Who Gives A Fish Forums

I've been looking into the best flake food for my fish and I keep coming across tetra flakes as a top choice, but my local fish stores mainly carry fish science flakes - has anyone had any experience with these, are they decent?

I'm not a huge fan of flakes, to be honest. They can cause bloat in fish, which isn't ideal. I'd recommend switching to pellets - they're generally a better option. Brands like New Life Spectrum, Bug Bites, Hikari, and Omega One make high-quality pellets that are worth considering.

In addition to the foods mentioned by FinFan, incorporating frozen foods into the mix can be beneficial for the fish. These foods are generally fresher and more natural, however, unless they've been fortified, it's best not to rely solely on them as a food source.

squidman wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 5:36 am In addition to the foods mentioned by FinFan, incorporating frozen foods into the mix can be beneficial for the fish. These foods are generally fresher and more natural, however, unless they've been fortified, it's best not to rely solely on them as a food source.

I've also found that live food is a nice treat for the fish every now and then, but it's not something I'd want to rely on as their main source of nutrition.

FinFan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 4:38 am I'm not a huge fan of flakes, to be honest. They can cause bloat in fish, which isn't ideal. I'd recommend switching to pellets - they're generally a better option. Brands like New Life Spectrum, Bug Bites, Hikari, and Omega One make high-quality pellets that are worth considering.

I'm curious about granular food, has anyone got experience with it?

I've got a mix going on in my tank - Omega One flakes, Northfin community formula pellets, Northfin kelp wafers, and Northfin bug pro. Since I've mainly got small fish, everything gets crushed up before it goes in. I found this old article on fish food ingredients really interesting - it's a bit of a pain to load, but it's worth the wait.

I'm not sure about flakes alone, but a mix of flakes and pellets/granules could work well. I personally feed a mix - crushed up to suit my small fish. I've got Omega One flakes, Northfin community formula pellets, Northfin kelp wafers, and Northfin bug pro. The article I shared earlier highlights the importance of knowing what's in your fish food, and a varied diet can help ensure they're getting all the nutrients they need. Adding live foods occasionally can also be beneficial, as others have mentioned.

I've found a rotation approach works well for me - half flakes, half one of my other three dry foods, which I switch up daily. Some days, I'll swap out the dry food for frozen food. I source my dry foods online, as they aren't readily available in local shops. Fluval bug bites have been used by other members, though they weren't around when that article was written.

Personally, I've never had issues with feeding flakes to my fish. Only my gouramis tend to feed from the surface, while the rest either catch it as it falls or feed off the bottom.

FinFan wrote: ↑Wed Dec 25, 2024 4:38 am I'm not a huge fan of flakes, to be honest. They can cause bloat in fish, which isn't ideal. I'd recommend switching to pellets - they're generally a better option. Brands like New Life Spectrum, Bug Bites, Hikari, and Omega One make high-quality pellets that are worth considering.

That makes sense, the reason I'm thinking about granules is because I've found some decent ones that are made up of insect matter, which I think will really appeal to my five banded barbs - they're natural insect-eaters, after all. Although, being omnivores, they'll happily take vegetable flakes and pellets too.

I usually mix things up with a combination of flake foods, live foods, and frozen foods. Omega One is a good one, and I've also had good results with Almost Natural, Tetramin Tropical, New Life Spectrum, Cobalt, and Ocean Nutrition. For those who want to dig deeper, there's a webpage called Commercial Fish Foods that's worth a look - it's not exactly light reading, but it's got some useful info.