I've read with interest many of the topics on the forum about commercial foods and I love the feedback.
I came across Azoo Goldfish Pellets in the Drs. Foster & Smith catalog. It seems a really good deal at $10.99 for 2 1/2 lbs and the order of the ingredients seems almost better than some (Hikari starts with Fish Meal then Soybean Meal, but Azoo has White Fish and Shrimp Meal before Soybean Meal, and Hikari has STARCH and CORN listed before Soybean Meal which seems like it'd stop up the digestive tracks, especially since some of you said don't feed our GFs corn!). I'm not against Hikari at all, nor am I against Bio-Gold (who I understand, according to remarks on this forum, does not list their ingredients by what's most, then second most, etc., but just says that there's good stuff somewhere in it like krill, fish, shrimp, wheat, spirulina, alfalfa -- but we can't thereby know what's the predominant item, then second most, etc.). I like knowing, and comparing $18.98 for 2 1/2 lbs. delivered from DrsF&S for Azoo or $28.98 for 2 lbs. delivered for Bio-Gold (both including shipping), I think Azoo looks kind of interesting (it's $10 less than Bio-Gold delivered and you get 1/2 lb more free!).
Here is what DrsF&S says Azoo has (in the order of predominance):
White Fish Meal, Shrimp Meal, Soybean Meal, Yeast Powder, Fish Meal, Flour, Spirulina, Kelp, Powder, Scallop Powder, Glucan, PSB, Multi-vitamins, Minerals.
Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein min. 33.0%
Crude Fat min. 3.0%
Crude Fiber max. 5.0%
Moisture max. 5.0%
I haven't tried Azoo yet, but I can't help but be interested (besides, SINCE I'm already going to order some other tropical fish stuff from DrsF&S, the shipping won't really cost me $7.99 like if you order only one item; it'll only cost me $1 more to add the Azoo! -- in other words, that's just $11.99 for 2 1/2 lbs of Azoo delivered if part of the order I'm already going to send!). Seems too good to pass up at the moment.
Has anybody tried Azoo here? I would love your thoughts and experience!
Full Version: Anyone Tried Azoo Goldfish Pellets?
I've never tried it before, but I try to stay away from fish foods (and other pet foods) that have the word "meal" attatched. Like "fish meal" could mean any part of the fish, including scales, fins, bone, organs, eyes etc. It could even mean that its just those gross things in the food, and not much real fish meat at all. I'm not accusing, just pointing out what a lot of pet food companies can say to fool us 
Look for words like "whole fish" instead
It does sound like you got a great deal with the price though
Look for words like "whole fish" instead It does sound like you got a great deal with the price though
Kissy, thanks for your reply. About the "meal" thing as compared to the "meat" thing, I wonder if that's just our preference (since most people like just the meat and not the rest of the animal) and whether that ALONE is good for our GFs.
I know that people who live in frozen areas of the world where little grows that they must eat all the parts of the animals they kill or they will lose health or die if those animals are all they have to eat (just "meat alone" does not have all the nutrients needed for human survival -- and again, that's only if they do not have a way to get vegetables and grains, milk, etc.).
Just what does "meat" mean? I note that our GF friends and all the other non- or semi-vegan fish eat "whole" bodies in nature, not just the muscle (and that's what we usually mean when we say "meat", we only mean muscle alone). Our GF friends do not have a butcher in nature to separate the muscles from the rest of the "whole" food like we have grown accustomed to doing in our stores (at least, for the "we" who are not vegans, of course).
I'm certainly not trying to defend a "meal only" approach to making fish foods since I fear that "meal" is not the whole animal either; it's probably just the leftovers after all the "meat" or sellable "muscle" parts have been removed. Hikari, Tetra, and almost all the major suppliers of fish food in the world seem to only use meal, and it's only a very few who "say" they use "meat" or muscles-only instead (this seems to be ProGold and Omega One that I know of, but they tend not to list their ingredients either). If we were only carnivores, which the length of our human intestines says we certainly are not, we could NOT live on eating muscles, or "meat", alone; muscle foods alone simply don't have all the nutrients needed to sustain our bodies fully; so if we apply this to our GF friends, is it good to give them only muscles (I mean would it really be good for them to only eat muscles and nothing more)? I think for our GF friends, this would be un-natural!
