New Life Spectrum Nutri/Gel
- Thread starter Oscar Mike
- Start date
It's not that easy amigo, those are minimum values listed, not actual or typical values. Trust me on this.
Understood, but if they are minimum values listed by the same company wouldn't they be at least approximately equivalent? Are you saying that the minimum levels are not really indicative of the actual levels in any way?
Let's say one had a minimum value of three and an actual value of four. If the other had a minimum value of six, wouldn't the actual value be around eight?
I have commented about this many times over the years, but I'm not going to get any more definitive than what I just did. The pet food industry is a multi-billion dollar industry, and there is always someone out to copy someone else, even vitamin/mineral levels.
Here's a better explanation from Ian (the president of NLS):
The gel's guaranteed analysis is for the pre-mixed powder. However, this does not mean that the final gel will have 1/3 the nutrients (for example 18% protein). The gelling process means that the proportion of water/food in the final gel isn't that same mixing proportion due to evaporation, as well as expansion of the ingredients to encompass more volume. If you notice when mixing, the final gel mix is quite a bit larger than the water and powder alone -- meaning for ever ounce of food, more than 1/3 of it is food mix.
Likewise, because the gel has water and does not dissolve as it soaks, nor leaches into the water, it compensates for the water in the mix. Pellets take on water and swell as they are exposed in water, meaning that the volume increases per pellet while nutrition leaches out. New Life Spectrum pellets are excellent at retaining their integrity and reduce leaching, but this does have a small effect. The pellets also swell in the stomach, limiting the fish's intake The gel is swollen to its final volume pre-intake.
The end result of this is that at 3:1 ratio, the Gel has approximately the same nutrition density as the pellets per serving. Once you get into 4:1 ratio, in which the powder will retain its integrity, the nutrition density drops below our standard formula -- which is why it is not recommended.
The ingredients in the powder are similar to the pellets, although the proportions are not identical, and we have added algaenate to substitute for much of the wheat flour, since we didn't have to form pellets.
The gel's guaranteed analysis is for the pre-mixed powder. However, this does not mean that the final gel will have 1/3 the nutrients (for example 18% protein). The gelling process means that the proportion of water/food in the final gel isn't that same mixing proportion due to evaporation, as well as expansion of the ingredients to encompass more volume. If you notice when mixing, the final gel mix is quite a bit larger than the water and powder alone -- meaning for ever ounce of food, more than 1/3 of it is food mix.
Likewise, because the gel has water and does not dissolve as it soaks, nor leaches into the water, it compensates for the water in the mix. Pellets take on water and swell as they are exposed in water, meaning that the volume increases per pellet while nutrition leaches out. New Life Spectrum pellets are excellent at retaining their integrity and reduce leaching, but this does have a small effect. The pellets also swell in the stomach, limiting the fish's intake The gel is swollen to its final volume pre-intake.
The end result of this is that at 3:1 ratio, the Gel has approximately the same nutrition density as the pellets per serving. Once you get into 4:1 ratio, in which the powder will retain its integrity, the nutrition density drops below our standard formula -- which is why it is not recommended.
The ingredients in the powder are similar to the pellets, although the proportions are not identical, and we have added algaenate to substitute for much of the wheat flour, since we didn't have to form pellets.
Unless something just recently changed, Ian is the Vice President.
I will only add this, moisture content is moisture content and in a food with all other nutrient factors being equal, the food with less moisture content (water) will contain more nutrients per ounce than the same food with a higher water/moisture content. The bottom line is the less water content, the more nutrient dense the feed.
I will only add this, moisture content is moisture content and in a food with all other nutrient factors being equal, the food with less moisture content (water) will contain more nutrients per ounce than the same food with a higher water/moisture content. The bottom line is the less water content, the more nutrient dense the feed.
Hi, I noticed a question I had answered was posted in this topic. Given the questions brought up in this thread, some clarifications are in order — since the original question was a bit different than this thread’s subject and may cause some confusion.
The question was whether the 3:1 ratio means that when mixed the concentrate powder nutrient percentage will be exactly 1/3. As noted, this is not exact due to evaporation of the water in boiling and cooling necessary for the gelling process (as well as contraction of the liquid when cooled). This is a small factor.
Other items do factor-in to determining nutrition per serving as well. I want to clarify two items that, in the context of this discussion, could be misunderstood.
New Life pellets are water stable and have negligible leaching or expansion in water, particularly when used as directed (consume it within a minute or less). However, when asked to compare it the Gel, the intent was to compare “apples to apples” and describe how it would react if used similarly to gel (aka on the tank floor and not consumed immediately).
As originally mentioned in the pasted response, “New Life Spectrum pellets are excellent at retaining their integrity… but this has a SMALL effect.” [emphasis added].
I also want to clarify that all organic materials will gain some volume from digestive juices when being digested. However, this is always negligible. This is particularly true for New Life Spectrum pellets, as we use little wheat. I felt it best to clarify that this is negligible — since the common misconception that pellets can cause bloat by swelling significantly in the stomach (a “popcorn” effect) is a myth.
The question was also asked if the nutrition would be sufficient per serving. Taking into account the intended usage of the Gel is important. It is designed for aquarium animals to graze upon for a longer period of time than pellets. Over the course of this intended feeding period, Gel will provide the proper nutrition, as it is water stable for a long time.
Gel is not for everybody. If your fish happily eat pellets, then stick with that. It is intended as mainly as training food, food for fish that prefer soft foods, and generally an alternative for frozen foods and in circumstances where those would normally be used (and which contain significantly higher water percentage and lower nutrition per serving).
The question was whether the 3:1 ratio means that when mixed the concentrate powder nutrient percentage will be exactly 1/3. As noted, this is not exact due to evaporation of the water in boiling and cooling necessary for the gelling process (as well as contraction of the liquid when cooled). This is a small factor.
Other items do factor-in to determining nutrition per serving as well. I want to clarify two items that, in the context of this discussion, could be misunderstood.
New Life pellets are water stable and have negligible leaching or expansion in water, particularly when used as directed (consume it within a minute or less). However, when asked to compare it the Gel, the intent was to compare “apples to apples” and describe how it would react if used similarly to gel (aka on the tank floor and not consumed immediately).
As originally mentioned in the pasted response, “New Life Spectrum pellets are excellent at retaining their integrity… but this has a SMALL effect.” [emphasis added].
I also want to clarify that all organic materials will gain some volume from digestive juices when being digested. However, this is always negligible. This is particularly true for New Life Spectrum pellets, as we use little wheat. I felt it best to clarify that this is negligible — since the common misconception that pellets can cause bloat by swelling significantly in the stomach (a “popcorn” effect) is a myth.
The question was also asked if the nutrition would be sufficient per serving. Taking into account the intended usage of the Gel is important. It is designed for aquarium animals to graze upon for a longer period of time than pellets. Over the course of this intended feeding period, Gel will provide the proper nutrition, as it is water stable for a long time.
Gel is not for everybody. If your fish happily eat pellets, then stick with that. It is intended as mainly as training food, food for fish that prefer soft foods, and generally an alternative for frozen foods and in circumstances where those would normally be used (and which contain significantly higher water percentage and lower nutrition per serving).
