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Introduction
What
we feed our fish will determine whether they can thrive in the
aquarium, display beautiful coloration and even breed. Live and
natural food are no doubt the best. However, present fish food
technology has enable us to provide what our fish required with
processed food.
There
are many types of fish food in the market each possessing their pros
and cons. In the end, it would be the aquarist that can determine
what is best for the fishes. It is best to try as many types of food
as possible, observing their effects on the fish, considering the
cost and decide on what will form the staple food and what can be
supplemented.
Feed
your fish 1-2 times a day with quantity that can be consumed within
3-4 minutes as a guide. Fish food can also be dispense with
automatic fish food feeder when going on holidays or simply to
automate the feeding regime.
Choice
of Food
I
use the following factors to consider the choice of fish food :
1.
Size of fish. Bigger pellets for
larger fish, flakes for smaller fish.
2.
Ingredient
of the processed food. Use vegetable food for fish that
require vegetable matter, more protein food for carnivores fish.
3.
Type
of food. Besides flakes, pellets, whether they
float or sink is important for specific type of fish, i.e. for Frontosa
and Catfish, sinking type would be better.
4.
Cost. There
has to be a balance between cost and quality. Generally, the better
branded food are costlier. Feed what the fish like and you can
afford.
5.
Effect on fish. No point buying the cheapest food where
it is going to be left un-touched. Also some food can improve the
coloration of fish and you can observe this after a couple of
months.
I
try to adopt a varied diet for my cichlids (Tropheus, Argentea
and Demasoni ) using the TetraPro Vegetable Crisps as the
staple food and occasionally supplement with Spinach. Some tubifex
worms on a couple of occasions.
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