ProGold does not list their ingredients (they "say" that there's a lot of good things in it somewhere, just "trust us", but they won't show us the order of predominance according to what others have said in these forums). Omega One also says they use a lot of good stuff in their advertising, just "trust us" again it seems, but they won't respond to my emails about a listing of ingredients (and I just haven't yet found a container of Omega One yet to see if it's listed already on it). Those who say they use muscle meats predominantly instead of meal are not really forthright for some puzzling reason.
I guess what I'm suggesting is that I don't think we should completely shy away from meal, since it has most of the rest of the organs in whatever is being processed and that is good to round out nutrition. If we can supply meat, or muscle meats, we should not provide them alone or only like we may prefer doing at our dinner tables (the nutrituion should be rounded out more like it is in a whole body -- besides, if we're not vegans, at our dinner tables, we have other things to eat in addition to muscles). Veggies are really good for our GF since they like to eat them, but since the veggies pass through without a color change (as noted in a lot of poo stories on these forums), they're not digesting much from them (since full digestion always changes the color) and that's probably why they must eat a LOT of veggies if they can't get anything else (they're not necessarily just PIGS; they couldn't survive otherwise on low-nutrition food because they have a fast-through system).
Yeah, Kissy, I don't disagree with you that meat (or muscles) should be more highly preferred proportionally than meal (and "meal" seems to be everything else other than muscle), and I especially like your saying look for "whole fish" (though I've never seen that particular phrase; I've only seen references to "fish meat" or "fish meal"). I think both are probably needed (not just one -- no matter which one) -- unless the "whole fish" thing can be found (Kissy, which brand did you see this on?).
I personally prefer the approach of giving omnivores like GF and most of our other fish friends a predominance of muscle (because that's what predominates in any whole body and that's why it should have a higher preference), and then some meal too (to "naturally" round out the picture at the carnivore end of things), and finally, lots of veggies ('cause they love 'em and they can get something from them). Even though I understand that Goldfish do not have a stomach like we humans have, their intestines are still long enough to access some nutrition from veggies, but their length may not be long enough to thrive on veggies only if compared to a more varied diet (again, we're comparing thriving with just surviving: they may survive on veggies alone, but they probably won't thrive unless they're "by nature" vegetarians, and GFs intestinal system is just too short for that). Since GFs have a quick in-and-out system, that means they are not able to fully break down complex carbohydrates, but their system is super well adapted, like lions and other carnivores, to get full and quick nutrition from the "whole" bodies of other animals or insects they eat.
I think the deal at DrsF&S is good enough for me unless others have had bad experiences with Azoo (and who in the world is Azoo?). I think it'll work out as long as I round out the nutrition with single veggies, gel foods (with tuna muscle, salmon muscle, sardine muscle, etc. -- oh, those muscles! -- and, of course, veggies and other good stuff all ground and mixed up in the gel), and perhaps other foods too (like frozen and/or live stuff or even some of the other dry or soft foods which only use meal to increase variety and to decrease dependence on any one thing).
Since I'm already going to place an order for some other stuff at DrsF&S, the shipping will add only $1 to the $10.99 price for Azoo as part of this larger order and that's for 2 1/2 lbs. of food and what'll I do with 2 1/2 lbs! Has anyone tried freezing pellets? I have a Food Saver which vacuum seals foods in bags or canning jars, and maybe I should do that before I freeze what I can't use within a week or two (or three or four). Has anyone tried vacuum sealing and/or freezing pellets?
I know that people who live in frozen areas of the world where little grows that they must eat all the parts of the animals they kill or they will lose health or die if those animals are all they have to eat (just "meat alone" does not have all the nutrients needed for human survival -- and again, that's only if they do not have a way to get vegetables and grains, milk, etc.).
