I tried grinding Wheaties cereal into my discus foods. I noticed that the ingredients are protein rich but later I wondered if the sugar content would harm the fish. So I stopped.
I often read that people feed "high quality flake"
What constitutes high quality? Brand? Protein content?
I tried grinding Wheaties cereal into my discus foods. I noticed that the ingredients are protein rich but later I wondered if the sugar content would harm the fish. So I stopped.
If you read the ingredients a lot of makers use a lot of fillers I use new life spectrum, quality ingredients, high protein just an all around good food. Dee
@ peewee
Yeah... I wouldn't do that.
And I believe the high protein in discus food is generally meat/fish
There used to be a good website on this called oscarfish.com, but I can't get it to come up. Anyways, it's mostly about trying to limit the amount of wheat, corn, and other land based starches in the food. It is kind of necessary to have some though, because it is used as a binder to hold everything else together. But it should be listed as the third ingredient or later in the ingredients list on the container. And watch out for multiple listings of them which indicates the food has a lot of filler. Too much starches have been shown to cause bloat in a UF/IFAS study on African cichlid aquaculture.
I use New life spectrum flakes as well. But I also feed frozen treats and try out other stuff as well. My new one is soft pellets.
Thanks all... I'll take a look at new life.
It just seems odd to me that flakes are undercover as quality flake when all other foods are typically mentioned by name.
Does anyone have experience with ebay brands? I found a seller or two with thousands of good ratings and affordable too! (Around 30$/lb.) Blackworm flakes and all sorts of wierd stuff. Thoughts?
I've used a lot of different flake food during my 45 years or so in the hobby. I like Omega One Marine mix when I can buy it. My fish seem to relish it too. I see they also make a discus blend now days. https://www.omegasea.net/product-category/nutrition
I use these guys when it comes to UK market https://www.breederscorner.co.uk/, my discus really like Artemia and Discus flakes
I like the Omega One too. It just seems that any time I buy it, it is ground into tiny bits. I recently bought some Northfin krill flakes and my fish seem to be liking it.
I threw my omega away because of small flake. My large discus had a hard time finding them & they will only foul the water.
I reckon manufacturers and consumers alike love the term "high quality". Manufacturers know it conditions the mind of the potential customer to think they're getting a top shelf product so they're more inclined to buy, and consumers like the peace of mind of thinking they have a high quality product so their beloved fish/pet is getting the best available product for the money they have to spend. What determines the truth is the ingredients list, and since those lists rarely state the exact amount of each ingredient, it's a crap shoot at best. I'm not a nutrition expert so I honestly wouldn't have a clue, LOL
The worst flaked food I've ever purchased was a bucket of Aqueon. The second ingredient was whole wheat flour and only 41% protein.The flakes are small and not ideal for larger fish. The fish will eat it tho.
One of the ebay sellers is advertising on here and has been selling live Blackworms and Freezedried for years. Seems they also manufacture food for some of the name brands and sell unbranded and in bulk themselves. I've gotten flake and pellets with mixes of Blackworm, krill and spirulina and the fish accept it readily. I always feed a wide variety of food so it's really hard to tell if it has benefits over others.
I don't do that.