Anybody think it’s weird to have wheat flour in fish food?

[Soren]

in my search for pellets a keep reading “great” when referring to different foods, not sure the claim holds up most of the time, NLS has 3 main ingredients, fish, krill and seaweed, with wheat coming before the seaweed.

Hikari seaweed extreme get very good reviews but again the 2 main ingredients are seaweed and wheat flour, reading the reviews you would think there was magic dust in them.

I guess what I’m saying is, nothing in these pellets can not be gotten from other feeding methods, such as frozen.

I feed over 10 different types of frozen.

...but comparing frozen foods to dried foods is not an equal comparison. I would assume that it is always best to feed your fish exactly what they eat in nature, but that is not always an economical option. Clearly, it would seem that feeding dried foods is a method for saving cost and/or for convenience (no thawing, easier for automatic feeders for vacation, etc.), not because it is the best nutrition source possible.

I tend to agree, though, that as much as possible, it makes sense to try to feed natural food sources.

So, though I do not think it is weird to have wheat in fish food, I also do not think it is the best option for nutrition.

I currently feed dried pellets and flakes, but that is because it is what came with my system when I purchased it from a co-worker a couple months ago. Right now, I am in the process of making my own frozen food from mixed sources as well as eventually trying to grow my own "seaweed" for feeding herbivores. Both of these options seem better to me than dried flakes or pellets, though the process will not be as simple.

 

[C_AWOL]

in my search for pellets a keep reading “great” when referring to different foods, not sure the claim holds up most of the time, NLS has 3 main ingredients, fish, krill and seaweed, with wheat coming before the seaweed.

Hikari seaweed extreme get very good reviews but again the 2 main ingredients are seaweed and wheat flour, reading the reviews you would think there was magic dust in them.

I guess what I’m saying is, nothing in these pellets can not be gotten from other feeding methods, such as frozen.

I feed over 10 different types of frozen.

If we're looking at seaweed pellets specifically, the nls algaemax version does have wheat listed as ninth based on this photo (assuming I can count properly) with additional seaweed listed after it seems.

And just to make it clear, I'm not saying none of the nutrition in these pellets can't be had via frozen with additives and what not, just that not all pellets are made equal from using so many different kinds.

 

[Reef.]

...but comparing frozen foods to dried foods is not an equal comparison. I would assume that it is always best to feed your fish exactly what they eat in nature, but that is not always an economical option. Clearly, it would seem that feeding dried foods is a method for saving cost and/or for convenience (no thawing, easier for automatic feeders for vacation, etc.), not because it is the best nutrition source possible.

I tend to agree, though, that as much as possible, it makes sense to try to feed natural food sources.

So, though I do not think it is weird to have wheat in fish food, I also do not think it is the best option for nutrition.

I currently feed dried pellets and flakes, but that is because it is what came with my system when I purchased it from a co-worker a couple months ago. Right now, I am in the process of making my own frozen food from mixed sources as well as eventually trying to grow my own "seaweed" for feeding herbivores. Both of these options seem better to me than dried flakes or pellets, though the process will not be as simple.

It’s a very fair comparison when we are talking nutrition, which is the implication of the thread title, we can put what ever criteria we want on comparing these foods, cost, convenience etc and I understand those are a big factor in why people buy the foods they do, I was not making that argument, though I do feel some may put pellets on a pedestal to justify their choice when it’s not warranted.

 

[Dr. Dendrostein]

I think I'm going to make a fish and coral food that is gluten-free......

 

[Reef.]

If we're looking at seaweed pellets specifically, the nls algaemax version does have wheat listed as ninth based on this photo (assuming I can count properly) with additional seaweed listed after it seems.

And just to make it clear, I'm not saying none of the nutrition in these pellets can't be had via frozen with additives and what not, just that not all pellets are made equal from using so many different kinds.

Thanks, I was looking for a seaweed/algae pellet which lead me down this rabbit hole, I may have to try those but atm I’m trying nori and intend to try some dried seaweed such as dulse and similar, if they don’t take to those I’ll have to try a pellet as they will be missing a big part of their diet.

 

[Reef.]

I think I'm going to make a fish and coral food that is gluten-free......

I feel kick starter coming on

 

[Soren]

It’s a very fair comparison when we are talking nutrition, which is the implication of the thread title, we can put what ever criteria we want on comparing these foods, cost, convenience etc and I understand those are a big factor in why people buy the foods they do, I was not making that argument, though I do feel some may put pellets on a pedestal to justify their choice when it’s not warranted.

I see, you are correct that it is fair to compare the nutritional benefit and that is the main purpose of this thread even though I was heading different ways in my mind.

I also agree that it is not right to justify our own decisions over all criteria when it can be shown that there is a better option (like calling pellets the "best" food without declaring what criteria we are judging on: cost, nutrition, convenience, palatability, etc. when it can be shown that frozen foods may cost more, generally provide better nutrition, are usually less convenient, are probably more palatable, etc.).

Though I currently use the Hikari seaweed pellets, I am doing so only for now until I can get a seaweed garden started. I also feed nori sheets, since they are a more natural source, but my triggers tear it up fast enough to send most of it into the skimmer or filtration while not leaving it there for my tang to graze upon (the tang immediately eats the Hikari pellets as they fall and will pick up all the pieces off the bottom).

Within reasonable costs bounds, I want to provide the most natural means possible toward a successful reef, so I also would rather not have wheat in the food products though I do not think of them as a problem.

 

[Reef.]

I see, you are correct that it is fair to compare the nutritional benefit and that is the main purpose of this thread even though I was heading different ways in my mind.

I also agree that it is not right to justify our own decisions over all criteria when it can be shown that there is a better option (like calling pellets the "best" food without declaring what criteria we are judging on: cost, nutrition, convenience, palatability, etc. when it can be shown that frozen foods may cost more, generally provide better nutrition, are usually less convenient, are probably more palatable, etc.).

Though I currently use the Hikari seaweed pellets, I am doing so only for now until I can get a seaweed garden started. I also feed nori sheets, since they are a more natural source, but my triggers tear it up fast enough to send most of it into the skimmer or filtration while not leaving it there for my tang to graze upon (the tang immediately eats the Hikari pellets as they fall and will pick up all the pieces off the bottom).

Within reasonable costs bounds, I want to provide the most natural means possible toward a successful reef, so I also would rather not have wheat in the food products though I do not think of them as a problem.

sounds like you are providing the best options for your tank, if the choice is between the tang missing out or pellets, pellets would be my choice too.

I’m just on the first rung, I may end up with pellets, but would like to give the other options a try first.

 

[92Miata]

Thats an awfully confident way to express a statement that (a) has no evidence supporting it and (b) is very likely wrong, based on how microbial communities react to nutrient additions in nature.

Even switching from one (natural, marine) phytoplankton species to another will cause a shift in the microbial communities. But you're pretty certain that introducing a whole bunch of terrestrial polysaccharides will have no effect? I'm skeptical.

Again, no reason to suspect any harm to fish from these things. And the changes that terrestrial foods introduce in the aquarium microbial community may be no problem at all. Nobody's saying any of that.

But yeah, the food drives the microbial community.

Can you point me to the specific clades of bacteria that flourish in salt water only when fed wheat products?

This is a ridiculous claim. It requires evidence. It is not my job to come up with counter evidence to your spurious evidence-free nonsense.


What specific species of bacteria flourish in a reef tank only if you feed wheat?


I have organisms from Australia, fiji, the atlantic, the carribean, and hawaii (and probably other places) all mixed together in my reef tank. The idea that theres anything resembling a normal, natural food web or biome is fantasy.


I have