Xtreme aquatics fish foods, your thoughts?

[HenryC]

Have you guys used Xtreme aquatics products? I've been using the krill flakes for about 2 months now and every fish seems to love them, but I'm wondering what you guys think of them. I found them via Aquarium Coop, and it seems everyone swears by them, and almost every aquarium streamer seem to be using them. I haven't had any problem with them, I just want to know if they're really legit good food as every streamer says, or if I could do better.

What do you guys think of the ingredients:
Krill Meal, Fish Meal, Shrimp Meal, Wheat Flour Soy Flour, Brewers Dried Yeast, Sodium Alginate, Spirulina, Soy Lecithin, Corn Starch, Paprika, Dicalcium Phosphate, Xanthophyll, Choline Chloride, Fish Oil, Emulsifier, Sorbitol, Red 3, Manganese Proteinate, Zinc Proteinate, copper Proteinate, Calcium Iodate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Calcium Carbonate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3 Supplement, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate (Vitamin E Supplement), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex (source of Vitamin K Activity), Folic Acid, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, L-Ascorbyl-2- Polyphosphate (source of Vitamin C), Canthaxanthin, Beta Carotene, Ethoxyquin, TBHQ (preservative).
Crude Protein Min. 38%, Crude Fat Min. 11%, Crude Fiber Max. 4%, Phosphorus Max. 1%, Moisture Max. 10%, Ash Max 12%

---------Compared to NLS flakes that I used prior:----------

Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Mussel Meal, Algae Meal, Garlic, Soybean Isolate, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Vegetable and Fruit Extract,(Spinach, Red & Green Cabbage, Pea, Broccoli, Red Pepper, Zucchini, Tomato, Kiwi, Apricot, Pear, Mango, Apple, Papaya, Peach), Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal Strerol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Thiamine, Biotin, DL Alphatocopherol (E), Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Copper Proteinate, Cobalt Sulfate, Manganese Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate.
Crude Protein min. 49%, Crude Fat min. 8%, Crude Fiber max. 4%, Moisture max. 9%, Ash max. 10%

Highlighted the ingredients which I guess are important right? I must admit I'm no expert at analyzing ingredients, yet I have some doubts, mainly:

-What's better, [animal] meal or whole [animal] meal? NLS uses whole, while Xtreme does not.

-The filler in NLS is the third ingredient, while in Xtreme is the 4th. Does this make Xtreme better due to less filling?

-Xtreme uses corn starch, paprika and sorbitol, is that necessary? Any idea what are they for?

-NLS has a plethora of fruit "extracts", are these really useful for fish?

-Xtreme has coloring in it, it seems (yikes). I thought the vibrant red coloration of their flakes was due to the krill alone, but could that Red 3 have something to do there?

-Xtreme seems to have way more ingredients. Though I have to admit, I'm ignorant as to what most of them are, the scientific names I'm guessing are vitamins, supplements, etc.

-NLS has garlic, reported to be benefical to fish. Xtreme does not.

-Lastly, NLS has a whopping 49% protein, while Xtreme has 38%. Does this mean NLS has more animal content content and less filler? Is this indicative of a superior food?

What do you guys think? Any fish nutrition gurus can chime in in here? As I said, I've had no problem with Xtreme, I just want to know if I can do better, or if this is the great food everyone in youtube seem to claim. I want to be able to give the best to my small fish, but also need the convenience of dry food.

Thanks!

 

[chromedome52]

I have not used the particular product you are using. However, I was using Xtreme Cichlid PeeWee pellets for a couple of years, primarily for some rare Cichlids, Another person with the same species commented that mine had a lot more color than his, and were quite large for their age. I tried a couple of different foods when I first got the Retroculus, and they really didn't seem to go for much of anything, even frozen. When I started feeding them the Xtreme, they were much more excited by the food. I also had a pair of Nannochromis transvestitus that received these pellets in addition to live food, and they grew larger than normal on them. This size difference was noted by Anton Lamboj, who was judging the class at a Chicago show. The female ended up as Reserve Best in Show.

The person who put me onto the Xtreme foods was a friend of the one who developed the food. Their claim was that they tested it for results against NLS, and the Xtreme fed fish were invariably bigger and more colorful. But that was hardly an independent evaluation.

