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Heap of dry complete multi-ingredient flake food for daily feeding of all ornamental fish with blurred aquarium in the background.
Flake or Pellet?
Pet Age Staff //September 1, 2019//
Listen to this articleWhen shelf space is limited, what form of fish food should a retailer stock?
According to the 2019-2020 Pet Owners Survey by American Pet Products Association (APPA), food flakes are the top choice among hobbyists for feeding freshwater and saltwater livestock. In fact, fish flakes are a go-to purchase regardless of an aquatic enthusiast’s generation or income.
However, just as fish food comes in other forms, each type comes with distinct tastes and targeted nutritional and lifestyle attributes. Bree Modica, nutrition and regulatory specialist for Zoo Med Laboratories Inc., gave her expert insight on the topic in the September 2018 Trends & Products article, “Pellets Filled with Power.”
“We’ve seen an increase in the need for variety over the past couple of years,” she said.
“Pet owners want to be able to offer different ingredients and flavors to their fish, whether it’s novel ingredients such as peas and beets or aquatic ingredients such as spirulina and plankton.”
What manufacturers have been leaving off their ingredients lists are dyes and artificial colors, and their absence not only benefits the health of fish but the quality and clarity of the water in their tanks and ponds. In addition to providing nutrition, the latest food products encourage the natural habits of fish. For example, worm-shaped food serves a special purpose for bettas in particular. By floating along the water surface, the worms trigger the hunting instincts of this species.
While APPA’s statistics show that food flakes are the leading food choice for aquatic enthusiasts, having the following products and others like them available in the marketplace will provide aquarists with a range of possibilities to better serve their aquatic species. Why live off one food that gives great quality of life benefits when you can have a whole variety that works cohesively? It’s important to remember that with so much variety at their disposal, veteran and novice aquatic enthusiasts alike can benefit from reminders about how much to feed their species as well as what’s best for their diet.
Hikari Vibra Bites
Great for all types of tropical fish, Vibra Bites is a flavorful nutrient mix that offers many unique benefits. From the pellet design, which mimics a blood worm moving through the water, to the incredible color-enhancing ability that will help your fish glow with a flood of color, to the exacting nutrient balancing through extensive feeding trials that helps to offer growth and form you won’t believe, this is a new-generation aquatic diet. The oxygen barrier package helps maintain the quality and perfection consumers have come to expect from the leader in aquatic nutrition worldwide.
sera Nature Food
The sera Nature Food line is manufactured entirely without dyes and preservatives. The foods allow for a particularly natural ornamental fish diet. The food line features Vipan Nature (staple food), San Nature (color food), Flora Nature (herbal food) and two treats, GVG-Mix Nature and marin GVG-Mix Nature.
PE MYSIS Flakes
PE Flakes are a highly palatable, nutritionally complete fish food designed to enhance coloration and induce an energetic feeding response in a variety of fish. Offered in Saltwater, Freshwater, Cichlid and Goldfish formulations, they contain fresh PE Mysis for a rich and nutritionally complete diet.
Betta Worm Shaped Bites
This nutritionally complete worm-shaped food is specifically tailored to the needs of bettas and other labyrinth fish. Designed to imitate the size, shape and color of natural bloodworms, the food floats on the water’s surface to appeal to bettas by enticing their natural instinct to hunt.
Wardley Plus Koi Pond Pellets
Wardley Plus Koi Pond Pellets contains no artificial colors or dyes that can harm fish or cloud water. This scientifically developed premium pellet diet is ideal for koi and other ornamental pond fish. The high-quality protein diet supports normal growth and enhances the natural color of pond fish. It also contains three antioxidants: beta glucan, vitamin C and garlic.
