I have sinking aqueon goldfish pellets which I hate feeding to my ryukin. She is a floaty fish, and easily constipated. I'll notice after feeding these that her poop will trail longer than necessary. This is why I hardly ever feed pellets and I am worried she is not getting everything she needs in her diet. I do soak the pellets for atleast 5 minutes, too... sometimes longer, if I get sidetracked. >_<!

I rotate her diet between the following:

Peas
Orange
Kale
Brine Shrimp (new to her diet)
Zuchini
Banana
The occasional half of an algae wafer
Dried Blood worms
Freeze dried tubifex worms

And she has lots of live plants to nibble on as well as algae.

I was planning on making a gel food that was suggested. But I'm wondering if she is being underfed?
I feed her three times a day or more, normally small amounts. Is she getting enough of the right stuff or should I add a few pellets to her diet?

I would try different types of sinking pellets. Hikari Lionhead is not bad. I use New Life Spectrum (NLS) exclusively and they are doing great on it. I have found NLS to be the best food out there and it truly is complete and balanced. The important thing about pellets is that in addition to the macronutrients provided with most other 'whole' or 'natural' foods, they also provide the necessary micronutrients and trace elements that even highly varied more 'natural' diets do not always include.

I feed mine once per day....and while cycling, once every 3 days. You are definately not underfeeding...I'd be worried about overfeeding.

A variety is necessary to include meats, veggies, and fruits.....and with fish prone to floatiness, gel foods seem to stop it.

Good luck! I'm sure you'll figure it out soon.

Lmao, I should be worried, Lolafish. She's has her antics and I am beginning to suspect she knows more about bribing than she lets on. It's funny, I can hardly resist her splashing and wiggling around near the top waiting for meals.

I'd been reading that it was better to feed small portions throughout the day. So I've been trying it. :] And I'll look for NLS at the store next time I'm in, Fishguy! Thanks for the advice.


edit: Oh and I had tried a pure pea gel food, Lola... She did NOT appreciate it. And I really did not appreciate it either.

i feed my guys hikari lionhead and it is very good product they love i would recommend it to you to try but they also get gel food, and lots of fruit and veges. I have heard of new life spectrum being good but have never seen it in Oz so not sure about that pro gold is one of the best goldfish foods on the market you can get it from goldfish connection. Also while this is not a pellet or a flake not exactly sure what it is lol i have heard great things about a product called cyclop-eeeze don't know if it available in the states though

They are more used to small frequent feedings. It is better for their digestive system. Feeding frequency doesn't mean they are over or under fed, that depends on how much is being fed each time.

I wasn't insinuating the OP was overfeeding her fish. I was being sarcastic.

I just wanted to make sure it was clear. The last thing needed is for someone reading this to think the wrong thing.

All in good fun and understood!

I'll pick up the New Life Spectrum and see how she likes it, if it makes her floaty, etc. Perhaps I could in cooperate it into a gel food if gel foods help with the floating.

I've had a lot of success with Hikari lionhead, and I've recently started feeding progold. I like it, but it's very 'crumbly' so I find it can break apart easily, the goldies don't seem too fond of it either.

The gel food is a good idea, you can always put your pellets in there along with other ingredients.

i find placing pellets in to gel food is the best way, this way all the air is out and like chrissy said u can add alot of other things to the food

Omega One is the best commerial fish food I've seen. Hikari is next. Most of the other fish food brands you find at the pet stores are junk. I haven't seen New Life Spectrum so I can't comment on it. Pro gold is a private label goldfish food.

I just went to a new pet store that just opened up and they have New Life Spectrum fish food. It looks better than most the other brands but Omega One is a much better food.

Omega One is not better, period. When I was looking through some of their different foods I found artifical colors and multiple preservatives. NLS has ethoxyquin which is a preservative, but they do not add it. It is in all fish meals by law and they simply admit it is in there. I emailed Omega One a couple weeks ago about these concerns and have not received any response.

Omega One is much better. It has whole samon, whole herring, whole shrimp, fresh kelp. Omega One doesn't use fish meal. NLS has one maybe two good ingredients other than that it's not much better than other fish foods.


Omega One has ethoxyquin in it, So what. All processed fish, pet and human foods have preservatives in it. If you don't want preservatives make your own fish foods or feed them live foods.




