The literarture says that you are suposed to feed NLS exclusively to your fish in order to meet their nutritional requirements and avoid any digetive complications. Does anyone avoid feeding everything else and use only NLS?
I've been feeding NLS exclusively for a number of years, with great results. Having said that, I'm also a personal friend of the creator of NLS fish food, as well as the main distributor of his food in Canada.
I have absolutely nothing to hide, and I use the same ID on every forum that I visit.
I'm not here to sell anyone anything, simply to respond a few of the comments posted thus far.
I only sell to retail outlets, so please no PM's.
FYI - I'm not sure what literature you've read, but that is not what myself or anyone from New Life has stated as the reason for feeding exclusively.
One of the main reasons that feeding NLS exclusively is promoted by Pablo Tepoot (the owner of New Life), is simple, and has nothing to do with eliminating the competition, or some type of slick marketing. It has to do with the fact that there is no way that he can determine exactly what is in other foods, only that his food is the only food that he knows of that can keep a number of very delicate marine species alive, long term, in pristine health. If someone complained that their Regal Tang or Moorish Idol withered away after a few months in captivity, after eating
some NLS, and a
variety of other fresh/frozen foods, how would he possibly be able to respond to such a complaint? Neither Pablo nor myself have ever condemned other feeding methods.
Below is a direct quote from an in-depth nutrition article that Pablo wrote.
Many people might wonder why exclusively?
The beauty of New Life Spectrum is the simplicity of a sole food that provides your fish an optimal diet. Sometimes hobbyists that keep reef aquariums are able to maintain healthy fish with frequent water changes (adding trace elements), addition of vitamins and minerals, and numerous sources of foods that are comprised of a balanced diet. But, with New Life Spectrum anyone can take the guesswork and mystery out of fish feeding and maintain thriving fish reliably and consistently. In other words, you can utilize complex methods and your fish may thrive, or you can use a very simple method of feeding New Life Spectrum and watch your fish thrive. The choice is entirely up to you.
My understanding from speaking to a local wholesaler is that they changed the formula.
I'm not sure who you've been talking to, but that info is incorrect. With the exception of the TherA formulas, the rest of the formulas all contain the same amount of garlic as they have for yrs, and the only change made over the past couple of yrs is the inclusion of a fruit & vegetable extract.
Yes, it's a potent food, and with that potency comes a more intense smell & flavour. As far as cost, it's impossible to judge any food by sticker price alone, you need to look at the BIG picture, as in the quality of all of the ingredients, the order of those ingredients, and more importantly the
total digestibility of those ingredients. The more digestible a food is, the less you can feed, which means cleaner water, less overall
maintenance, and less overall cost per ounce/pound. IMO many hobbyists tend to overfeed with this food, a little goes a long ways.
As far as protein content, and I have stated this many times over the years, the protein % found on a fish food label, is nothing more than the nitrogen content found in the food, by someone wearing a white lab coat. It doesn't tell you how digestible that protein is, or isn't. The value of protein is directly related to the amino acid content, and it's overall digestibility by the fish.
So my advice has always been, forget about the overall protein % found on a label, and take a closer look at the ingredients that make up that percentage. You can't simply compare the protein % found on a label, and come to any conclusions as to which food is actually going to supply your fish with more protein. The only protein % that counts, is the percentage of protein that your fish can actually digest. A fish food label could state 45% crude protein, but if only 60% of that crude protein is in a form that's available to the fish, then suddenly that figure on the label becomes somewhat meaningless to the average consumer.
HTH
