Are commercial fish flakes convenient for fish or manufacturers?

[bettaMagenta]

I'm not a huge fan of feeding flakes to my fish, they just don't seem like a natural fit.
I recently noticed Bug Bites has introduced flake food in their latest formulas - I guess that's a thing now.
Yep, they float, and the fish do eat them, but personally, I prefer bite-sized food for most of my fish.
Why do you guys feed flakes, is there something I'm missing here?

[jade]

I pre-soak my flakes in tank water before feeding. I add them to a water bottle, shake it well, and let it sit for anywhere from 10 minutes to a few hours, depending on the tank. This helps them disperse better in the water. I do this with all my dry food, even if it's just a brief soak. I've never been comfortable feeding my fish rock-hard food.

Some flakes can be quite hard, which is another reason I pre-soak. Even crumbling them up dry doesn't seem to make it easier for my smaller fish or fry to eat. I find it's better for them if the flakes are at least slightly softened first. I may be in the minority with this practice, but it seems to work for my fish.

[bettaMagenta]

I'm more of a granular food fan myself. For my smaller fish, like Tetras in my dedicated tank, I often grind or turn them into a dust using a mortar and pestle. Helps them eat more easily, I think.

[jade]

I agree, granular food goes in dry, straight into the tank. Might make an exception for fry, soak it a bit then.

[graye]

I'm a flake fan, mainly because I've got a tank full of surface feeders. To be honest, I'm not a fan of granules and pellets - they're just not my thing. I know they're often the only option, but I've always preferred flakes.

[bettaMagenta]

I can see the appeal for surface feeders, which I don't really have in my tanks, hence the preference for bite-sized foods.

[graye]

I recall seeing vintage fish food containers from the 1930s - those little metal boxes were quite the thing back then. You can bet they were an early innovation in the hobby, given its popularity in urban areas and the difficulty in getting live food. The hobby really started to take off around World War One, continued to grow after World War Two, and then saw a decline in the early 2000s. I stumbled upon a mention of paradise fish in a 1666 journal - it belonged to Penn, the guy who got a state named after him.

It's interesting to note that prepared foods weren't a thing in 1666 London. I remember visiting my fishkeeping grandparents in the 1960s and seeing them float pellets for their goldfish. When I started keeping tropicals, it was all about the flakes - Tetra-Min was the gold standard, offering a range of options like veggie, growth, colour, and staple food, which seemed to provide a varied diet. While they may not be viewed as favourably nowadays due to their ingredients, I found them to be good food for my fish.

Pellets really gained popularity in the 1980s, around the same time Malawi Cichlids became a hit. They were essentially the same food, just rolled up into balls, which made them perfect for mbuna that rasp their food. I've always found it challenging to get small sizes of pellets - the packaging is small and overpriced. Flakes, on the other hand, can feed fish of all sizes.

The pet food industry is massive, and there's a growing focus on meeting the real nutritional needs of different fish species. However, it's easy to get caught up in the marketing hype - some companies would sell you anything if it made a profit. I prefer to look at the fibre, protein, and filler content, and then consider the price.

[bettaMagenta]

It's interesting to see that despite all the advancements, some things remain unchanged. Fish food has evolved over the years, but the core concept remains the same. I've noticed that despite the rise of new types of food, flakes still hold a special place in many fishkeepers' hearts.

[bettaMagenta]

Some things haven't changed over the years, but others have - like how we access our food.

[graye]

That fish in the Putnam's natural fish food looks pretty ticked off. Somebody take his lunch money or something?