Like you say NLS has ethoxyquin in it. So you can't say Omega One isn't as good because it has ethoxyquin in it when NLS does too.

and the VERY BEST.

Have you tried NLS? The results achieved with it are superior to any food or diet out there. Their website has an enormous amount of information on it explaining the food. It also explains the results achieved (such as highly specialized feeders like moorish idols and other marine fish thriving on NLS EXCLUSIVELY) with this food. In addition there are many testimonials form people who use it.

Does Omega One add the ethoxyquin and the other preservative(s) or are they part of the meals they use? If they are only parts of the meals then that is one thing.

I do not buy foods with added colors. This shows they are simply advertising to the person buying it. A person expects a veggie flake to be green. So guess what, artifical colors.

Do you feed Omega One exclusively?

And live food is just a good way to introduce pathogens. In addition they are nutritionally incomplete and increase aggression.

Omega One doens't use meals. Fishmeals and other meals have little value. Omega One uses fresh ingredients. That alone makes Omega One better than any fish food that uses meals. Fish food that uses meals are junk no matter what they claim.

I feed my big fish omega one exclusively the smaller ones I'm also feeding hikari until I use it up then they will also be fed Omega One exclusively. Fry are raised on newly hatched brine shrimp and earthworms. These live foods don't have pathogens.

you know what, if you dont like the processed foods make your own. you know what else progold is the best made goldfish food out there.

Have you tried it? If not then you can make no claim as to how good or bad it is. The results are what prove this food.

sorry but i make my own food, I like to know exactly what i feed my fish and from photos of my fish you will see how big they are and healthy they are. So i guess its your opinion vs others, every tried to make your own or progold?

I have talked with others who have used both Pro Gold and NLS and they said it is no better than NLS.

I have used variety diets of all sorts and they did not come close to the results I am getting with NLS.

NLS does not use by-products. They use whole herring, whole krill, and whole squid.

It has also been proven to prevent HLLE and HITH when fed exclusively. In addition, it has even been shown to reverse these when they have already developed because the fish were previously fed insufficient diets.

In addition to this, fatty liver disease and problems with too much fat deposits in other organs have been shown to be a major problem with fish. Of course we effectively never get necropsies done on any fish. So all these fish that die of 'old age' (actually much shorter than their full potential), minor changes made recently in the tank, or unknown reasons may very well be due to prolonged improper diet. NLS keeps fat down to only 5%, too little to have excess which will be excessively deposited in the fish. All the Omega One foods I just checked on their site have 10-14% fat. Omega fatty acids are included as something that can cause these excess fat deposits. Too much of anything is a bad thing. And it seems Omega One and many other foods have exceeded the safe values for fat.

I think anyone who cares enough about their fish to feel so strongly about any diet should read the nutrition article on NLS's website.

Just about every living thing on this planet does better when it has a variety in its diet. Variety - meaning a little of all kinds of things. Goldfish are onmiverous - meaning they eat just about everything. They need/want/eat vegetables and meat and starch, etc.

In an ideal world, your fish would have a constant supply of fresh plants to graze on and unceasing supply of dead/dying insects fallilng on the water. Since we keep indoor tanks, we need to emulate this diet.

MAny goldfish pellets are diets that are designed to copy this natural need of the fish. Most have been carefully formulated such that they come as close to the perceived needs of the fish as the people making it can determine. The recipe differs from processed food to processed food because each set of makers have different understandings of the fish's needs. YOu can also find different recipes for different fish needs or times of the year. In the fall, breeders do better with a high level of protien - copying the natural diet of insects dying in the fall. In the spring, greens are perhaps better. Some foods are made to address these needs. In this respect, there are very few foods that are "perfect" year round. Mixing them up is still the best idea.

ProGold happens to be a VERY good food. I feed it as a major staple in my fish's diets. But I also feed NLS and Hikari and fresh greens and homemade gel foods and fruits. I try to vary the diet - the more different things you feed, the better chance is that you will cover all the nutritional needs of the fish.

Many of you have foods that you particularly like - the fish do well on it, it is readily available where you are, it is easy to feed, etc. etc. That is fine - GREAT in fact. Just realize that not all people/fish are exactly the same.

