Mamajin
- #1
I recently stumbled across two new medicated fish foods from New Life Spectrum. Since Amazon was the only place I could locate them (just a cursory search), I questioned its authenticity so I emailed the NLS company directly. I figured in case it was authentic that I may as well ask a few important questions. Here's what they had to say;
The food products we will be discussing are called New Life Spectrum Ick-Shield, and New Life Spectrum Hex-Shield.
1: Are the medication ingredients in Ick/Hex Shield an all natural product?
A: While the New Life Spectrum nutrition formula is natural, the active ingredient is a veterinary medication, and so cannot be considered a “natural” ingredient. It is specifically designed as an anti-parasitic compound.
2: Is it safe to feed my fish Ick/Hex Shield daily?
A: While the safety margin on the food is extremely high for fish, and feeding your fish either Ick-Shield or Hex-Shield is safe, we do not officially recommend you use this as a staple food for your fish. Re-application is fine if you begin to see precursors or the beginning of symptoms in your fish.
However we would recommend regularly feeding your aquarium companions with a non-medicated Spectrum formula. New Life Spectrum Thera-A is an excellent non-medicated food that adds extra quantities of ingredients like Garlic whose main component, allicin, is known to help boost the immune system and help promote parasite resistance.
Feeding fish in quarantine tanks for the full treatment cycle before introducing them can also reduce the chance of outbreaks in your tank from newly introduced fish.
3: Will my fish build up a tolerance to ICH/Hex Shield?
A: Ick-Shield and Hex-Shield attack the parasites directly, and thus your fish building a tolerance is not an issue. However, it is important to note that you should follow the full treatment cycle for the food even if your fish appear to be recovering/recovered; the food works by breaking the parasite life-cycle, which is generally 7 days in the case of the family of ectoparasite organisms that collectively cause what we call “Ick”. This treatment period is a bit longer for Marine ectoparasites than freshwater. The period we designate in the instructions is designed to repeatedly break the lifecycle and thus neutralize the organism. Not fully following the treatment period can increase the likelihood of a repeated outbreak.
4: Is this ingredient list basically the same for ICH/Hex Shield as it is with your other products?
Ingredients:
South Antarctic krill
Whole herring meal
Whole squid meal
Algae meal
Seaweed
Kelp and Haematococcus pluvialis
Natural spirulina
Spinach
Red cabbage
Green cabbage
Peas
Broccoli
Red pepper
Zucchini
Tomato
Kiwi
Apricot
Pear
Mango
Apple
Papaya
Peach
Ginseng
Soybean
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Vitamin A Acetate
D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3)
DL Alphatocophero ( E )
L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C)
Thiamine
Riboflavin Supplement
Folic Acid
Niacin
Biotin
Calcium Pantothenate
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Ethylenediamine dihydroiodide
A: I will note that the ingredient list you cite in your email is a bit outdated, as we have improved the formula. Spectrum at this point contains no soybean, uses scallops and has replaced virtually every terrestrial-sourced veggie (with the exception of alfalfa) with a basket of aquatic-based nutrients such as Chlorella Algae, Ulva Seaweed, Wakame Seaweed etc.
Given this, the ingredient list for the non-active ingredients Ick-Shield and Hex-Shield are similar to our other products with a few exceptions. Sick fish have a tendency to eat less, and so we did increase concentrations of Krill. Likewise, to increase the palatability of the food, as well as support the active ingredient, we added additional garlic (similar to Thera-A) and Ginseng, Ginger and Green Onions. Items like cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg are also added as healthy ingredients to balance out the taste of the medication.
5: When you reply to this email, may I share it with the members of the Fishlore.com forum? I will not post your email address.
A: This shouldn't be a problem.
Ian M. Tepoot
New Life International
The food products we will be discussing are called New Life Spectrum Ick-Shield, and New Life Spectrum Hex-Shield.
1: Are the medication ingredients in Ick/Hex Shield an all natural product?
A: While the New Life Spectrum nutrition formula is natural, the active ingredient is a veterinary medication, and so cannot be considered a “natural” ingredient. It is specifically designed as an anti-parasitic compound.
2: Is it safe to feed my fish Ick/Hex Shield daily?
A: While the safety margin on the food is extremely high for fish, and feeding your fish either Ick-Shield or Hex-Shield is safe, we do not officially recommend you use this as a staple food for your fish. Re-application is fine if you begin to see precursors or the beginning of symptoms in your fish.
However we would recommend regularly feeding your aquarium companions with a non-medicated Spectrum formula. New Life Spectrum Thera-A is an excellent non-medicated food that adds extra quantities of ingredients like Garlic whose main component, allicin, is known to help boost the immune system and help promote parasite resistance.
Feeding fish in quarantine tanks for the full treatment cycle before introducing them can also reduce the chance of outbreaks in your tank from newly introduced fish.
3: Will my fish build up a tolerance to ICH/Hex Shield?
A: Ick-Shield and Hex-Shield attack the parasites directly, and thus your fish building a tolerance is not an issue. However, it is important to note that you should follow the full treatment cycle for the food even if your fish appear to be recovering/recovered; the food works by breaking the parasite life-cycle, which is generally 7 days in the case of the family of ectoparasite organisms that collectively cause what we call “Ick”. This treatment period is a bit longer for Marine ectoparasites than freshwater. The period we designate in the instructions is designed to repeatedly break the lifecycle and thus neutralize the organism. Not fully following the treatment period can increase the likelihood of a repeated outbreak.
4: Is this ingredient list basically the same for ICH/Hex Shield as it is with your other products?
Ingredients:
South Antarctic krill
Whole herring meal
Whole squid meal
Algae meal
Seaweed
Kelp and Haematococcus pluvialis
Natural spirulina
Spinach
Red cabbage
Green cabbage
Peas
Broccoli
Red pepper
Zucchini
Tomato
Kiwi
Apricot
Pear
Mango
Apple
Papaya
Peach
Ginseng
Soybean
Vitamin B12 Supplement
Vitamin A Acetate
D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3)
DL Alphatocophero ( E )
L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C)
Thiamine
Riboflavin Supplement
Folic Acid
Niacin
Biotin
Calcium Pantothenate
Pyridoxine Hydrochloride
Ethylenediamine dihydroiodide
A: I will note that the ingredient list you cite in your email is a bit outdated, as we have improved the formula. Spectrum at this point contains no soybean, uses scallops and has replaced virtually every terrestrial-sourced veggie (with the exception of alfalfa) with a basket of aquatic-based nutrients such as Chlorella Algae, Ulva Seaweed, Wakame Seaweed etc.
Given this, the ingredient list for the non-active ingredients Ick-Shield and Hex-Shield are similar to our other products with a few exceptions. Sick fish have a tendency to eat less, and so we did increase concentrations of Krill. Likewise, to increase the palatability of the food, as well as support the active ingredient, we added additional garlic (similar to Thera-A) and Ginseng, Ginger and Green Onions. Items like cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg are also added as healthy ingredients to balance out the taste of the medication.
5: When you reply to this email, may I share it with the members of the Fishlore.com forum? I will not post your email address.
A: This shouldn't be a problem.
Ian M. Tepoot
New Life International