Just what does "meat" mean? I note that our GF friends and all the other non- or semi-vegan fish eat "whole" bodies in nature, not just the muscle (and that's what we usually mean when we say "meat", we only mean muscle alone). Our GF friends do not have a butcher in nature to separate the muscles from the rest of the "whole" food like we have grown accustomed to doing in our stores (at least, for the "we" who are not vegans, of course).
I'm certainly not trying to defend a "meal only" approach to making fish foods since I fear that "meal" is not the whole animal either; it's probably just the leftovers after all the "meat" or sellable "muscle" parts have been removed. Hikari, Tetra, and almost all the major suppliers of fish food in the world seem to only use meal, and it's only a very few who "say" they use "meat" or muscles-only instead (this seems to be ProGold and Omega One that I know of, but they tend not to list their ingredients either). If we were only carnivores, which the length of our human intestines says we certainly are not, we could NOT live on eating muscles, or "meat", alone; muscle foods alone simply don't have all the nutrients needed to sustain our bodies fully; so if we apply this to our GF friends, is it good to give them only muscles (I mean would it really be good for them to only eat muscles and nothing more)? I think for our GF friends, this would be un-natural!
ProGold does not list their ingredients (they "say" that there's a lot of good things in it somewhere, just "trust us", but they won't show us the order of predominance according to what others have said in these forums). Omega One also says they use a lot of good stuff in their advertising, just "trust us" again it seems, but they won't respond to my emails about a listing of ingredients (and I just haven't yet found a container of Omega One yet to see if it's listed already on it). Those who say they use muscle meats predominantly instead of meal are not really forthright for some puzzling reason.
I guess what I'm suggesting is that I don't think we should completely shy away from meal, since it has most of the rest of the organs in whatever is being processed and that is good to round out nutrition. If we can supply meat, or muscle meats, we should not provide them alone or only like we may prefer doing at our dinner tables (the nutrituion should be rounded out more like it is in a whole body -- besides, if we're not vegans, at our dinner tables, we have other things to eat in addition to muscles). Veggies are really good for our GF since they like to eat them, but since the veggies pass through without a color change (as noted in a lot of poo stories on these forums), they're not digesting much from them (since full digestion always changes the color) and that's probably why they must eat a LOT of veggies if they can't get anything else (they're not necessarily just PIGS; they couldn't survive otherwise on low-nutrition food because they have a fast-through system).
Yeah, Kissy, I don't disagree with you that meat (or muscles) should be more highly preferred proportionally than meal (and "meal" seems to be everything else other than muscle), and I especially like your saying look for "whole fish" (though I've never seen that particular phrase; I've only seen references to "fish meat" or "fish meal"). I think both are probably needed (not just one -- no matter which one) -- unless the "whole fish" thing can be found (Kissy, which brand did you see this on?).
I personally prefer the approach of giving omnivores like GF and most of our other fish friends a predominance of muscle (because that's what predominates in any whole body and that's why it should have a higher preference), and then some meal too (to "naturally" round out the picture at the carnivore end of things), and finally, lots of veggies ('cause they love 'em and they can get something from them). Even though I understand that Goldfish do not have a stomach like we humans have, their intestines are still long enough to access some nutrition from veggies, but their length may not be long enough to thrive on veggies only if compared to a more varied diet (again, we're comparing thriving with just surviving: they may survive on veggies alone, but they probably won't thrive unless they're "by nature" vegetarians, and GFs intestinal system is just too short for that). Since GFs have a quick in-and-out system, that means they are not able to fully break down complex carbohydrates, but their system is super well adapted, like lions and other carnivores, to get full and quick nutrition from the "whole" bodies of other animals or insects they eat.
I think the deal at DrsF&S is good enough for me unless others have had bad experiences with Azoo (and who in the world is Azoo?). I think it'll work out as long as I round out the nutrition with single veggies, gel foods (with tuna muscle, salmon muscle, sardine muscle, etc. -- oh, those muscles! -- and, of course, veggies and other good stuff all ground and mixed up in the gel), and perhaps other foods too (like frozen and/or live stuff or even some of the other dry or soft foods which only use meal to increase variety and to decrease dependence on any one thing).
