Flakes Vs Crisps Vs Pellets Vs ?

Besides shape and "hardness" (forgot the correct wording), what's the difference between flakes and pellets and _________ and __________ and ... whatever else there is out there?

Is it just a preference some fish have or are they specifically ment for some fish and not so much others? i.e. wafers are made more for bottom feeders cause they sink

 

Other foods include frozen foods or freeze dried. There is even gel formulas. Oh, and can't forget live foods.

I like pellets because the fish get more of a bite size immediately, especially if I stagger how much I put in. I feel these are easier to remove than flakes that go everywhere, for times when the fish aren't as hungry. But I soak flakes first because my Embers haven't figured out the surface part as much as they could have. Plus it helps more fish get their food. I like having it as an option for when I add more fish.

Some fish do prefer certain foods over others. Like live food is preferred by some species and even ones that have just been raised on that, or from the wild.

Ingredients come into play with some of the foods. For example, African Cichlids should not have too much protein or they become prone to bloat.

Fancy Goldfish should not have food that is on the surface, as they will gulp air as they go for the food. That leads them to often get swim bladder issues.

 

Good info above, I would add that between crisps, pellets and flakes, flakes loose their nutrients and disintegrate into the water the fastest, pellets retain it the longest and crisps fall in between. I've read a lot of differering opinions on how fast this occurs but have read some as fast as 5-10 seconds for flakes.

 

^ Oh yes, forgot about that part.

I know that freeze dried has less nutrients in it than its frozen counterpart. Plus you want to pre-soak the freeze dried, especially with bettas given bloodworms - otherwise they can get constipated.

I personally feed a mixture of (not all at once, of course) pellet, flake, rounds (larger pellets, I guess), and frozen.

 

wow, did not know that about cichlids :\ welp, good thing I'm prepping to buy some more/new food I was afraid of the pellets cause I was afraid my shellies would miss the food and it'd go to waste amongst the shells. Thanks for the info!

 

Good morning,

In the link below see post #14 by JaySee:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/what-food-do-you-use.89333/

One more:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/why-pellets-over-flake-food.115047/

Links of interest:



https://www.fishlore.com/Articles/FishFoodForDummies.htm

Ken

 

Wow, you're quite the archivist! Thanks!

I wonder is there a good way to switch from flake to pellet IF my fish reject it? I don't want to chance the tough love route: "you're gonna eat it and yer gonna learn to like it!" as we say to ... everything at my job

I know my shellies used to take forever to eat their old food, the hikarI cichlid gold small sinking pellets. I'd put in 2-3 pellets and kept an eye to make sure no one fought over a pellet and everyone found their own pellet and were content with popping it in then spitting it out, repeat like a lollipop!

Also, what about prepping fresh veggies? do you have to blanch all of the veggies? or can I just go out, grab a slice of cucumber/orange/carrot, or kale leaf/etc and toss it in with a clip?

 

Good morning,

You can try adding Garlic Guard to the fishes pellet foods. Garlic can act as a food enhancer for fish foods and too it will help to boost the fishes immune system:



You can also make your own garlic juice using Fresh Garlic:

"Benefits of garlic:

Purifies blood; detoxifies; lowers cholesterol levels; lowers blood pressure; blood thinner; prevents blood clots; boost immune system; prevents heart disease and strokes; destroys cancer cells; muscle relaxant; antibiotic; antifungal; suppresses growth of tumors
Using a medium size bulb; peel cloves apart, snip off ends; microwave cloves for 5 to 10 seconds to pop hulls; remove hulls; cut the length of the cloves in thin slices; place in cup of hot (from tap) water; cover, and let sit at room temperature for 12 hrs; mash the cloves and strain for immediate use; refrigerate until needed. good for two to three weeks.
The longer the cloves soak, the stronger the solution."

The information above comes from the link below:


Storing Fresh Garlic:


Or, you use Minced Garlic in water from a jar:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...r-just-an-example-for-those-needing-it.62705/

It may take several tries for your fish to realize the new food is actually food. Tough Love, perhaps, but they will adapt more than likely.

The only veggies I feed to my fish are Romaine Lettuce and Zucchini. I do not blanch either. It goes in raw. As for the Zucchini, I use this for my Cory Cats and Plecos. I push a wafer into the zucchinI along with Earthworm Sticks, Catfish Sticks, Spirulina Sticks. Stuffing the zucchinI gives the fish a chance to eat before others come along and steal it.

Ken

 

My fish initially rejected the pellets I tried to feed them. I reintroduced them several months later after a long fasting period (almost a week), and they were better received. It took them a couple days to figure out that it was food, but they were hungry enough to try it, and that convinced them. I have found that pellets are simply more efficient for feeding my large fish; I just don't seem to go through them as quickly as I did those giant tubs of flake.
However, I still use flake; my weather loaches and platy cannot eat even the smallest sized pellets until they have begin to soften and crumble (the goldfish would never let them last this long) so I use flake with the pellets to ensure that everyone gets their fair protein share (but I always sink it, so it doesn't require surface feeding).
I don't have much to worry about with food being left to rot; the loaches and goldfish search for uneaten tidbits all day, and at night the pleco chips in (he really likes both the pellets and the flake), so my entire stock is a cleanup crew.