Hikari gets a lot of hate, but I've been using their foods for decades at this point. I feed a mix of everything that is appropriately sized that way my fish get a varied diet, but even within a certain brand, each food can have vastly different ingredients. Vibra bites for example are a great food that all my fish will absolutely attack (including my 7 inch female dovii when I feed it to her babies), that also has good ingredients for the price. But because of the hikari name a lot of people might not give it a second glance. You really have to look at each food individually and not the brand so much. I like bug bites cichlid formula as well for the black soldier fly larva protein. I have fish of all shapes and sizes, so I like to buy in bulk from Amazon. I use a lot of hikari. First bites, micro pellets, vibra bites, mini cichlid gold, medium cichlid gold, and algae wafers. Also bug bites, different flake foods, a lot of tetra color tropical granules, different sizes of omega one freeze dried shrimp, freeze dried blood worms, and the occasional NLS cichlid pellets. All of these foods have done great for me for years and don't break the bank. Healthy, happy fish, and always tons of breeding activity usually starting from a young age. Check out some of Aquarium co-op's videos about fish foods, a lot of good advice there from Cory. I believe many people put too much thought into it. As long as you aren't buying bottom shelf foods they are all pretty close. The best fish food is always the one your fish will eat. That's why I like to try all different kinds.