Best brand of fish food?

[Corriebh]

Hello again hopefully there isn't a limit on how many times I can ask questions in a night :)

There are three lfs in our area that only deal with fish. After many visits to all three we picked our favorite, not necessarily because of all they knew but because when we stumped some employees with our questions instead of acting like they knew the answer and giving us a line of BS they brought in different employees with more knowledge.
But the owner is a different story and seems to always be upselling. He was going on about this frozen food called Robs fish food. Its pricier than the frozen brine and krill we are using.But if its better for the fish........I just can't tell if I'm being played, a very bad feeling.

I may be missing it in other areas of forum but I was just wondering if anyone had tried Robs food or what other foods ( brands and types) work well for them.

[rfgonzo]

It's actually called (Rod's) fish food. I don't use it so I can't speak of its benefits.

[theatrus]

My staple protein source is Canadian Mysis shrimp. I used to use PE Mysis, but the new Hikari product is significantly cleaner, so it gets my recommendation.

http://www.hikariusa.com/diets/canadian-mysis-shrimp/

I take the sheets and chop them up into small chunks, which I just shove into the return pump :)

For pellet food, both New Life Spectrum and Ocean Nutrition are standbys. Like in other (4 legged) pet food, there is a lot of amazingly overpriced ground fish and shrimp meal with great advertising.

[kmbyrnes]

I started with Rod's and most everybody liked it. It is a convenient all in one. But you pay for the convenience.

As my tank got more coral that needed target feeding I moved to Flakes, Frozen Mysis and Bloodworms and Frozen Shrimp and Sushi Nori from the grocery store. Pretty much the same stuff as Rod's, much less expensive, and I can vary the diet so different fish/corals get the majority of food that day and no one goes hungry.

Every tank is different. Watch what your tank eats and provide that. Then vary it once in a while with something new.
I love steak, but wouldn't want eat it every day.

[edinphilly]

Larry's Reef Frenzy provides something for just about everything in the tank and has no added phosphates to worry about. The only frozen food I toss in without rinsing with no worries. Also the guy has a video on his site of him eating his own product. I think that's nasty but goes a ways to show how confident of the ingredients he is.

[tmz]

Lot's of different choices,prices and opinions on fish food. It depends on your fish poplulation and any other animals like corals you may be feeding I keep over 50 fish of various types. They are long lived and colorful ( many are 10+ years old ) and hundreds of corals . FIWW, I inlclude variety and vloume. A mix of frozen Hikari brine , mysis and some blood worm is the main staple 2x per day with additions of Prime Reef flake, spriulina flake ,krill and Nori 3x per week.

[dkeller_nc]

I use LRS Reef Frenzy on a regular basis. Like Rod's, it's a mixture of sea critters that includes fish, shellfish, squid and crustaceans. The idea behind these foods is that no one creature provides the full nutritional profile of the food that fish eat in the wild.

And typically, the fatty acid and protein content of frozen food is better than any dried preparation. That said, many of us feed both frozen and dry preparations. One reason to feed dry preparations is that it's a good way to ensure some vegetable matter in the food for fish that requires it, such as tangs, rabbitfishes and angelfishes.

[tmz]

Larry's Reef Frenzy provides something for just about everything in the tank and has no added phosphates to worry about.

All foods contain phosphate,most of which is excreted as waste by the animal eating it. Boney foods like sliver sides for example contain higher proportions of phosphate to protein. Some flake foods have favorable protein to phosphate ratios and offer a broad variety . I don't know of any frozen fish foods foods that add extra phospahte as a preservative like some human seafoods do.

Thawing and rinsing frozen foods has little effect on the phosphate contribution. I thaw / rinse mine in tap water for the effect it may have on vibrio bacteria which can grow on some frozen foods.

[Azedenkae]

I use New Life Spectrum and nothing else. Thera-A small fish pellets to be specific. My fish are fat, healthy and active as. :D

[EDIT]

Interesting advertisement for Larry's Reef Frenzy. Whilst they are probably not lying (no added phosphates), phosphate is in EVERY living creature, and chances are very low that a food for fish would have no phosphates. >.> As tmz said.

[gone fishin]

As others mentioned Rods is not bad. Out of curiosity are you in the Madison area. if so which store was you at?

[Stackemdeep]

I feed my reef nothing but Larrys Reef Frenzy. And the occasional Nori on a clip.
The folks who have used his food rarely, if ever, switch to anything else. On a scale of one to ten I give it an eleven.

[edinphilly]

Larry's Reef Frenzy provides something for just about everything in the tank and has no added phosphates to worry about.

All foods contain phosphate,most of which is excreted as waste by the animal eating it. Boney foods like sliver sides for example contain higher proportions of phosphate to protein. Some flake foods have favorable protein to phosphate ratios and offer a broad variety . I don't know of any frozen fish foods foods that add extra phospahte as a preservative like some human seafoods do.

Thawing and rinsing frozen foods has little effect on the phosphate contribution. I thaw / rinse mine in tap water for the effect it may have on vibrio bacteria which can grow on some frozen foods.


Quite aware that phosphate is in foods. Hence the reference to no added phosphates. Most dry food does have added phosphates as preservatives.

You may be correct that most frozen fish food manufacturers do not add phosphate preservatives however it doesn't mean their sources aren't using preservatives on their seafood. Most commercial "fresh" seafood does have added preservatives. If they're using that I'd rather not put it in my tank. LRF demonstrates on his site how he sources his ingredients. Maybe there are others that are as good but the big brands I highly doubt it.

[whosurcaddie]

I make my own with fresh shrimp scallops clams and cyclops with selcon added to the mix.

[Mark9]

Rod's is pretty good food, but I found it a bit messy.
Pe mysis is good, but it's a bit oily and can cause a temporary skimmer bubble collapse.
For me, by far, the best food is Larry's reef frenzy.
All the fish love it, not messy, and no skimmer collapse.

[TheSaltySnailer]

Rods food is a good quality food I personally use larrys

[tmz]

Most dry food does have added phosphates as preservatives

I don't think that statement is supported by any data ;is it? Or is it opinion ? The opposite is true of the flake foods I use in terms of phosphate to protein ratios vs some frozen foods.

The point is food adds a lot of phosphate whether it's eaten or not.

I'd also avoid excessive phosphate as preservatives or meaty or boney foods that naturally contain higher phosphate if phosphate is the concern. I'm not aware of fish food manufacturer's who use phosphate preservatives .
As for dried foods they are are preserved because they are dry and wouldn't need extra phosphate as a preservative. Do you have a specific example to the contrary?

To be clear I have nothing against the food you favor. If your happy with it that's a good thing. Th OP may like it too. I prefer meaty foods and some flake.
Doubt a case one particular brand is the best for all can be made outside of marketing rhetoric and personal preference.

[FraggledRock]

The brands your fish like =)

[NTP66]

I've used all of Larry's blends (Fish Frenzy, Herbivore Frenzy, etc.), and my fish go nuts for the stuff. I feed that at night, and NLS pellets in the morning. My fish are all fat and happy with this combo. I occasionally throw some nori on a clip for my Foxface, too.