The goal is a complete and balanced diet. That means all the vital nutrients in the right proportions. Variety is not a nutrient. It is not needed. Most prepared foods are not complete or balanced. In the past this meant you needed variety to achieve the real goal of a complete and balanced diet. If you can achieve this in one food (which NLS has proven to be complete and balanced diet) there is no need to vary it at all as you have achieved the real goal of a complete and balanced diet.

Omega One goldfish pellets has 8% crude fat.
Omega One goldfish flakes has 10% crude fat.
" Shrimp pellets....8%
" Kelp flakes...... 10%
" Kelp pellets.......10%
" Veggie flakes....10%
Cichlid pellets......10%
Cichlid flakes.......11%
Freshwater flakes 11%
Marine flakes.......11%
Super color..........11%
First flakes...........14%

Omega One also don't use by-products. They use whole samon, whole herring, and whole shrimp. Omega One is located in Alaska and buy their ingredients fresh directly from the fishermen. Check out their website.

Omega One might have a little more fat in it but I'm not going to worry about it. It's still way better than most brands found in pet stores.

I'll say that Omega One and New Life Spectrum are the best two fish foods found in pet stores. Neither one of us is qualified to to say which one is really the best and it's not worth fighting about.

So you will ignore the higher levels of fat just because? I will need more information to convince me it is not harmful than just ignoring facts.

So Omega One has been proven to reverse diet caused health problems? That is pretty strong proof to methat NLS is better. If you look through the articles on their website and the testimonials from people who use it (who are not part of the company) you will see why NLS is better.

If were a fish that would get only pellets, every single day, no matter how much vital nutrients is in it, I'd be one sad little fish. Seriously it's like eating sandwiches 7 days a week.

In my opinion, I think that, even when a fish food product has all the essentials, I think that varying the goldfish diet is still important. They'll love you for it. ^^

You cannot compare our diet to a fish's. We have become used to the absolute most varied diet the planet has ever seen. Not only do we eat almost everything you can find in nature, we mix it all together and add chemicals to come up with even more foods.

Fish on the other hand are simply driven by an instinct to fill up. They do not need variety. And if the results achieved with a single food are better than a varied diet, are you going to sacrifice their health so they can have variety?

My fish have been on it for years and are very enthusiastic about feeding time. I have no doubts they love this food. Their response to it proves that. Far from a 'sad little fish'.

I used to feed my fish pellets only (Hikari for a long time) but now I'm all about variety as well. As a biology student studying stream fish, I can say that YES, variety is key. Even if fish are getting everything they need from one food, for their digestive systems alone it's always a great idea to feed other foods, particullarly fresh greens/fruit.

Sure there's nothing wrong with feeding just pellets, if they are high quality, but I don't do it anymore. I feed a mixture of progold and Hikari mainly, with peas and gel food every other day.

I only used the sandwich part as an example on how dull it would be to eat the same thing every day. Even though they have the so called instinct to "fill up", variety still plays an important part in growth, just as the nutrients does. Some food they consume, for example, has more nutrient than others. Also, some type of foods, such a peas or maybe other vegetable based foods, can act as a laxative to prevent constipation.

What studies have you done or read that prove that variety is vital?

I am a Biology major so this is not unfamiliar to me. I would be glad to read any scientific articles you can link to that show at all that variety is needed.

NLS has been shown to avoid digestive system problems in many types of fish with sensitive, specialized digestive systems such as mbuna, frontosa, and many marine fish. The high quality, easily digestible ingredients are what avoid the problems with other foods that things like peas and other foods help to prevent and cure.

If you took any of the diets listed and mixed them into a single pellet or gel food to get a complete and balanced diet, how is that any different than starting with a high quality complete diet in the first place?

Do you have any evidence at all that a lack of variety impedes growth? It is simply not vital at all. Mine are growing faster on NLS exclusively than on any other diet I have ever used. Most importantly they are growing with better proportions, colors, and health than any other diet.

Daily, seasonal, and annual variations in the diet in the wild still sum up to a total diet for the animal. In nature this is achieved with variety. In captivity we can provide a complete and balanced diet by mixing all the ingredients needed to provide the essential nutrients in a balanced form.

Fishguy...I'm pretty shocked at how agressive you're being, to be honest. I've always loved koko's because of the open, sharing environment.

