Repashy Superfood (for cichlids)?

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Yes Ed, in a natural setting, feeding on natural foods, that would be correct. But if one is going to feed a commercial dry diet, what possible gains is there by adding such a high amount of tap water? If nutrient levels & gains in growth are important factors, which I assume they are, all one has to do is look at commercial hatcheries. No one is feeding gel foods, everyone is feeding pellet foods.

IMO you would be far better off, and it would be far less costly, to feed your homemade mix vs a commercial dry powder reconstituted with tap water. Either way, it's still messy business if one is feeding it as the main staple.
 
Ted Judy is a well known hobbyist and delivers a great speaker program. I am sure the food he is endorsing has merits. It seems to be eagerly eaten by many fish. But at the price charged for the food ($32/pound), my fish would be eating better than me. LOL!
 
There are lots of very experienced fish keepers that don't know anything beyond the basic fundamentals when it comes to the science of fish nutrition.

$32 a pound? :WHOA:
 
In all fairness, 1lb of powder makes 3 pounds of mush. ;)
 
Hi Everyone,

I would just like to clarify a few things since I personally developed the formulas......

First, as far as nutritional analysis, with, or without water. The water content is irrelevant. All scientific comparisons are made using DMB "Dry Matter Basis" Products that are sold premixed with water are required for labeling purposes to report the moisture content of the product. Dry products must report on their labels the nutrient levels "As sold" Mazuri provides both levels in their secondary publications for convenience so that it can be compared to hydrated meat products.

Most living organisms are 80-85% water.

Saying that water reduces the level of protein in a food is silly. That is like saying if you have a glass of water with your meal, that you are reducing your protein intake. The water level is irrelevant. it does not effect digestion of nutrients and is actually a lot more natural than feeding something that is dehydrated because it has to pull water from whatever is eating it saturate it before it can be digested. A naturally hydrated product is much easier to digest for this reason.

A dried flake food, a second or two after it hits the water, is saturated to the same level as the gel. A pellet is slower to absorb water, but quickly will also be 2/3 water. The fact that pellets do not absorb water quickly is one of the negative things about pellets. Consuming dry food is not natural for fish, reptiles or even us.

Secondly, I do not use gelatin in my formulas. Gelatin is primarily collagen, a poorly digestible protein. Gelatin also has to be refrigerated to "set" the gel. My formula uses a combination of soluble plant fiber gums and I have come up with a combination that is less than 5% of the formula. This allows me to use no glutens, starches, or any other poorly digestible ingredients in my formulas.

Thirdly, the formulas posted in this thread are one of my beta testing formulas and there have been some minor but important changes since then.

I am actually finishing up my press release tomorrow, as well as updating my website, so a lot more information about the products will be available very soon. The official release of the line is February 1st, so Ted jumped the gun as far as me having much information online, or having the final formulas and analysis on my site. I worked with quite a few breeders and hobbyists developing the line and using their useful feedback to fine tune the formulas and it was a big help. Those of you who might know me from the reptile hobby will already know how important real world breeder and keeper feedback is to me. I spent a lot of time working on this new line, and think that if you guys give it a try, you will find it has a lot to offer. I do not claim that it will replace flake or pellet foods, but I do believe that in many situations, it is better than either.

It really is easy to make, and am quite interested in hearing feedback of all kinds, from anyone who tries it. I wouldn't have moved forward on this project if it wasn't for the encouragement of the people who tested it. I never rest, and consider my products under constant development, I have spent considerable time researching and sourcing my ingredients and have a no expense spared philosophy when it comes to selection.

Thanks for listening! Allen Repashy
 
Hi Allen,

I was wondering how long it would take before someone sent you an SOS.
First off, welcome to MFK. :)

First, as far as nutritional analysis, with, or without water. The water content is irrelevant. All scientific comparisons are made using DMB "Dry Matter Basis" Products that are sold premixed with water are required for labeling purposes to report the moisture content of the product.
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Correct, and on that note can you please provide the members here with a nutritional analysis based on the finished product designed for carnivores, as in once the dry powder has been reconstituted with tap water? Thanks.


This allows me to use no glutens, starches, or any other poorly digestible ingredients in my formulas.
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First off, starch is not necessarily poorly digestible, unless excessive amounts are being utilized by the manufacturer. Almost all species of fish studied to date can utilize some starch in their diet, some much more efficiently than others. Secondly, your foods do in fact contain starch. Kelp, peas, alfalfa, rice, corn flour, etc, - all found in your ingredient lists, and all contain starch.

You might also want to inform Ted that peas also contain anti-nutritional matter (I believe he used the term growth inhibiting substances in his video) just as soybeans do. In both cases these can be reduced by processing (heat) and of course in the form of isolate this becomes mostly a non issue, which I'm sure you already know.

BTW - I don't believe that anyone stated that digestion of nutrients is affected by the water volume in a food, but if the level of food consumed by a fish is reduced due to the overall water volume in the food, as in satiation levels are reached quicker, this of course can reduce overall nutrient intake, including protein. The fish stops eating because it "feels" full. That's not being silly. Try drinking 6 glasses of water, then see how hungry you are for your high protein dinner.

Best of luck with your new line of foods.
 
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