Aquarium Care

If you are planning to buy food for your fishes, you may have to study a little to find the right type for your pet fishes. There are several different types of fish food made in spectacular range and they can be categorized into three types namely dry, frozen, and freeze dried.

(A) Dry Foods
Dry food can be purchased in different mix and active ingredients and is available in numerous forms such as flake, pellets & sticks and wafers. Flake foods are manufactured by rolling the ingredient mixture into a thin sheet and drying it to form a thin sheet. It is subsequently broken into little bits or flakes which can be fed to fish. These flakes are made from active ingredients such as eggs, brine shrimp or earthworms and are fortified with vitamins and minerals. Flakes are made to float, sink slowly, and quickly and therefore provide the fishes to have the same chance to get their meal. Flake foods are very sought after with aquarists and are appropriate for small fishes that are less than 4 inches (10 cm) so that it is able to sustain properly and deliver a good vitamin rich meal for them. Fish food can also be made into pallets and sticks. Pallets are available in a range of sizes from tiny bits to hearty lumps. Tiny bits are small adequate for the newly hatched fry and the hearty lumps are ideal treats for the biggest specimens. Wafers are produced from ingredients that are cast into disks which will submerge to the bottom when dropped into the tank. They are best the food for herbivorous catfish, which feed primarily on the bottom.

(B) Frozen Foods
These are generally food organisms frozen to preserve the nutrients and are a good replacement for live foods. Some examples of frozen food are frozen brine shrimp, water fleas and bloodworms. There are many assortments of frozen foods available in the market today which include combining the food organisms and different blends of all sorts of fish foods. They are well accepted by aquarium fishes and are nutritious treats for your pets.

(C) Freeze Dried Foods They are light, dry and crumply food organisms that are manufactured using low pressure and low temperature and preserving the original nutrition and palatability. Since the flavour and odour is preserved, this type of food is very captivating to the fishes and the feeding response for these foods elicit is noteworthy.

(D)Others
There are other types of fish food such as “homemade” and live foods. Homemade are made by putting different ingredients in a blender with a binding agent like gelatine and freezing the resultant paste or gelled food. Live foods such as white worms, baby brine shrimp, daphnia and microworms can be obtained from a few dedicated aquarium stores and they have huge appeal to most fishes but they are generally not commercially available in the market nowadays.

Learn more about food for fishes. Stop by Jerry Takashi’s site where you can find out all about cheap aquariums and what it can do for you.

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Once you have purchased your fish, you need to supply them with the proper food that will keep them healthy and happy. It doesn’t always have to be a big bag of fish flakes. Your fish also need good nourishment that will give them an active life, enhance their growth and stimulate breeding. Their diet should also give them a more efficient immune system against sickness.

One popular type of fish food is the dry fish food. This includes flakes, pellets, wafers, and granules. There are many different formulations of dry fish food to cater to different species of fish. They can be made from plant, animal or fish products. Most of them are fortified with vitamins and minerals for a more complete nutritional diet for your fish. Some are concocted for special purposes like intensifying the colors of the fish or making the scales shinier.

Larger fish, those bigger than an inch, require a more specialized diet. The carnivores or omnivores will prefer meat in their diet. One very popular meat food is bloodworms. Bloodworms are red mosquito larvae that can be purchased frozen from aquarium supply stores. They are considered the more nutritious alternative to flakes and pellets. They look like small ice cubes when packaged and you just drop these cubes in the aquarium water when it’s feeding time.

Other fresh or frozen foods for your fish are brine shrimps or krill. Not only are brine shrimps nourishing, they also somehow bring out the colors of tropical fish. A small crustacean, called the Daphnia, or water flea is also another option for the carnivores. They may be delicious to fish but they are not really full of nutrients.

Earthworms or other worms are also popular food for some larger fish. They are high in protein but will not give your fish a balanced diet. Like the Daphnia, they should not be the only food source of your fish. To many larger predatory fish, feeder fish or any small fish are the best food, although they don’t usually go for community fish in an aquarium.

There should be a rotation of some or all of these foods in feeding your fish not just to give them balanced nutrition but also to provide variety in their diet. They are likely to get tired of the same food day after day just like any person. You also have the option of supplementing the dried pellets or flakes diet with live or frozen food.

Herbivores, unlike carnivores, will be happier snacking throughout the day rather than eating at a regular schedule. Fresh plants in aquarium tanks are good sources of food for them, and they can also eat any algae that are present in the aquarium.

You can also supplement your fish’s food supply with vegetables like blanched spinach leaves, slices of zucchini and cucumber, and peas directly to the tank. Let this vegetable matter float for an hour or two, and then remove them from the tank. Some dried foods, particularly algae wafers, also make a good choice for herbivores.

Feeding the right food to your fish is not really difficult. You just have to make a little research to find out the preferences and nutritional needs of your fish. Different species will have different needs. Make the necessary adjustments to the kind and amount of food you feed them as they grow. Remember to give them variety and a balance diet and your fish will thrive and live a full healthy, perky and happy life.

Leonard Boyler has been keeping fish for more than two decades. His favorite products make aquarium care and maintenance very easy from start up to clarifying cloudy aquarium water. To learn more about how you can keep your water clear and have healthy fish, please visit ONEdersave.com.

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