Tool Reviews

When buying fish, it is important to know what kind of food is sold for them, and to determine in advance what is right for your pets.

Types of fish food

The stores offer a wide range of food.

Fresh food

Some types of fish eat plant foods, it is useful for them to include green vegetables in their diet: peas, cucumber, spinach and lettuce.

Cucumbers can be given raw, peas are best boiled, and spinach and lettuce are boiled to make them soft and better absorbed. Seafood is well suited as food: shrimp, fresh or frozen fish, mussels.

live food

Such food is important to include in the diet of aquarium fish, as it is highly nutritious and contains the necessary minerals and vitamins that are not destroyed by heat treatment.

Fish differ in the way they feed: some collect food from the surface of the water, others feed on the bottom. Therefore, the composition of live food varies. For the first type of fish, aquatic and terrestrial insects are suitable, and for the second – small crustaceans, insect larvae, worms.

Dry food

The stores offer different types of dry food:

• cereals;
• granules;
• tablets.

The flakes are suitable for feeding small fish species. Granules and tablets are designed for larger individuals, so they are produced in different sizes.

There are products to enhance the color, special nutrient formulations with protein for young animals.

Separately, you can take out freeze-dried food – this is a living product (bloodworm, tubifex), dried at a low temperature. With this preparation, excess moisture is removed, and nutrients remain.

frozen food

It is easier for amateur aquarists to feed fish with dry food, but a varied diet has a positive effect on the health of pets, so it is advisable to add fresh or frozen foods to the fish’s diet.

There are the following types of frozen food:

• artemia;
• gammarus;
• daphnia;
• bloodworm;
• Cyclops;
• coretra.

Advantages of fish food

Fresh food

• always have a home at hand;
• contains important vitamins and minerals for fish;
• well absorbed.

live food

The main advantage of live food is its high nutritional value, but more importantly, it satisfies the natural instinct. Fish react much more actively to live, moving food.

Fry of a number of species and even adults do not respond to immobile food; if they are given dry food and nothing else, they will simply starve to death.

Some companies grow the organisms in open systems that are free of fish and other animals to prevent pathogens from entering the feed.

Dry food

Dry food is practically dehydrated, which guarantees a long shelf life and prevents the growth of fungus and mold. Another plus is that it does not pollute the aquarium.

frozen food

Frozen food is irradiated, which leads to cleaning of all kinds of microbes and parasites that affect the fish. Because of this, it is safer to include frozen food in the fish diet than fresh food.

Some species of exotic fish do not eat dry food well and may require bloodworms or tubifex. Good for feeding fry or spawning fish.

Disadvantages of fish food

Fresh food

There are a number of products that in no case should be given to fish, as they contain harmful fats:

1. meat of birds and mammals;
2. bread;
3. cheese and cheese-containing products;
4. biscuit.

live food

• The problem with feeding live food is the likelihood of introducing diseases and parasites into the aquarium. The composition of the product includes living organisms, which often become carriers of viruses, bacteria and various parasites (for example, helminths).

All this can be contained in the water in which live food was collected.

• It is important for the bloodworm to lie down for 3-4 days so that the intestines of the larvae are freed, only after that you can feed the pets. Tubifex should lie down for 5-7 days.

• Coretra is a predator, it should not be fed to spawning fish, as it will eat fry.

Dry food

• When using only dry food, it is easy for fish to overfeed, so it is important to observe portioning.
• If the product tends to swell in water, then it is better to wet it before feeding so that it does not swell in the stomach of the fish.
• When choosing, be guided by the type of pets, the wrong food can provoke animal illness.

frozen food

Frozen food should never be given to fish without first being thawed, as this can lead to hypothermia or damage to the stomach.

Place the frozen product in a net under running water, and then strain to remove any organic residues that needlessly clog the aquarium.

How to choose

The best food for fish is balanced, varied and safe. If you prefer to feed your pets dry food, then you should periodically dilute the diet with fresh, live or frozen.

live food

bloodworm are the larvae of mosquitoes. The larvae are red in color, the size varies from 5 to 25 mm.

• To choose the right bloodworm, first look at the color – it should be bright red and shiny.
• If the bloodworm is pink or light orange, it is still too young and immature. It is low in nutrients.
• If the bloodworm is dark red or burgundy, it is old, and the fish can be poisoned by it.
• Pay attention to the mobility of the bloodworm, when exposed to it, the larvae move and curl up into rings.

Coretra – the larva of a blood-sucking mosquito. Less nutritious than bloodworms, so you can’t feed the fish only with coretra larvae. It floats on the surface or in the water column.

pipe maker – ringed oligochaete worm.

Tubifex larva is light pink in color and very active. It happens that the tubifex is replaced by another worm – lumbriculus. Its color is bright red. Lumbriculus lives in cleaner waters and is therefore less dangerous.

Dry food

• When choosing a dry food, pay attention to the composition, for which fish it is suitable and in what form it is produced (flakes, tablets or granules), since different species eat differently.
• The packaging must be opaque and sealed. High-quality dry product does not clog the aquarium.

frozen food

• Large frozen product briquettes are suitable for large aquariums or aquarium farms. For home use, it is recommended to buy blisters or “chocolates”.
• Packaging in the form of chocolates ensures that the food is not thawed on the road, as it would immediately change its appearance.
• It is worth paying attention to the packaging – foil or Pet allow air to pass through, which contributes to the oxidation of the product. Therefore, you should choose a vacuum one, it prevents the ingress of air and moisture, protects against oxidation and the development of microorganisms inside the package.