As far as the ingredients, I think using the word "whole" is just an embellishment, they are the same thing.

Garlic is a fish attractant, but not all that important to their diet, other than the fact that it encourages them to eat more.

 

[HenryC]

I have not used...

Thank you for your input! Your story is amazing. Do you feel the claim that fish meal is just low quality byproducts of fish like heads, bones, tails, etc, while whole fish meal is high quality, whole fish then?

What about higher protein content, do you feel that's indicative of something?

 

[chromedome52]

I think sometimes higher protein isn't necessarily better. Depends a lot on the fish you are feeding.

I think the term whole fish meal is misleading. It should be either fish meal, or whole fish. Combining the two labels doesn't make sense.

 

[Deku-Cory]

I don't think one food is better than the other, they both seem to be high quality foods. Things like protein content aren't necessarily indicative of quality, because every fish needs a different amount of protein, and protein is also in foods like peas, potatoes, and legumes.

I haven't tried either brand, but I'm definitely considering trying Xtreme. I like that they are eager to support small businesses and YouTube creators, while NLS is very much the opposite. In a stream (I think it was "Fish and Products You'll Never See At Aquarium Co-op") someone asked Cory why they don't sell NLS foods any more. He told a very strange story about meeting some reps from NLS, and they were upset that Aquarium Co-op sold foods other than NLS, because it was animal cruelty to feed any other brand. I'm not sure if they actually think that or if it's just an excuse to try and eliminate competition. Either way, completely wacko. Obviously this was just one guy telling a story, but I don't see why Cory would lie about that when he's otherwise very transparent about the business. I've also noticed other small online stores don't sell NLS, while selling other popular brands with similar quality products. Could be completely unrelated, but it does make me think.

 

[HenryC]

I don't think...

Yeah I saw that stream where Cory said that lol. Seemed really scummy, but I gave the benefit of the doubt to them and used New Life exclusively for about 3 months, back when I set up my tank, in flake form. I must admit that I didn't lose any neon tetra when feeding that (from petsmart straight to the new, cycled tank. Real tiny baby neons), and they grew massive and colorful, but I guess that can happen with any fish food good enough and a good home.

Do try Xtreme, as I said in the first post, I think it is great, have no complaints on it. In fact, ordered another bottle of krill flakes as well as a bottle of spirulina flakes and community micro pellets, just to test them out. I just wanted to have the insight of more people. It seems Xtreme is in fact one of the better commercial foods.

Not a single fish have disliekd the krill flakes, they all flock to it like pigeons to breadcrumbs. They are loved by my:
Dwarf gourami and Hoeny gourami
My tetra gang: Neons, cardinals, glowlights, serpaes, rummynose, black neons and glass bloodfins
A paradise fish
A juvenile pearlscale angelfish
Guppies
Mollies
Albino cories
Bolivian ram
even the betta!

 

[Deku-Cory]

Yeah I saw that stream where Cory said that lol. Seemed really scummy, but I gave the benefit of the doubt to them and used New Life exclusively for about 3 months, back when I set up my tank, in flake form. I must admit that I didn't lose any neon tetra when feeding that (from petsmart straight to the new, cycled tank. Real tiny baby neons), and they grew massive and colorful, but I guess that can happen with any fish food good enough and a good home.

Do try Xtreme, as I said in the first post, I think it is great, have no complaints on it. In fact, ordered another bottle of krill flakes as well as a bottle of spirulina flakes and community micro pellets, just to test them out. I just wanted to have the insight of more people. It seems Xtreme is in fact one of the better commercial foods.

Not a single fish have disliekd the krill flakes, they all flock to it like pigeons to breadcrumbs. They are loved by my:
Dwarf gourami and Hoeny gourami
My tetra gang: Neons, cardinals, glowlights, serpaes, rummynose, black neons and glass bloodfins
A paradise fish
A juvenile pearlscale angelfish
Guppies
Mollies
Albino cories
Bolivian ram
even the betta!

I'm definitely going to try the krill flakes and maybe the community micropellets. I have Cherry Barbs that have refused everything but HikarI Micropellets and bloodworms. They eat those like pigs, but they're picky.