Since I'm already going to place an order for some other stuff at DrsF&S, the shipping will add only $1 to the $10.99 price for Azoo as part of this larger order and that's for 2 1/2 lbs. of food and what'll I do with 2 1/2 lbs! Has anyone tried freezing pellets? I have a Food Saver which vacuum seals foods in bags or canning jars, and maybe I should do that before I freeze what I can't use within a week or two (or three or four). Has anyone tried vacuum sealing and/or freezing pellets?
Okay wow huge long post 
I myself don't know enough about nutrition etc to add much, and I realize I need to find out exactly what "whole fish" means. I'm guessing it means pretty much the entire thing, meat, skeleton, organs, etc. Assuming that is true, it would be most natural because fish just slurp up smaller fish, they don't pick pick thru the parts. This is also true for most other animals. When I volunteered at a no kill animal shelter for a few years, they only fed their animals foods that didn't have the word "meal" or corns, starches etc. in the first few lines. I've also found information about cat and dog food regaurding this topic online, but I am also assuming that it is the same between our house pets and our finned friends.
I don't keep goldfish right now because of the lack of healthy goldfish in stores near me and planning ahead for college in a year and a half, but I've never ordered pro-gold for a few reasons, one of them being that they don't list the ingrediants. I'm not saying they are evil or anything, but I don't want to spend that much money on food that says "just trust us" despite the popularity of it here. Just my personal opinion
However, Omega one actually does list the ingrediants and this is what I've always fed my goldfish, and now my tropicals too. Here are the ingrediants:
Whole salmon, whole herring, whole shrimp, wheat flour, wheat gluten, fresh kelp etc... the rest is stuff like vitamins and things that I don't know what they are. I'll list them if you like though. I know there are some things in this food that wouldn't be in a goldfish's natural diet, and the word "fresh" that describes kelp can be misleading. "Fresh" can be a relative word and is probably being used to convince buyers. However, I still prefer this product because its got omega 3 and 6, natural fats and pigments, a variety of ingrediants, and low starch and ash
I have found no evidence talking about the effects of feeding animals food with a lot of "meals" as opposed to "wholes", just articles talking about which is better.
I do know however that freezing your pellets is not the best idea. An article on Goldfish Connection talks about the best way to keep fish food fresh, and the best thing to do is to keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place. For prolonged freshness, you separate a few month long quantities of food into smaller airtight bags. This way when you open the bag to feed your fish every day, you are only loosing the freshness of a month's supply which will not hurt it at all. I wouldn't recomend buying more than a year's supply of food because after that its starts to loose its freshness. Here's the article for more information:
http://www.goldfishconnection.com/articles...=94&parentId=11
EDIT: I think your goldfish will be very healthy with the diet you give them. I have not heard of Azoo food (but they do make tiny HOB filters good for betta tanks) but it sounds at least medium quality, and with the supplements of the foods you mentioned, there's no way you can go wrong
I myself don't know enough about nutrition etc to add much, and I realize I need to find out exactly what "whole fish" means. I'm guessing it means pretty much the entire thing, meat, skeleton, organs, etc. Assuming that is true, it would be most natural because fish just slurp up smaller fish, they don't pick pick thru the parts. This is also true for most other animals. When I volunteered at a no kill animal shelter for a few years, they only fed their animals foods that didn't have the word "meal" or corns, starches etc. in the first few lines. I've also found information about cat and dog food regaurding this topic online, but I am also assuming that it is the same between our house pets and our finned friends.
