Tropical Fish Food Variants

Whether you breed fish for trade purposes, as a business or for recreational purpose it is vital that you learn to feed them properly in order to ensure that your fish are healthy. Tropical fish are fish that can be found in tropical water but can be both fresh water and salt water fish. A lot of tropical fish are kept in aquariums for ornamental purposes as they are beautifully colored.

When purchasing tropical fish food, there are several factors you may want to keep in mind, and the first is to understand that different species of fish will require different nutrients. Therefore it is important to identify what species of fish you are dealing with. Tropical fish food can either be home grown or purchased in bulk and stored in a deep freezer. Fish species are generally divided in to Herbivore (vegetarian fish) or Predatory (carnivore/omnivore). It is difficult to find tropical fish foods suitable for all species of fish as each species need different nutrients to thrive. Brands of tropical fish foods that boast of catering to all species of fish will usually keep your fish alive but won’t keep them at their optimal health. Therefore as a breeder or owner of tropical fish it is important to put in some effort when searching for the appropriate tropical fish food for your species of fish.

Tropical fish food can usually be divided into several sub categories making it easier for the purchaser to identify what food is appropriate for what species of fish. The first option and most convenient option for many is the category of manufactured tropical fish food. This usually comes in the form of pellets, wafers and flakes. Obviously when purchasing manufactured products, brand or producer will play a vital role when determining quality. If you are an amateur aquarist, the best would be to ask a more experience aquarist to identify the best brands. Also keep in mind that if you are breeding herbivore fish then it is important to purchase fish food high in fiber while omnivore and carnivore fish require food high in protein. Feeding high protein food to herbivore fish or high fiber food to Omnivore/ carnivore fish can result in the development of health issues.

Two other sub-categories under manufactured tropical fish food would be frozen food and freeze-dried food. Frozen foods are usually stored in pieces and should be thawed before you feed it to the fish. Freeze dried food are usually sold in chunks or sheets, and are used as food supplements that helps give variety to the diet.

The other option is to grow or produce your tropical fish food at home. To some who are willing to invest the time an energy this seems to be the more long term, cost effective option especially if the breed of fish you are catering to require very expensive food. But what appeals to aquarists most, even more than the money is the idea that you have full control over what your fish are eating. This way it becomes easier for you to identify health issues that fish may face from food and you are guaranteed that what you are giving your fish is good. As for making your own fish food, recipes are available online.