The Truth About Fish Food Nutrition Myths

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Nope, not much research on fish nutrition. Except a quick search using Google Scholar for "Nutritional requirements of ornamental fish" returns about 23,500 papers, articles and books. Have a look http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q...amental+fish&btnG=&hl=en&as_sdt=1,33&as_vis=1

Just a few examples of what you can find. I limited this list to the 7,800 such publications since 2014:

Growth, Oxygen Consumption, and Behavioral Responses of Danio rerio to Variation in Dietary Protein and Lipid Levels
Effects of digestible protein to energy ratios on growth and carcass chemical composition of siamese fighting fish (Betta splendens)
Dietary modulation of immune response and related gene expression profiles in mirror carp (Cyprinus carpio) using selected exotic feed ingredients
Diets supplemented with glutamate or glutamine improve protein retention and modulate gene expression of key enzymes of hepatic metabolism in gilthead seabream
Effects of different commercial diets on growth performance, health and resistance to Tetrahymena sp. infection in guppies, Poecilia reticulata (Peters)
Influence of Endocel and Rogor on serum free amino acid and total protein level in Clarias batrachus (Linn.).
Dietary Iron Requirement of Goldfish, Carassius auratus
Biological Performance of Pterophyllum scalare larvae Fed on Artemia and Artificial Diet
Performance of Different Dietary Lipids on Growth Indices and Survival of Striped Gourami, Colisa fasciatus (Perciformes: Osphronemidae) Fry
Effect of three different feeds on the growth and survival of sailfin molly Poecilia latipinna (Lesueur, 1821)
Dietary biotin requirement for growth of juvenile zebrafish Danio rerio (Hamilton‐Buchanan)
Larval feeding behaviour of angel fish Pterophyllum scalare (Cichlidae) fed copepod Eucyclops serrulatus and cladoceran Ceriodaphnia quadrangula
Partial characterisation of digestive proteases of the Mayan cichlid Cichlasoma urophthalmus





 
RD. I got that part and was just restating for clarification. My question was about whether or not any terrestrial plant matter was a good ingredient to include in food formulations. I thought peas had a positive effect on fish in some applications (constipation?) And was wondering if having them in the staple diet was beneficial.
Two tanks: that is quite a list, I will peruse it and look forward to other's comments
 
LOL, I think you missed my point, 2 tank. The key words being "in detail". In other words, overall there are very few ornamental species that have been studied anywhere near where we are currently at with commercial species such as trout, salmon, catfish, etc. Most of the info used to formulate feed for ornamental species is extrapolated from studies involving commercial species raised for human consumption, and with cost savings at the forefront of most of those commercial studies one needs to know how to read between the lines, and sometimes think outside of the box. Having worked within the tropical feed industry for close to a decade I'm well aware of this better than most, and have personally read enough related studies to sink a small ship. :)

If for example I was to ask (the scholars) what the ideal range of nutrient levels would be for a very common fish found at most LFS (Amphilophus citrinellus or A. labiatus (or a hybrid of the two - Midevil) nobody would be able to provide me with specific details on what is the optimum levels required for these fish when kept long term in captivity. Not crude protein, lipids, carbs, or any of the various vitamins and/or minerals. Nobody could do this, and this is a species of fish that has probably been studied more than any other cichlid in existence. Obviously there are numerous papers involving various aspects of aquaculture, including those involving various nutrients, but a complete nutrient profile for specific ornamental species is a rare thing for the vast majority of species of fish kept in captivity. No one is receiving bazillion $ grants to do that kind of research.

Hopefully that helps clear that up.....
 
Aquanero said:
Welcome to MFK. Can you site the source of the information you posted? While none of it is really new information, I would be interested in reading more. I agree with ichthyogeek regarding the differences in digestive systems in herbivorous vs carnivorous fishes. I also agree that scales and bones are good source of minerals for predatory fish.

I will be watching this thread with interest ;).

While you are welcome to post and participate in the forum it is advisable to obtain vendor status. All references or links to your business will be removed until then. Violations of the TOS will be regarded as spam henceforth.
Click to expand...


Hi Tom,
I am the author of the information posted, it was originally written for our Aquarist Quarterly Club newsletter, and I am currently expanding this for publication in Tropical Fish Hobbyist. (Thank you all for the questions and feedback which are helping me develop this) If you look under white papers from our site there are many studies for laboratory feed tests done for the Pfiesteria projects at NIH, along with several studies on gluten in aquaculture feed were the basis for our studies and claims.

Aqua-Pharm is interested in become a sponsor/vender member. I am sorry if I overstepped the TOS boundaries in my introduction to this group and look forward to contributing personally as a member of these forums.

As for the comment on bones and scale boing a good source of minerals and calcium for fish. This is true, but the amount needed of these minerals in small compared to the amount that get eating live fish. In other word fish can only assimilated (convert to bio-mass) about .01% of the total gross volume of live foods mineral and calcium content. The rest just becomes a burden on the filtration system. Same is true of excess fiber and cellulose from herbivore eaters. In most larger bodies of water this is normal and feeds other life forms down the food chain line to smaller fish, invertebrates and even micro-organisims. In recirculating environments this excess material becomes a liability especially in dense populations or in systems that are using basic biologic filtration with out the aid of mechanical filtration. So if you feed your a fish 10 grams of food per week and it converts 2 grams to bio-mass and passes 8 grams as wasted, filtration must reclaim the 8 grams of waste. If you can feed the same fish 5 grams of food to gain the same 2 grams of bio-mass, filtration must only reclaim 3 grams of waste, or about 1/3 of the waste. Conversely if you are trying to grow out fish fast for fun or profit the same 10 grams would yield 4 grams of bio-mass and 6 grams of waste. This means a 200% increase in growth and a 50% reduction in waste reclamation/ filtration burden.


Kind regards,
Gary
 
Thanks for the reply Gary. I'm looking forward to seeing Aqua-Pharm coming on board. TFH is a great magazine, good luck.
 
Where would I find this food, I am interested in giving it a try, I feed hikari and New life primarily
 
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