I don't keep goldfish right now because of the lack of healthy goldfish in stores near me and planning ahead for college in a year and a half, but I've never ordered pro-gold for a few reasons, one of them being that they don't list the ingrediants. I'm not saying they are evil or anything, but I don't want to spend that much money on food that says "just trust us" despite the popularity of it here. Just my personal opinion
However, Omega one actually does list the ingrediants and this is what I've always fed my goldfish, and now my tropicals too. Here are the ingrediants:
Whole salmon, whole herring, whole shrimp, wheat flour, wheat gluten, fresh kelp etc... the rest is stuff like vitamins and things that I don't know what they are. I'll list them if you like though. I know there are some things in this food that wouldn't be in a goldfish's natural diet, and the word "fresh" that describes kelp can be misleading. "Fresh" can be a relative word and is probably being used to convince buyers. However, I still prefer this product because its got omega 3 and 6, natural fats and pigments, a variety of ingrediants, and low starch and ash
I have found no evidence talking about the effects of feeding animals food with a lot of "meals" as opposed to "wholes", just articles talking about which is better.
I do know however that freezing your pellets is not the best idea. An article on Goldfish Connection talks about the best way to keep fish food fresh, and the best thing to do is to keep it in an airtight container in a cool, dark, dry place. For prolonged freshness, you separate a few month long quantities of food into smaller airtight bags. This way when you open the bag to feed your fish every day, you are only loosing the freshness of a month's supply which will not hurt it at all. I wouldn't recomend buying more than a year's supply of food because after that its starts to loose its freshness. Here's the article for more information:
http://www.goldfishconnection.com/articles...=94&parentId=11
EDIT: I think your goldfish will be very healthy with the diet you give them. I have not heard of Azoo food (but they do make tiny HOB filters good for betta tanks) but it sounds at least medium quality, and with the supplements of the foods you mentioned, there's no way you can go wrong
Well, I think it's very interesting: "meal" refers to everything except muscle meats, "meat" refers to muscle meats primarily, and "whole" refers obviously to the entire animal. The most "natural" choice is, of course, "whole" and it's absolutely amazing that only one dry fishfood-making firm in the world uses that term of which I am now aware (Omega One).
I still wonder why Omega One would not respond to my request (and I was very, VERY polite when I asked) for a list of ingredients, but I'm SO glad you, Kissy, did respond with the information! I really like that Omega One lists the ingredients as you quoted them ("whole..." like you said) and I will definitely add Omega One to my arsenal of foods that I have on hand (and I have actually ordered some now).
I note that Azoo costs 25 cents per ounce, ProGold costs between 62 cents to $1 per ounce, and Omega One Goldfish Pellets cost $1 per ounce and their flakes cost between $1.54 to $2.26 per ounce (all not including shipping and the costs are based on the largest most-cost-effective size available, unless the word "between" is used, in which case the smallest to the largest sizes were used for comparison).
The cost-benefit ratio will be a matter of a judgment call here. Very interesting! I think the best formula is definitely Omega One Pellets for using 3 whole fish for nutrition and it's at the mid-cost point too (but not the flakes), and the winner of the best price is, of course, Azoo. The ProGold, while being mid-priced, only loses because it ducks taking responsibility for it's ingredient list, though it is really, REALLY popular within this forum, and IF they'd be more forthcoming about their ingredient list (and I don't know how they get away with not doing a traditional listing legally), then ProGold would be a winner "IF" their list stands up to their advertising claims.
Talking about claims, Azoo claims their food is: "Designed to help goldfish resist disease, adapt to environment and acheive brighter color. It's a daily nutritious food for all goldfish and coldwater fish. Promotes good overall health and controls fish odors. Delicious pellets for daily feeding." They claim a lot in that first sentence and I'm not sure I see in their list of ingredients how they accomplish such a feat (but, gee whiz, for 25 cents an ounce, it's a lot of GF-eating bang for the buck)!
Thanks for the link, Kissy, about storage of GF foods and about freezing in particular. While 2 1/2 lbs of goldfish food sounds like tons to me when compared to the usual quantities I buy, it'll probably go fairly quickly. I especially found useful that "the Fatty Acids in the goldfish food become rancid very quickly when the goldfish food is thawed" and this seems a very important reason to not freeze the food; however, the refrigerator reason doesn't seem as solid to me, especially if vacuum sealing is done in small quantities (the condensation process needs air to move from one place to another like a vehicle and vacuum sealing removes the air). The 2 1/2 lbs is going to need some kind of preservation, since I'm going to use fresh and frozen foods along with gel foods and other dry foods too ( believe in diversity), and all these added together will increase how long the 2 1/2 lbs will last (but maybe it'll go quicker than I think).
