How to choose aquarium fish foods.
Just as there are a huge variety of fish species that can be kept in an aquarium there are almost just as many feeds and supplements available. These foodstuffs may be of a general type suitable for all or many different types of fish or they may be tailor made for the special dietary requirements or specialized feeding habits of just one or a small group of fishes. Like all living things, fish need the right type, quantity and quality of food if they are to grow, remain healthy and fight disease. The simple guide below will help you to choose the right food or feeds for the occupants of your aquarium.

Staple Foods.
It is essential that foods given to the fish be comprised of material that will provide all the building blocks of life, Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats together with correctly balanced vitamins, minerals and trace elements. So-called “Staple Foods” have been formulated to provide all these and are, in theory complete so that no other food needs to be given. It is, however, recommended that a variety of different foods are given to make it more interesting for the fish and to provide dietary variety. Staple foods are available in both Flake and Pellet versions and in versions for fish from different environments such as Tropical, Coldwater and Marine fish. It is important to feed the correct type to your fish as they are formulated to provide the correct nutrient balance for those fish that have evolved in vastly different environments.

Colour Foods.
Part of our fascination with aquarium fish is the beautiful and many varied colours that nature has endowed them with. It is possible to enhance these living jewels further by feeding colour foods. These foods contain ingredients (Often Beta Carotene) that will promote richer colours and are particularly effective on fish that are predominantly red or blue in colour. Colour food is commonly available in flake form although some manufacturers do produce a pellet version. As most colour foods are staple foods with the extra colour enhancing ingredients added, then they can be fed instead of the basic staple food.

Vegetable Foods.
Some fishes have evolved to require high proportions of vegetable material in their diet. Typically these fish would be algae grazers or plant eaters. Most staple feeds do not contain a high enough proportion of vegetable material to satisfy the requirements of these fish and so it is necessary to supplement their diet with the addition of vegetable foods. Flaked and pelleted vegetable foods are recommended for all coldwater fish, especially fancy varieties and can help to prevent swim bladder and buoyancy problems. Rift Valley Cichlids and many species of Marine fish also require additional vegetable material. Algae tablets or discs are available for algae grazing sucker mouthed catfish. A reason for high mortality rates in juvenile Plecostomus catfish is lack of sufficient vegetable material in their diet and can be easily avoided.

High Protein Foods.
High Protein foods are usually in pellet style and are used to promote quick growth in juvenile fish. Care must be taken to introduce other food types to Juvenile fish as an exclusive high protein diet can cause physical complications associated with a dietary imbalance. Fish that are predominantly carnivorous will also benefit from the addition of a high protein feed to their staple diet.

Frozen Foods.
Frozen foods are a popular way of increasing the variety of foodstuff in fish’s diets. A large range is available including items that are suitable for all fish types and some that are specifically for certain types of fish. Store these foods in a plastic container in the freezer to avoid contact with human foodstuffs and to avoid “Freezer Burn” (Dehydration and deterioration of any exposed food caused by the dry chill air in the freezer) . “Blister Pack” frozen foods are the easiest to use as they present small lozenge size packets of food that can be used individually without opening the rest. Usually the food lozenge, once liberated from its packet is simply dipped into the aquarium water where it quickly thaws and is distributed liberally around the aquarium by the currents within. If placed in a container then vitamin drops can be added to the food providing additional benefit to the fish that consume it. A small risk of transmission of microscopic pathogenic organisms such as bacteria is present when using frozen foods. This risk is eliminated if the food is Gamma ray irradiated prior to freezing and foods so treated are recommended for delicate or expensive fish such as Marines and Discus.

Dry Foods.
Dry foods are another popular way of increasing feeding variety and like frozen foods they are ideal for the addition of vitamin drops that are quickly soaked up when added prior to feeding. The most popular of these are dried Bloodworm and Tubifex other varieties are commonly available including Krill, which is ideal for feeding to larger fish species.

Treat Foods.
Treat foods are for occasional use and are not usually suitable for replacing a staple food. Fish treats often contain ingredients that many fish find particularly appealing and promote great feeding frenzy when added. “Stick on the glass” tablet treats are popular as is the range of small packet treats from Tetra containing traditional treat foods such as Bloodworm in a nutritious jelly.

Live Foods.
Live foods are a traditional treat food the most common of which are Bloodworm, Tubifex Daphnia and Brineshrimp. They are useful for promoting breeding condition and can ease digestive problems (Sometimes evident by trailing strings of faeces) associated with the wrong diet or insufficient dietary variety. They are sold in small liquid filled bags and it is important that this liquid is not poured into the aquarium with the live food. This is because the liquid is full of pollutants and other undesirables. First pour the contents into a net and rinse carefully under the coldwater tap before upending the contents of the net into the aquarium. Even after rinsing there remains a risk that live food can transmit disease causing pathogenic organisms and for this reason many aquarists choose not to feed live food under any circumstances. Myxazin, a chemical produced by Waterlife Research can be used to sterilize live food and minimize the risk of disease transmission.

Fry Foods.
Either planned or otherwise, the aquarist may be faced on occasion with the splashing of tiny fins as some amorous fish couple produce offspring. After the baby fish, called Fry, have consumed their yolk sac, natures way of ensuring that they get a few feeds as they get to know their way around, they will look for food in the aquarium. Food given to mature occupants of the aquarium will probably be of incorrect size and of the wrong composition nutritionally. It is possible to powder good quality flake food and high protein foods which will be taken readily, especially by most Livebearer fry, which are usually bigger than fry hatched from eggs. Dried egg yolk is a traditional fry food but should be used with caution as it is easy to pollute the aquarium water if too much is added. Interpet produce liquifry, a specially formulated fry food which is available in versions for both Livebearers and Egg Layers.

Speciality Foods.
In addition to all the foods above there are many other speciality foods. These include Discus food, Rift Valley Cichlid food, Catfish pellets, foods for large fish, foods for Livebearers and so on. Speciality foods are finely blended to take into account the very specific dietary requirements of a particular fish species and are, therefore, recommended.

General Feeding Tips.
At Lifeforceonline we recommend that you purchase foods made by well known, established manufacturers so that you can be assured of a quality product. Always choose a food appropriate to the size and species of your fish. Most staple flake foods contain flakes of a size that cannot immediately be consumed because they are too large so break them up in the palm of your hand before offering to the fish. Too large flakes may be ignored and be a cause of pollution. Feed only small amounts of food once or twice a day, ignore manufacturers instructions to feed more than this as their primary concern is to promote more product. Not overfeeding is a cardinal rule and overfeeding is the single biggest cause of fish losses. Surplus food in the system will pollute the aquarium water resulting in deteriorating conditions leaving fish weakened and susceptible to disease. Remember our motto, “Hungry Fish Are Happy Fish !!”