While a fish may not eat pellets or flakes in the wild, they do in fact consume the same basic nutrients (amino acids, fatty acids, vitamins & trace minerals), they're simply bundled up in a different package.
Making the switch to NLS.
- Thread starter nfored
- Start date
balton - I personally think that Dennis Crews is a marketing genius, and the vast majority of consumers are apparently easily influenced by a well seasoned marketing campaign. Does that answer your question? 
See my comment about garlic in the following link.
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286658&page=2
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=286658&page=2
So if you feed natural foods then I guess you buy neon tetras for your angelfish, buy imported insects that fall into the water in the Amazon for all your Amazonian fish, import native snails that the different loaches eat in the wild, etc.
Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote that was entitled 'Why nature is not ideal'. Among many aspects like predation, disease, etc. this section on diet may be useful to some reading this thread.
"We simply cannot simulate the natural diet of most fish. These animals have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to forage for food. Even if I was doing research in Amazonia on native fishes, had a bunch in some research facility, was working with a native tribe and they went out and gathered food for hours every day, I still would not be replicating their natural diet. Although from stomach content analysis from wild caught individuals we find they eat 30% this, and 40% that, etc. we do not know they are not also occasionally coming across other foods at a much less frequent rate, possibly with vital micronutrients or some other vital part of their diet. In addition, in the wild the foods available change throughout the year and even year to year. During the beginning of the rainy season certain terrestrial animals become a large part of the diet of many if not most fish. The rain literally washes a number of animals and other food items into the waters for the fish to gorge on. In addition to this variability, different foods are available at different parts of the day. This will be more likely to be known from observation and stomach content analysis, but there is still going to be some unknown variability here. Even our ‘natural’ diets are far from it. These diets are usually described as live foods (feeder fish, many types of worms, assorted invertebrates, etc.), frozen foods (beef heart, squid, brine shrimp, etc.), freeze-dried, and even many processed foods are marketed as natural. Some brands toss in things like fresh seafood, kelp, and other similar ingredients. The most common argument is ‘this is the type of stuff they would eat in the wild’. Neon tetras, discus, etc. do not naturally eat kelp and salmon. No fish naturally feasts on beef heart. These food items are no more natural to these fish than the ingredients in the processed foods that so many avoid because they are supposedly so unnatural. Goldfish, rosey reds, guppies, etc. are not found in the natural waters of Oscars. It is totally unnatural for them to eat these live foods. These foods may be similar, but it is not as natural as many may think they are.
On top of all of that there is no guarantee that what they eat in the wild is actually the ideal diet. Remember that one thing nature is always doing is trying to take out as many individuals as possible. The diet itself may be minimal for the individuals who are the best foragers and who have the best digestive systems. This means that the individuals who are less than the best may not be getting a good enough diet and this could be contributing to their weak nature, impaired immune system, etc. which can lead to them becoming prey."
Anyone interested in this or the article on fish nutrition that I wrote can PM me for more.
Here is an excerpt from an article I wrote that was entitled 'Why nature is not ideal'. Among many aspects like predation, disease, etc. this section on diet may be useful to some reading this thread.
"We simply cannot simulate the natural diet of most fish. These animals have 24 hours a day, 7 days a week to forage for food. Even if I was doing research in Amazonia on native fishes, had a bunch in some research facility, was working with a native tribe and they went out and gathered food for hours every day, I still would not be replicating their natural diet. Although from stomach content analysis from wild caught individuals we find they eat 30% this, and 40% that, etc. we do not know they are not also occasionally coming across other foods at a much less frequent rate, possibly with vital micronutrients or some other vital part of their diet. In addition, in the wild the foods available change throughout the year and even year to year. During the beginning of the rainy season certain terrestrial animals become a large part of the diet of many if not most fish. The rain literally washes a number of animals and other food items into the waters for the fish to gorge on. In addition to this variability, different foods are available at different parts of the day. This will be more likely to be known from observation and stomach content analysis, but there is still going to be some unknown variability here. Even our ‘natural’ diets are far from it. These diets are usually described as live foods (feeder fish, many types of worms, assorted invertebrates, etc.), frozen foods (beef heart, squid, brine shrimp, etc.), freeze-dried, and even many processed foods are marketed as natural. Some brands toss in things like fresh seafood, kelp, and other similar ingredients. The most common argument is ‘this is the type of stuff they would eat in the wild’. Neon tetras, discus, etc. do not naturally eat kelp and salmon. No fish naturally feasts on beef heart. These food items are no more natural to these fish than the ingredients in the processed foods that so many avoid because they are supposedly so unnatural. Goldfish, rosey reds, guppies, etc. are not found in the natural waters of Oscars. It is totally unnatural for them to eat these live foods. These foods may be similar, but it is not as natural as many may think they are.
On top of all of that there is no guarantee that what they eat in the wild is actually the ideal diet. Remember that one thing nature is always doing is trying to take out as many individuals as possible. The diet itself may be minimal for the individuals who are the best foragers and who have the best digestive systems. This means that the individuals who are less than the best may not be getting a good enough diet and this could be contributing to their weak nature, impaired immune system, etc. which can lead to them becoming prey."
Anyone interested in this or the article on fish nutrition that I wrote can PM me for more.
found some nls. had them order me the 6mm floating to see if my aro and o and maybe gars will eat it. this will be the true test 