I never said that lack of variety would impede growth, or even damage the fish in any way, just that it is generally better to include variety. I've spent a LOT of time working with people in aquaculture, stream fish ecological studies, national parks, etc who agree. Though their captive fish are typically fed pelleted food (and not high quality...sad to say) they have all expressed concerns about the variety of the diets. Fish aquaculture is fairly new and there are things we simply may not know, so replicating wild diets helps to ensure healthy animals. Even in the physiology lab where I work, we feed the rats a variety, in addition to their pelleted food.

I don't have time to do a lit search for the sake of this, but check out Aquacultural Nutrition, the Journal of Fish Ecology or Aquaculture and read some of the studies on nutrient absorption, feeding success, etc. It's still a guessing game in large part, variety never hurts.

Stampede posted about variety being important for growth, that is what I was responding to for that part.

Just like you would correct bad information if you saw it posted, if I see something posted that I do not believe is true I will respond and correct it.

I focus more on pet fish care rather than commercial fish.

Would you read the Nutrition article on New Life Spectrum's website? I think he takes a little liberty in some of the information, but for the most part it explains A LOT about prepared foods.

Again, variety being fed and taking all that variety and making a single pellet out of it, how is that any worse?

OK, sorry about that one.

I'll give the article a read tonight(I'm in the lab now doing this before anyone notices I'm not doing work!). I tend to be wary of what anyone writes about their own product, but I'm sure it can back up whatever is said.

I don't think it's absolutely worse to feed the single pellet, if you know it's got everything..it's the same as making gel food yourself and feeding only that. I just know that I myself, along with a lot of other keepers, don't choose to do that. I like to know that the fish are getting fresh food and nutrients from different sources, I'm the same with all the animals I keep...and myself for that matter! I know pelleted foods have come a long way and are *very likely* to provide all the nutrients fish need, but I still think other foods (particullarly fresh veggies) help to maintain the health of their digestive systems. Since making gel food and feeding more peas, I haven't had a swim bladder issue in my goldies..something I've lost a lot of awesome fish to. I'm just of the mind that I'd rather be safe than sorry, so I make sure to keep variety in my animal's diets.

my opinion is your being quite pushy about this food, everyone likes to give there goldfish the best and i would have to agree that a verity of foods is better for them, these fish we keep aren't like there wild cousins they have problems, and to say one food is the number one food of them all isn't true no matter what they say, I'm like all the others i like to give my fish verity they need it and i surely don't like eating the same thing every day.

Enough!

I wish I could give proof of my argument, but sadly I stopped studying ecology/biology since last year because time isn't in my favor and trying to find consistant articles on the internet is hard nowadays. As for the library, I will try and look into it in my old University, since I am still a student... I may even consider meeting up with my old teacher and have a friendly debate on the subject, just like this one. =)

As for variety being important, I still stand my grounds.

I pretty much know that goldfish or any other type of fish, for that matters have the instinct to fill up, no matter the food they eat (that, even applies to domesticated fish such as our beloved goldfish). Though, that instinct just doesn't apply to fish, but also to other type of animals, such as mammals or birds. It even applies to us humans, since we are animals of the mammal type. Though today, that instinct our ancestors once had, considerably diminished because of Technology of today and not to forget that wonderful building you call Grocery Store. We just buy what we need instead of hunting or fishing, that is unless, you work as a fisherman/hunter/farmer and live in a rural area.

Fish and mammals, surely have a different diet and a different digestive track, but they have three things I know of in common; consume, digest and poo/pee. As you said earlier, I shouldn't compare human's diet to a goldfish, yet, we need several of the same nutrients to survive as well, such as protein, for example. Humans and fish (even the ones kept in tanks) eat a constant variety of food (for the fish kept in a tank, it's all up to the owner to give variety). Some food gives the energy both species need to live, while others gives the antibodies to prevent diseases... and even some foods, alone or mixed with other types, tends to expand, which gives in result,constipation. There is also diarrhea. (God I should know... >_<)

Sure, variety of foods processed into one single type of pellet/capsule or whatsoever is great, heck even wonderful! But would it be capable to offer as much as the variety of food that is usually consumed? Sometimes products released in the market, either it be fish food (enhanced or not) in pet stores, enhanced foods at the supermarkets or supplement capsules in a drugstore, some of it sometimes are just too good to be true. Even though I, for example, take supplement capsules to get nutrients, I still eat a variety of food such as vegetable, meat, poultry, dairy products, cereals and bread. I swear if I were to live on a supplement capsule or ham sandwiches, 7 days a week, 12 months a year, I'd cry to sleep every night.