I like that you said, Kissy, "I have found no evidence talking about the effects of feeding animals food with a lot of "meals" as opposed to "wholes", just articles talking about which is better" and I think these forums and the sharing of information between people here is the only evidence were likely to get in the short run. As long as the industry makes a lot of money with overpriced fish food using primarily the lowest cost items available (the "meals" or discards as many would call the "meal" contents), the industry will only continue to talk and make claims while laughing on the way to the bank. Hopefully, if more companies start using whole souces of foods since they actually sell best, things will change for the better.
I love these discussions and get SO much more out of them than advertising claims since the measure used here is fish growth, tank activity, health and wellness, watching them eat and poo, and the sheer joy of living with our GF friends through the years (which is the "real" evidence)!
I still wonder why Omega One would not respond to my request (and I was very, VERY polite when I asked) for a list of ingredients, but I'm SO glad you, Kissy, did respond with the information! I really like that Omega One lists the ingredients as you quoted them ("whole..." like you said) and I will definitely add Omega One to my arsenal of foods that I have on hand (and I have actually ordered some now).
I note that Azoo costs 25 cents per ounce, ProGold costs between 62 cents to $1 per ounce, and Omega One Goldfish Pellets cost $1 per ounce and their flakes cost between $1.54 to $2.26 per ounce (all not including shipping and the costs are based on the largest most-cost-effective size available, unless the word "between" is used, in which case the smallest to the largest sizes were used for comparison).
The cost-benefit ratio will be a matter of a judgment call here. Very interesting! I think the best formula is definitely Omega One Pellets for using 3 whole fish for nutrition and it's at the mid-cost point too (but not the flakes), and the winner of the best price is, of course, Azoo. The ProGold, while being mid-priced, only loses because it ducks taking responsibility for it's ingredient list, though it is really, REALLY popular within this forum, and IF they'd be more forthcoming about their ingredient list (and I don't know how they get away with not doing a traditional listing legally), then ProGold would be a winner "IF" their list stands up to their advertising claims.
Talking about claims, Azoo claims their food is: "Designed to help goldfish resist disease, adapt to environment and acheive brighter color. It's a daily nutritious food for all goldfish and coldwater fish. Promotes good overall health and controls fish odors. Delicious pellets for daily feeding." They claim a lot in that first sentence and I'm not sure I see in their list of ingredients how they accomplish such a feat (but, gee whiz, for 25 cents an ounce, it's a lot of GF-eating bang for the buck)!
Thanks for the link, Kissy, about storage of GF foods and about freezing in particular. While 2 1/2 lbs of goldfish food sounds like tons to me when compared to the usual quantities I buy, it'll probably go fairly quickly. I especially found useful that "the Fatty Acids in the goldfish food become rancid very quickly when the goldfish food is thawed" and this seems a very important reason to not freeze the food; however, the refrigerator reason doesn't seem as solid to me, especially if vacuum sealing is done in small quantities (the condensation process needs air to move from one place to another like a vehicle and vacuum sealing removes the air). The 2 1/2 lbs is going to need some kind of preservation, since I'm going to use fresh and frozen foods along with gel foods and other dry foods too ( believe in diversity), and all these added together will increase how long the 2 1/2 lbs will last (but maybe it'll go quicker than I think).
I like that you said, Kissy, "I have found no evidence talking about the effects of feeding animals food with a lot of "meals" as opposed to "wholes", just articles talking about which is better" and I think these forums and the sharing of information between people here is the only evidence were likely to get in the short run. As long as the industry makes a lot of money with overpriced fish food using primarily the lowest cost items available (the "meals" or discards as many would call the "meal" contents), the industry will only continue to talk and make claims while laughing on the way to the bank. Hopefully, if more companies start using whole souces of foods since they actually sell best, things will change for the better.
