I just finished looking at the specs of that food, and I honestly don't see anything that hasn't already been accomplished (and then some) with some of the more premium pellets on the market? Other than perhaps it being more palatable to a fish due to the gel texture when mixed, what else should I be wowed by?
http://www.mazuri.com/PDF/5C8X.pdf
Quite frankly there are pellets on the market that exceed that nutrient profile by a country mile. Mazuri uses only 1 main source of amino acids (fish meal) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter (spirulina algae meal) and that's supposed to be impressive?
Compared to a food that uses Antarctic krill meal, herring meal, squid meal, along with algae meal (that consists of seaweed, kelp, and several micro-algae) AND spirulina, and micronutrient (vitamin/mineral) levels that exceed the Mazuri formula that you speak so highly of?
And yet you feel that a company such as Purina Mills makes a great Shark/Ray gel diet that is very well matched to nutritional needs of 99% of the elasmobranch species kept today?
And how exactly does that work? By limiting their source of amino acids to 1 form of fish meal (most likely a generic fish meal, seeing as they don't list the species source?) and 1 source of aquatic plant matter? (spirulina meal) and the rest of their formula consisting of commercially made vitamins, trace minerals, antioxidents, and color enhancing agents? This is what you consider an ideal diet for a stingray?
They state: Contains Carotenoids for antioxident potential and pigmenting properties - yet what do I see but none other than Carophyll Pink in the ingredient list, a cheap man made petro chemical based color enhancing agent used by the salmon industry to supply artificial color to the flesh of a fish. By the order of ingredient listing, it also appears to contain a significant amount of ethoxyquin, another man made chemical used as a preservative, and not something that most consumers want to see large amounts of, in any commercial food.
While I realize that Purina has been around a long time, they aren't exactly known for being on the cutting edge of fish nutrition, and a quick scan of their other commercial aquaculture foods should make that fairly obvious. There's a reason why a 50lb bag of Purina fish food can be purchased for under $25.00
