What is an aquarium fish feed

  What is an aquarium fish feed

Aquarium fish feed is plant or animal material intended for consumption by pet fish kept in aquariums or ponds. Fish foods normally contain macronutrients, trace elements and vitamins necessary to keep captive fish in good health. Approximately 80% of fishkeeping hobbyists feed their fish exclusively prepared foods that most commonly are produced in flake, pellet or tablet form.Pelleted forms, some of which sink rapidly, are often used for larger fish or bottom feeding species such as loaches or catfish. Some fish foods also contain additives such as sex hormones or beta carotene to artificially enhance the color of ornamental fish.

There are two types of foods for fish,

                1. prepared foods 

                2. Live foods 

What are prepared foods, 

Prepared foods are those foods that are non-living and are made by the aquarist or bought already prepared for consumption for fish. 

What are Live foods,

Live fish food include earthworms, sludge worms, water fleas, bloodworms, and feeder fish. Food for larvae and young fish include infusoria (Protozoa and other microorganisms), newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms. These are the most preferred type of food for fishes, but are difficult to get. However, freeze dried forms of earthworms, tubifex etc. are available now

Prepared foods

 

Dry foods,

Flake food is a type of proprietary or artificially manufactured fish food consumed by a wide variety of tropical and saltwater fish and invertebrates. It is ideally suited to top dwellers and mid-water fish though numerous bottom dwelling species consume flake food once it has settled on the bottom. Flake food is baked to remove moisture, ensuring a longer shelf life.Generally the more moisture a particular example of fish food contains, the more readily it will deteriorate in quality. Dry foods are also available as pellets, sticks, tablets, granules, and wafers, manufactured to float or sink, depending on the species they are designed to feed.

 

Vacation food,

Vacation foods, also known as "food blocks" (or "weekend blocks" for smaller versions), are designed to be placed inside theaquarium to forgo feeding while the owner is absent. These blocks release small amounts of food as they dissolve. Food blocks can be a good choice for smaller tropical fish, but can pollute the water if the tank is neglected for too long.

 

 

 

Medicated fish food,

Medicated fish food is a safe and effective method to deliver medication to fish. One advantage is that medicated food does not contaminate the aquatic environment and also, unlike bath treatments, does not negatively affect fish, filtration and algae growth in the aquarium. The parasites will get treated spot on by medicated food, because the fish is ingesting it

Freeze-dried and frozen fish diets,

Freeze-dried and frozen fish foods were primarily developed for tropical and marine fish and are useful in providing variety to the diet or specialist feeding needs of some species.These include tubifex worms, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, water fleas along with brine shrimp.

 

 

 

 

 

Frozen fish food,

Perishable food can be preserved by frozen storage, and is often sold in blister packs or resealable packets. These can contain a variety of ingredients such as bloodworms, Daphnia, or brine shrimp, and are commonly used to feed such fish as Discus which require a high protein diet. Often fed on beef heart fish food within the aquaculture industry, the discus fish are not the only fish which can benefit from a high quality prepared frozen mixture such as beef heart, although by far these are the fish most associated with this particular frozen food.

Live foods 

 

 

Live fish food is a type of fish food that is fed to fish in its live form. It triggers instinctual feeding habits of fish. The movement of live food, such as a wiggling worm, makes it irresistible for even the pickiest feeders. 

 

While the majority of fish keepers feed exclusively dry aquarium fish food to their fish, professional breeders often incorporate live fish food as part of the fishes’ diet.

 

It is true that aquarium fish food that are manufactured by most leading brands are formulated to meet all of the basic nutritional requirements of fish. However, live fish food provides something that the dry pellet and flake food does not. Here are some benefits to live fish food, and reasons why they are necessary:

• Fish that have been introduced from the wild are not accustomed to eating dry food. These fish will most likely require live food for a period of time. Some fish may beable to acclimate to dry feed and require live food indefinitely.

• Newborn fry need to learn to eat dry food. However, when they see a small organism wiggling in front of them, they know it’s food by instinct. They chase after it and swallow it immediately.

• Newborn fry of many fish species are extremely small. Due to their small size, they are mechanically limited in what they can eat. When finely crushed flake food is not small enough, live fish food may be necessary.

• Adult fish that regularly eat dry feed may still need live fish food to breed. Even if the nutritional content is present in the pellet feed, sometimes they simply require the live food to convince them to breed.

• Many live fish food contain a high percentage protein content, as well as other nutritional components. Due to the highest nutritional content retained in live foods, it is beneficial for various fish of different stages.

 

As a word of caution, live food can be a host to parasites, diseases, and contaminants. Only live food collected from a trusted source should be used. It is always better to cultivate your own live food when possible, since it can be better managed and controlled. In addition, cultivating your own live food is often more cost effective in the long term.

 

Live fish food include earthworms, sludge worms, water fleas, bloodworms, and feeder fish. Food for larvae and young fish include infusoria (Protozoa and other microorganisms), newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms. These are the most preferred type of food for fishes, but are difficult to get. However, freeze dried forms of earthworms, tubifex etc. are available now. 

How can we make our own live fish food, 

Mealworms can be kept alive for extended periods in trays filled with scraps and wheat bran along with a good lid, and glass shrimps can be kept in a well-aerated tank for several weeks. For smaller fish, daphnia and brineshrimp are ideal for breeding and raising at home.

Why we should use live fish food,

Prepared foods are definitely more convenient and less expensive. However, Live Fish Food has several advantages that prepared foods don’t