I love these discussions and get SO much more out of them than advertising claims since the measure used here is fish growth, tank activity, health and wellness, watching them eat and poo, and the sheer joy of living with our GF friends through the years (which is the "real" evidence)!
Wow, this thread is awesome 
I hope other people have more information about commercial food or nutrition. That's all I know really and I want to learn more. You're welcome for my info and thoughts, and thank you for your info and thoughts!
I hope other people have more information about commercial food or nutrition. That's all I know really and I want to learn more. You're welcome for my info and thoughts, and thank you for your info and thoughts!
Ok...3 huge loooooong posts I'm gonna wash my eyes and read them again 
I'm gonna wash my eyes and read them again
Just to keep the record straight... Pro-Gold does list the contents on every package.
Fish meal
Krill meal
Wheat meal
Shrimp meal
Alfalfa meal
Fish oil
Dried Brewers Yeast
Immuno-stimulant
Spirulina & much more....
Protein 40%
Fat 9%
Fiber 5%
Undoubtedly, some types of pellet goldfish foods are better than others. Proving whether the brands that are considered HIGH QUALITY premium goldfish food have gotten this reputation because of their contents or good advertising is beyond my ability. But I do know that no single food source will allow a goldfish to thrive throughout it's entire life span. I believe that almost any brand of pellet goldfish food is OK, as long as it's just part of a balanced varied diet.
Fish meal
Krill meal
Wheat meal
Shrimp meal
Alfalfa meal
Fish oil
Dried Brewers Yeast
Immuno-stimulant
Spirulina & much more....
Protein 40%
Fat 9%
Fiber 5%
Undoubtedly, some types of pellet goldfish foods are better than others. Proving whether the brands that are considered HIGH QUALITY premium goldfish food have gotten this reputation because of their contents or good advertising is beyond my ability. But I do know that no single food source will allow a goldfish to thrive throughout it's entire life span. I believe that almost any brand of pellet goldfish food is OK, as long as it's just part of a balanced varied diet.
Thank you, Bak2It, for sharing the ProGold ingredient listing. I had understood from previous posts that the information was not available, but perhaps I misunderstood (and I'm glad I did!).
It's interesting to note that the seemingly most popular brand of GF food on this forum is 100% "meal" based, with the number one ingredient being "fish meal", which is the most vague and general description of all the "meals" -- it could be any type of fish in the world and come from anywhere, including places that have really low standards of quality, etc., and it could vary from batch to batch. Fish meal has no definite meaning since the word "fish" could be hundreds of varieties or just one (so the fish food you get with "fish meal" could have different fish in it today than it had the previous time -- and while variety is good, this may not be so good in this case); however, in contrast, krill meal, shrimp meal, white fish meal, etc., all have clear and definite meanings. I'm actually amazed that fish meal is the first item in ProGold (especially since it's the lowest costing "meal" of them all); if fish meal had been lower down on the list, that would not have surprised me as much as it being the number one item with the biggest proportion in ProGold.
The second item in ProGold is Krill meal, and this is a plus; but the third item is wheat (wheat!) and I'm not sure how much wheat goldfish get in nature (wheat!). Wheat is a complex carbohydrate and GF don't have a long enough digestive tract for complex carb's according to biology, but ProGold's "highly respected Aqua-culture Nutrition Specialist" must know better (what I know, for sure, is that fish meal and wheat are both two of the cheapest items that can be used as ingredients -- and I mean "the cheapest"). Wheat is usually just considered a "filler" to bulk up and bind most of the average fish foods that use it, like Aquarian, Tetra, Wardley, etc. (I know, since I've created a database with all the complete ingredients of all the commercial foods that I can find, and I've currently got 104 fish foods in the database). "Fillers" usually don't go into a product because they have nutritional value -- which doesn't mean they're bad at all, their function is to bind (hold things together like glue or like the gel we use in the foods we make ourselves) and wheat also creates size in a product like fish food -- but nutrition is not the primary purpose of wheat in fish foods. I think the items that follow wheat in the ProGold ingredient list should have been used before wheat since they have more nutritional value to our GF than wheat, but can we know better than ProGold's "highly respected Aqua-culture Nutrition Specialist" (or are they primarily making all the money they can by using the cheapest ingredients they can while still providing "some" nutrition like all the other fish food corporations do?). Again, cheap, CHEAP! I'm still surprised (and I think it's time to go make another batch of my own gel food -- and thank you, thank you, Koko's, for showing me how)!
