gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 How do you determine if you are using a good fish food? Admin Note: The purpose of this is not to discuss specific brands in either a positive or negative light. Please keep brands or allusions to brands out of this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Tschumy Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I recently changed my fish food of choice. Product A was good, had no issues with it. Thought i would try Product B. The fish go crazy for product B, even go as far as sifting through the gravel to get every last bit. The colour of the fish even seems better with Product B, plus it is cheaper, so in my mind Product B is a good fish food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldrag76 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 using the stir test . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daydream Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 List of ingredients try to match to digestive system ie high veg content for vegos as their digestive track is long and high animal proteins tend to block digestive track.High protein for carnivores and omnivores as a shorter digestive track is not as capable of processing vegetable proteins.Floating or sinking dep on sp feeding habits.As well as smell and taste. Another important factor for me is what is the waste like and how much maintenance will it produce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I recently changed my fish food of choice. Product A was good, had no issues with it. Thought i would try Product B. The fish go crazy for product B, even go as far as sifting through the gravel to get every last bit. The colour of the fish even seems better with Product B, plus it is cheaper, so in my mind Product B is a good fish food. I am going to play devil's advocate a bit.... As far as fish going crazy for a feed, is that relevant? My kids go crazy over chocolate but never broccoli... Is chocolate a better for my kids? Colour can raise other issues, as a measure, what does that mean for colour enhancers.... some food will give you real popping colours, even to your female malawis..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Tschumy Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Both Product A and B are designed for malawi cichlids. Product A did make the water dirtier than Product B and i have seen stir test results to back this up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lgw Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Lots of research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee-cee Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) If a product doesn't have a full list ingredients I tend to steer away from it. I look at the first 5 or so ingredients and if they are mostly fillers such as wheat products or ash or the protein is not derived from aquatic creatures its no good IMO. I look at the colour and overall health of the fish after prolonged feeding of the product. There is no point feeding a different product for a few weeks then making the call. It needs to be fed exclusively for months to reach a decision. Growth rate and fry deformities need to be observed also. I personally have been using a certain product for years and was very happy with it. Changed to a different product to try to cut costs and found the fish went nuts for it but they didn't seem as bright after a few months. The fry didn't appear to grow as fast or colour up as well as when on my normal brand either. Although price comes into it you can't get quality on the cheap. Edited January 30, 2015 by Lee-cee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bulldrag76 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) product A is designed for multiple fish not just Malawi cichlids and designed buy scientists and probably one of the most widely used and recomended products in the world this is what helps me choose the best food for all my varied types of fish . so i guess reputation ,ingredients ,performance ,colour and lack of deformity's in my fish are the guidelines i use to choose, the food i feed my fish not price .it also helps if multiple brands try to compare there product to product A that tells me product A is the bench mark Edited January 30, 2015 by bulldrag76 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I find stir tests interesting, as it is a scientific based test, but then I wonder if it really matters. I keep altos and really worry about how hard a feed is and hence a test that gives a worse result may satisfy me more as it may be just softer. (I worry about hardness as one of the reasons that may cause rhino in my fish). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellows Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I only use the best brands and by how quick the fish eat such foods Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yellows Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 http://www.qldaf.com/forums/tech-den-127/compare-nls-grow-sorry-i-must-appologise-115740/ Is this the stir test everyone is talking about Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bully Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Well if I like the taste of it then.!.!.! Edited January 30, 2015 by Bully Come on, not really...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 http://www.qldaf.com/forums/tech-den-127/compare-nls-grow-sorry-i-must-appologise-115740/ Is this the stir test everyone is talking about To my understanding - yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well if I like the taste of it then.!.!.! Can't knock this as a test............. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 List of ingredients try to match to digestive system ie high veg content for vegos as their digestive track is long and high animal proteins tend to block digestive track.High protein for carnivores and omnivores as a shorter digestive track is not as capable of processing vegetable proteins.Floating or sinking dep on sp feeding habits.As well as smell and taste. Another important factor for me is what is the waste like and how much maintenance will it produce. Worth reading twice..... does not matter how many years you keep in a tank, that does not change the length of digestive tracks.. a.raises the question that the best feed cannot be discussed without mentioning the species??????.... maybe..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brodie-S/A-C Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I normally just jump on the band wagon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
raycam01_au Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 I make my own Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AussieAndy Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 What the guy at the fish shop recomended I know no better, and the fish seem happy. I trust Steve, he appears to have a good name around the traps and talks just the right amount of bullsh!t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grover65k Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well if I like the taste of it then.!.!.! My vote is for [MENTION=4220]Bully[/MENTION] 's method! But, I suppose I don't really count as a I buy my GPG fish food at ALDI (where they try to palm it off as "human" food) - peas, beans, grapes, lettuce, zucchini, cherry tomatoes, etc. etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danfishy84 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Quality of the ingredients and the visible health of my fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heintz.G Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 Well if I like the taste of it then.!.!.! Yep I do the same, only problem is all dried food tastes the same even dog treats lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
litigator666 Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 as long as they are cheap. I fed my fish pork heart (Inala), marina mix (Inala), rats (if i see baby rats on gumtree) and basa fillets (costco/aldi). Pellets as treats if i have extra money. before i was buying whole salmons just for them, but priorities change and they learn to eat what's on offer otherwise, they'll die. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frannles Posted January 30, 2015 Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 The list of ingredients (less fillers more protein sources) and the crude analysis. Then buy a small pack and see if the fish like it. If they like it, I'll stick with it and buy big packs of it and use it as staple. Then I go to asian market like inala and buy frozen bay prawns. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