Storage

live food

bloodworm

Immediately after buying a bloodworm, be sure to rinse with running water, removing debris and dead larvae, draining the turbidity. Then pack into portions, fold into a wet cloth and put in a flat dish in the refrigerator. You need to wash the bloodworm 2 times a day.

An interesting storage method is to put the larvae in a cloth bag and attach it to the toilet bowl. Thus, the bloodworm will be constantly washed with cold running water.

Coretra

Keep the coretra in the same way as the larvae of the bloodworm: rinse, put in a wet cloth and place in the refrigerator.

Another way is to place the larvae in a bowl of water at the rate of a liter of water per 2 tbsp. spoons of corretra and put the dishes in the refrigerator. Water should be completely changed 2 times a day. With this storage, the product will remain fresh for 3-4 weeks.

pipe maker

The tubifex is recommended to be stored in a container with water, but it should not completely cover the worms. The larvae should be washed with cold running water, while directing the jet so as to break the lump.

Dry food

• The product must be stored in sealed packaging to prevent moisture from entering.
• Another important point is the retention of vitamins in the product, since they tend to be destroyed by light or moisture. Store packages in dark, dry and cool places.

The jar itself should be light-tight with a tight lid. Food is recommended to be stored for no longer than three months, as the content of nutrients gradually decreases.

frozen food

It is stored up to 3 months after freezing, provided that all the rules and regulations for storage and transportation have been observed.

Fish food manufacturers

AD

Japanese manufacturer specializing in natural aquariums. Products belong to the premium class, produced in granules of various sizes, suitable for feeding fish caught from natural reservoirs.

Biodesign

Russian manufacturer of aquariums and fish food. The product passes microbiological control, consists only of natural ingredients, fortified.

Suitable for the main diet, it helps to stimulate the brightness and saturation of the color of the fish. The manufacturer’s feed is recommended by the All-Russian Research Institute of Freshwater Fisheries.

Dennerle

The German company specializes in all kinds of products for aquariums. The food line is designed for different types of fish: fighting, herbivorous, bottom, gold and so on.

The manufacturer claims that it does not include fishmeal. The product is fortified and contains combinations of prebiotics and probiotics with beta-glucan to regulate digestion.

The company claims that their nutrition:

• keeps health;
• enhances color;
• ensures the activity and fertility of fish;
• improves immunity;
• provides high digestibility.

JBL

The production is fully automated, which eliminates the ingress of pathogens into the food. Feed belongs to the premium class, which indicates their high quality.

The range also includes budget options. The line includes food for large and small fish, herbivorous individuals, there is a specialized product for color improvement.

PRODAC

The manufacturer from Italy offers a wide range of food for aquarium fish, taking into account their type, size and special needs. The product consists of natural ingredients and is available in various forms:

• sticks;
• granules;
• cereals.

The food is fortified and contains the optimal combination of fiber, fats and proteins.

Sera

The company produces food for both freshwater and marine fish in aquariums, as well as those kept in ponds. The range of products is presented for each ornamental fish separately and corresponds to the natural diet.

Sera basic nutrition is divided into 3 groups:

1. universal;
2. for the brightness of the color;
3. vegetable.

On the packaging, the manufacturer indicates what type of food the product is intended for: bottom, in the water column or near the surface. The size of the granules takes into account the size of the fish.

Tetra

The world’s first developer of ready-made fish food in the form of flakes. Specializes in several areas:

• food for freshwater, marine and pond fish, reptiles and crustaceans;
• water care;
• care of aquatic plants;
• aquariums and goods for them;
• drugs for ornamental fish.

The main feed includes more than 40 components, they supply the fish with the necessary nutrients and vitamins. Release forms – granules, chips or flakes. Ancillary products make the diet more varied.

Specialized food is designed for certain types of fish (cichlids, discus, labyrinth fish, guppies, predators and herbivores).

When developing, the size and type of food (bottom, surface or in the water column) are taken into account. Among the specialized feeds, food is presented to enhance the color.

Zoomir

The main areas are food and treats for rodents, birds, fish and reptiles, secondary – water care products, plants and accessories for aquariums.

The composition of the product for fish is based on small aquatic organisms, insect larvae, algae and other plant components. The line includes monocomponent feeds, mixtures, granules and flakes.

The diet includes the necessary vitamins and minerals, micro and macro elements.

“Zoomir” has developed food for individual fish species and universal products for aquariums with different species. Specialized foods include natural pigments to give the fish a more vibrant color.

The manufacturers have come up with a special “weekend food” that provides a gradual supply of food to the aquarium, even if you are not at home. Designed for up to two weeks.

Wardley

It produces food for ornamental and pond fish and reptiles. The company claims that in the nutrition of their preparations:

• only natural ingredients are used;
• added multivitamin mixture;
• introduced a new stabilized form of vitamin C, which is less susceptible to oxidation.

Products are available in several forms:

• flaky,
• granular,
• in the form of discs
• sublimated,
• liquid.

The company has also developed special slow-dissolving feeds.

Advertising from sponsors: //
// //