I thought it was too good to be true. I even tried it with my mixes and didn't see a difference. Then I saw an ad in TFH magazine that showed the owner of NLS's 2,000 gallon marine tank with all sorts of fish that had been fed nothing but NLS for 8 years (now about 10 years). After that I did more research on it and found that the best results with it are achieved when it is fed exclusively. So I gave it a shot as the only food I fed them and was amazed at the results. Now it is the only food I feed.

It is the nutrients that are vital, variety is just the usual way of getting all of them.

I have not had a single problem with digestion or disease since feeding NLS exclusively. Even in sensitive goldfish and mbuna cichlids that usually require special diets high in the vegetables mentioned for the reasons mentioned.

The Thera+A even took care of internal parasites I had in a couple discus that were not settling in right. They just kept losing weight while the others thrived. I switched to NLS Thera+A (includes garlic as a natural way to deal with internal parasites). Sure enough they turned around.

I am not simply taking what the company claims and regurgitating it. I think diet is one of the two most important things in fishkeeping (diet and water quality) and I do my best to make sure I am doing the best for my fish. If I had any doubts about how good anything was (diet, water change schedule, filtration, etc.) I would do my best to improve. I would not use NLS if I did not feel it is the absolute best option for them. My personal experience as well as the experience of MANY others proves again and again that NLS is not just hype, it is not just good advertising, it is not just a great food, it is the best diet.

There is also a good video on their site. It explains a lot of the benefits of NLS. It even shows freshwater rays as well as many marine fish (lionfish, even moorish idols) going after this stuff very enthusiastically.

I think it is our obligation to these animals to make sure we are doing the absolute best we can for them. I think people should research NLS and give it a shot. If they do not achieve the results typical of the food, fine. They can go back to what they were feeding (and please share that diet if it is that good). They lose nothing and only gain the knowledge that they are doing the best they can. Short of this you can't be sure it truly is the best diet. I am enthusiastic about NLS because it has proven to be the best and I want to make sure no one is missing out on a better diet.

I'm glad it works for u, but please don't shove food down other peoples throats everyone has there own way and things that work good for them and there fish.

I am not trying to do that. I am simply trying to correct false misconceptions so that people truly understand the facts. I do not want anyone to simply read a post of mine and accept it as cold hard fact and run out and switch all their fish over to NLS. I want them to research it and decide for themselves, hopefully giving it a try.

If someone came on here and said, "I don't know why you guys think you need to buy expensive foods. I use Wardley and my fish are doing fine," you would probably correct them. They are not aware of all of the facts or are not giving enough consideration to important issues. I am doing the smae by ocrrectign what I think is not true. If someone makes a statement about NLS or diet in general that I think is false, I will correct it. The last thing this or any forum needs is to have false information on its threads leading people to decisions that are not completely informed.

Have you checked out any of the information on NLS's site?

yes i did, but I'm still a cold hard believer of gel foods, I rather make my food. Many years of raising goldfish watching them flip over, gel foods seem to stop this all together.

I understand that your trying to show facts about the food, but also understand that there is other foods out there that are just as good and personally I'm a Progold user.

I checked it out too and the NLS does look like good stuff. I think on my next mail order I'm going to get some
I'm a gel food fan too (now that I've FINALLY figured out how to make it without making a big gooey mess) so I may mix it in there.

Agree that variety is a way to get all essential nutrients. Though sometimes variety itself can come into play, I talk by experience with a betta fish I used to have, but sadly died of dropsy. I used to feed him nothing but Hikari Pellets for Betta, until, after 6-7 months, he would simply ignore the pellets altogether. At first, I thought he was ill but I couldnt find any symptoms. He swam all around in his tank and occasionnally attempted at bubble nests. Later on I tried with bloodworms and he just flipped, eating them like crazy. At the time, I knew more about goldfish because of a good decent book and also thanks to this website, I was varying my goldie's diet. Then it occured to me, I should do the same with my betta fish.

As for your NLS product, you got me curious. If I can ever afford it, I am willing to try it. =)

I spent 30 mins typing in reply to this,then right clicked deleted it all and decided this wasn't even worth it.I suggest the same for everyone.

just thought i would mention i have been doing some research on NLS looks quite good it is made by the same company that makes hikari foods