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Tropical Fish

Goldfish

 

Feeding ornamental fish is a pleasing activity, at the same time the greatest moment of your aquarium day. During this time, one can observe even the shy fish and many interesting behaviours in the aquarium.

Due to their origin and their habits, fish have different demands for the food they eat.

A Good Fish Food Should Have: . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •• High digestible energy to create healthy fish. How? By using special high . . . . . . . . . .. .. quality fish protein sources as the main ingredient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .. . . . . . . •• Low pollution potential. How? Reduce the ash and phosphorous content, which will . . . . . . result in less algae bloom and improved waste control. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . •• Pigment rich natural ingredients to create colourful fish. How? By using PDP - . . . . . . . . . Pre-digested plankton - a bioprocessed nutrient to enhance pigmentation naturally.

The food you feed your fish should be of the best quality and as close as possible to their natural food source. Only the best ingredients should be used in the food you feed. In nature, the food supply for different fish species differs very much, and the fish have adapted to their natural food source. For example, many fish mainly feed on plants and algae (catfish, live bearing toothcarps, East African cichlids, etc.). For a healthy growth and splendid colours, ornamental fish requires food that is according to their requirements, which contains all natural nutrients, vitamins and minerals in a well-balanced ratio.

WHEN, HOW AND HOW MUCH? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . If possible, feed your fish two or three times a day in small doses, just enough so they can eat it within two to five minutes. Uneaten food sinks to the bottom, decomposes, and pollutes the water. Spread the food as evenly on the surface of the water as possible. By doing so, smaller fish also get to their portion without difficulty. Use an extra reserved spoon for feeding, because feeding the same portion is always easy, and avoids accidental over-feeding.

Fish should consume a container of food within two, maximum of four months. The reason for this is the nutrition of the fish becomes extremely unbalanced, even if the food itself is of good quality. With every opening and closing of the package, they expose the food to light and air. By this, destroying the vitamins and precious nutrients is unavoidable, such as unsaturated fatty acids.

WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT KINDS OF FOOD? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (Flakes, granules, tablets, powdered food,) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . You will surely have noticed that the different fish species in your aquarium prefer to stay and eat in certain water zones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . •• Fish like hatchet fish and killifish with straight backs and mouths directed upwards and . . .dorsal fins shifted backwards prefer to stay near the water surface. . . . .. . . . . ... . . . . •• Fish with bended dorsal fins, ventral contours and a mouth facing forward prefer to stay . . .in the middle water layer. Among these fish, for example are neon tetras, discus and . . . .most barbs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . •• Fish that dwell on the bottom have a flat belly with a mouth directed downwards. . . . . . . .Armoured catfish, sucker-mouth catfish and clown loaches are best known species of . . . .such fish.

Fish of the upper and middle water zones capture their food by hunting or by snatching. All good quality flake foods are ideal for surface fish. Fish in the middle water zones prefer to eat granulated foods and tablets.

By attaching the food tablets to the inside aquarium glass, the fish will greedily nibble them away. Fish of the deep-water zones look for food on the bottom or scrape off algae. These fish best suit granulated foods and food tablets. Young fish need special "baby food", because they constantly grow, and therefore have different requirements than adult fish. These day's you get different "baby foods" for the various growing stages, from newborn fry to half-grown fish.