...I can read a label as well as the next guy...but it seems to be a decent food that offers adequate nutrition.
I've also heard complaints that it smells bad. That's okay; I don't plan on eating any myself. Have you smelled some brands of dog food?
I'm starting to use more and more homemade gel food for the big cat, partially because it can be cut up into nice big 1 - 2 inch chunks; those dinky little Massivore disks are starting to look pretty small when being fed on their own. The recipe varies from batch to batch, dependent upon what I have available. Hikari Massivore is always a major component.
But there's one fish I have, a young Lophiosilurus apurensis (Jelly Cat), for which most fish foods are simply too small to bother with. Especially during the winter months, that fish is fed almost exclusively with jumbo-sized pellets from Hikari and Northfin, with frozen fish or shrimp added a couple times a month. On one occasion I had only Hikari Massivore for several months, and it seems to me that the colouration of the fish, specifically the orange-ish base colour, grew noticeably brighter then; less brown and more a bright orange.
So I must swim against the current on this issue; I'm not saying Hikari is the best...I can read a label as well as the next guy...but it seems to be a decent food that offers adequate nutrition.
I've also heard complaints that it smells bad. That's okay; I don't plan on eating any myself. Have you smelled some brands of dog food?
I'm starting to use more and more homemade gel food for the big cat, partially because it can be cut up into nice big 1 - 2 inch chunks; those dinky little Massivore disks are starting to look pretty small when being fed on their own. The recipe varies from batch to batch, dependent upon what I have available. Hikari Massivore is always a major component.
I use a combination of Hikari and Aquatic Foods. I usually mix all the pellets together and put them in a gallon ziplock bag. Mix is Hikari Gold, AF blackworm pellets, AF veggie pellets, Hikari mini green for herbivores, Hikari Staple. My fish like Pot Luck. Oscar ears blackworm cubes, shrimp and krill. Sometimes I stuff pellets in the cubes.
#1 genetics
#2 water quality
#3 diet
Most modern day diets designed for tropical fish, and the pet trade, nutritionally speaking, will be more than adequate to keep your fish healthy long term.
#2 water quality
#3 diet
Most modern day diets designed for tropical fish, and the pet trade, nutritionally speaking, will be more than adequate to keep your fish healthy long term.
I have no doubt that there may be something more healthful than whatever most of us feed however, I feed a lot of Hikari jumbo carnisticks (along w/ their 'food sticks' variant) and I haven't noticed anything negative about it from my pedestrian perspective.
I also go through 5 pound jugs of Spirulina, Algae & Veggie Sinking Wafers by Aquatic Foods c/o Amazon. It's like crack for giraffe cats and oddly, even the bigger peacock bass will hit it and not spit it out. I've got an arowana that will hammer a couple of them down as well.
When contrasted against my own diet which yesterday consisted of a poor boy from Round Table Pizza, two McDonalds apple fritters, a few packets of instant oatmeal (the full tilt sugar content variety) and a couple three diet cokes and some cold coffee... I'd say the Hikari stuff is comparatively pretty darn good.
I also go through 5 pound jugs of Spirulina, Algae & Veggie Sinking Wafers by Aquatic Foods c/o Amazon. It's like crack for giraffe cats and oddly, even the bigger peacock bass will hit it and not spit it out. I've got an arowana that will hammer a couple of them down as well.
When contrasted against my own diet which yesterday consisted of a poor boy from Round Table Pizza, two McDonalds apple fritters, a few packets of instant oatmeal (the full tilt sugar content variety) and a couple three diet cokes and some cold coffee... I'd say the Hikari stuff is comparatively pretty darn good.
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Agree with this.
Diet is least important, compared to frequent and large water changes, and matching the species you want to keep with the tap water you're dealt with.
I am certain that the time I spend carefully reading the ingredients of human food is probably about 10% of the time spent reading fish food labels and dog food bags. I have my priorities well ordered.
And your personal consumption yesterday sounds pretty well rounded, IMHO; you have the four of the five major food groups...grease, fat, sugar and caffeine...and the proportions sound about right; maybe a little bit light on the caffeine, but that's easily corrected....
Number five...i.e. alcohol...needs some attention.