How to Choose Tropical Fish Food

In the wild, fish address their nutritional requirements by feeding from different natural sources. In the aquarium, fish will only be healthy if they are fed in the same manner, and with the same wide range of food choices they enjoy in their native habitats. Here are the many fish food options, along with feeding tips and warnings.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Assorted fish food

1. Know your fish's nutritional requirements. Proteins are the building blocks of muscles, cells and tissues, which is why 50 percent of the total calorie requirement of fish come from proteins. Carbohydrates are necessary for energy and growth. Fatty acids are a major energy source for stamina. Minerals and vitamins are also essential for good health.

2. 
   Flakes are the most common fish food.

   Use fish flakes for "all-purpose" feeding. They are available in all pet stores and now manufactured in various compositions to address specific fish requirements for enhancing color, promoting breeding, and assisting the juvenile or ailing. They are all-purpose because they float for a while (for surface feeders), slowly sink as they become soft and saturated (for the mid-water feeders) and eventually sink (for the bottom feeders). They are also the best for small fish and picky eaters.

3. Consider pellets when you have a lot of surface feeders because they stay afloat longer than flakes.

4. Use tablets that can be stuck to the aquarium wall at different levels for a community tank with different types of fish.

5. Choose granular food that sink quickly to feed bottom feeders. These are also ideal for nocturnal bottom dwellers that need to be fed separately.

6. Consider frozen or freeze-dried fish food, which are more convenient than their live counterparts and just as nutritious. Most common are tubifex worms, brine shrimp, bloodworms (midge larvae), mosquito larvae and water fleas (daphnia).

7. Alternate feedings with live food for their appealing "natural" factor. Some fishes appreciate hunting wriggling elusive prey, just like in the wild. You can breed your own whiteworms and grindal worms from commercially available starter kits. You can also hatch your own brine shrimp or catch your own mosquito larvae.

8. Include vegetables for your omnivores and herbivores. You can hand-chop fresh vegetables like peas, potatoes, spinach, lettuce, chard and zucchini into small bite-size pieces. Or plant lettuce leaves whole during mealtime.

Tips & Warnings

• Read the nutritional labels of prepared fish food. Notice the wide range of nutrients packed in various combinations to suit almost every type and species of fish. Change brands or formulas once in a while for balanced nutrition.
• Compared to live or frozen natural food, the freeze-dried versions are not always enjoyed by the fish. Give your pets time to get used to it. Use a weighted feeding container for bottom feeders.
• Some hobbyists feed their pets human food scraps like oat flakes, fish roe, wheat germ, raw lean meat and cow liver, cooked chicken breast and hard-boiled egg. This is a novel way of adding variety to your fish's diet, but remember to feed conservatively.
• When gathering live food from ponds and streams, be sure to rinse them free of dirt, predators, and dead specimen.
• Remember never to overfeed. When feeding flakes, drop a pinch, watch them get eaten up and drop a little more only if necessary. When using pellets for surface feeders, scoop up those that have sunk to the bottom because they will remain uneaten and rot.
• Remove leftover food (especially live food that could die and pollute the water) about 30 minutes after mealtime.

Resources

• Pond-Keeping Answers: Pond Fish Food
• Aquatic Community: Fish Food
• RightPet: Fish