However, considering what's the best of the commercial foods, since Omega One Pellets and ProGold cost about the same in smaller quantities (about $1 an ounce), and since within Omega One the fish are premium-costing named fish, like salmon, herring and shrimp (in addition to being "whole fish" like what our fish always eat in nature), Omega One is clearly the winner here in my mind (and like I said previously, I've already ordered my first batch of Omega One based on these discussions)!
Again, thanks, Bak2it, for "keeping the record straight" and sharing the ingredient list! It's VERY much appreciated and it made a BIG difference to me!
It's interesting to note that the seemingly most popular brand of GF food on this forum is 100% "meal" based, with the number one ingredient being "fish meal", which is the most vague and general description of all the "meals" -- it could be any type of fish in the world and come from anywhere, including places that have really low standards of quality, etc., and it could vary from batch to batch. Fish meal has no definite meaning since the word "fish" could be hundreds of varieties or just one (so the fish food you get with "fish meal" could have different fish in it today than it had the previous time -- and while variety is good, this may not be so good in this case); however, in contrast, krill meal, shrimp meal, white fish meal, etc., all have clear and definite meanings. I'm actually amazed that fish meal is the first item in ProGold (especially since it's the lowest costing "meal" of them all); if fish meal had been lower down on the list, that would not have surprised me as much as it being the number one item with the biggest proportion in ProGold.
The second item in ProGold is Krill meal, and this is a plus; but the third item is wheat (wheat!) and I'm not sure how much wheat goldfish get in nature (wheat!). Wheat is a complex carbohydrate and GF don't have a long enough digestive tract for complex carb's according to biology, but ProGold's "highly respected Aqua-culture Nutrition Specialist" must know better (what I know, for sure, is that fish meal and wheat are both two of the cheapest items that can be used as ingredients -- and I mean "the cheapest"). Wheat is usually just considered a "filler" to bulk up and bind most of the average fish foods that use it, like Aquarian, Tetra, Wardley, etc. (I know, since I've created a database with all the complete ingredients of all the commercial foods that I can find, and I've currently got 104 fish foods in the database). "Fillers" usually don't go into a product because they have nutritional value -- which doesn't mean they're bad at all, their function is to bind (hold things together like glue or like the gel we use in the foods we make ourselves) and wheat also creates size in a product like fish food -- but nutrition is not the primary purpose of wheat in fish foods. I think the items that follow wheat in the ProGold ingredient list should have been used before wheat since they have more nutritional value to our GF than wheat, but can we know better than ProGold's "highly respected Aqua-culture Nutrition Specialist" (or are they primarily making all the money they can by using the cheapest ingredients they can while still providing "some" nutrition like all the other fish food corporations do?). Again, cheap, CHEAP! I'm still surprised (and I think it's time to go make another batch of my own gel food -- and thank you, thank you, Koko's, for showing me how)!
However, considering what's the best of the commercial foods, since Omega One Pellets and ProGold cost about the same in smaller quantities (about $1 an ounce), and since within Omega One the fish are premium-costing named fish, like salmon, herring and shrimp (in addition to being "whole fish" like what our fish always eat in nature), Omega One is clearly the winner here in my mind (and like I said previously, I've already ordered my first batch of Omega One based on these discussions)!
Again, thanks, Bak2it, for "keeping the record straight" and sharing the ingredient list! It's VERY much appreciated and it made a BIG difference to me!
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