What is the best cichlid fish food pellets and flakes?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Just goes to show easily duped the average consumer is. IMHO Cobalt is one of the most overpriced new foods on the market.

8lb's cost $187.99 on Big Al's website, and the 3rd ingredient listed by dry weight in the formulas that I looked at is freakin soybean meal! WTF? And for that they want $500.00 if one buys it in a 30 lb bulk box. That's $200 more than 30 lb's of a premium food that doesn't contain any soybean meal, or corn starch.

Dr Foster & Smith have (or at least had) the 8lb pails on sale for $125.89 (probably because they are not moving) but even at those prices their food is still a LOT more than some of the other premium brands out there.

Ingredients
Salmon Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Brewer's Yeast, Corn Starch, Freeze Dried Plankton, Freeze Dried Krill, Dry Spirulina Algae, Dried Yeast, Natural Astaxanthin, Lecithin, Fish Oil, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Vitamin B1 Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Biotin, Dried Brine Shrimp, Dried Kelp, Beta-Glucan, Spray Dried Egg, Garlic Powder, Earthworm Powder, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (source of stabilized Vitamin C), Calcium Carbonate, Vitamin E Supplement, D1 Calcium Pantothenate, Niacin, D-Biotin, Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Dried Bacillus subtilis Fermentation Product, Dried Bacillus licheniformis Fermentation Product, Methionine and Natural Coloring.




As far as the probiotics that they use, those are the most common spores of the Bacillus genus out there (Bacillus subtilis and Bacillus licheniformis) the exact same bacteria can be found in the vast majority of common houshold septic cleaners. I can treat 350 gallons of tank water for a little over $1 a month, and have a far greater variation of non-pathogenic probiotic bacteria working in my system.

BTW - Hikari uses the same bacteria in their Bio-Gold formula, and they too charge an arm & a leg for that formula. Probiotic bacteria is not only found in dirt, it's dirt cheap, if you know where to look. ;)
 
RD. said:
Feeding LESS is something that I have also promoted for many years. And I agree, there are a variety of good-enough fish food products currently on the market that will all get the job done. I personally believe that there are those that have a nutritional edge over others, but as far as feeding freshwater species goes most of the more premium brands will keep ones fish in relative good health over the long haul.
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I agree with that also. To some degree, efforts by some manufacturers to improve fish food over the years has been a win-win imo, compared to the quality of foods years ago. At least from my experience there's far less need to supplement a quality staple food to achieve best results with some species, like discus, that were conventionally considered 'difficult'.

On the other hand, there's also a lot of research and experimentation and a lot of literature concerned with substituting other products for aquatic based proteins, with mixed results from what I read regarding tolerance levels among different species for some of the terrestrial plant or grain based ingredients. While the (stated) initial objective of such testing is to determine at what percentages such ingredients are tolerated by the fish or at what levels they begin to inhibit growth or survival rates, the trouble with many of such tests is they are typically very short term, often on the order of six weeks or perhaps a few months. I find the aquaculture studies interesting, but I'm most influenced by the fact that in the food testing and comparison I've done for myself results were obviously better with some foods than others and the common denominator to the poorer foods was nearly always more starch and grain ingredients, as indicated on the label. Makes me resistant to trying some of the newer products that list what to my eyes appears to be an excessive number of grain products as ingredients.
 
I use NLS, 5lbs for 50$
Does the job without breaking the bank.

you can supplement with other things for more specific needs.
 
Not going to get all ocd and find and put in quotes RD's point about high protein and fat a page or two ago, but I agree with the point (I think) he's making there also, that protein % isn't the end all/be all of fish food. IMO one of the best/simplest explanations I've read of grain vs. aquatic protein and the concept of excess protein is this University of Florida article on "ideal protein".


scarecrow1f9 said:
SEE WHAT YOU STARTED BEERAD? ARE YOU HAPPY?? : P
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That's a food thread for you. :D
 
Hikari Food Sticks (floating). Says ideal for Top Feeding Carnivores. My Jacks and Piranhas love these!!
 
krustyart said:
I went to the Global Pet Expo recently and was impressed by the presentation of three different food lines. Omega One, Ocean Nutrition and Cobalt. All gave me samples. My cichlids are all very finicky eaters. They are hogs when they like something that is not good for them and snobs when if feed them something that is "Good" for them. Cobalt "color" was one of the samples I got. My fish tore into both the pellets and the flakes. By the fifth day all my fish were noticeably more colorful. Not just in the red Carotenoid storage but in the blue and green iridophore colors. I don't know of any other food that has dormant spores of probiotic bacteria species that match the species actually found in wild fish. Bacteria that is often missing in fish that have been bred in captivity and have been medicated for generations. I am sold on the fact that restoring this gut life has had a beneficial effect on my fish and even if you don't want to feed Cobalt regularly you should get a small container of any type of it and use it to restore those two species of bacteria in your fish. I did grill the bio-engineer about how they kept the spores alive in dry form and the temperatures used during processing and when in the process spores are added etc, and he seemed to be able to answer all of my questions with answers that at least sounded plausible to someone(me) without a biology type degree. I used Cobalt Color but there is also a Cobalt Cichlid and several other types. I also noticed that my fish were able to swallow the Cobalt pellets easier than some other pellets of the same size.
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Never said I was in LOVE with Cobalt. Only that my fish LIKED it and they did color up quickly after using it. It DOES have a lot of dry weight carbohydrates and that's a red flag. On the plus side, my very mild Thai-Silk Flowerhorn who never picks on anyone or tries to out compete anyone for food will bully the other fish when I feed Cobalt to get first shot at her few mouthfuls.
 
Not trying to hijack the discussion at all, but has anyone found a quality (preferably large) pellet that sinks? I haven't been able to find any at stores in my area. Several claim to sink, yet somehow remain floating for days until removed.

I ask because my SA/CA's seem strange in that they simply will not eat off the top of the water.

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