No, freeze dried are best avoided with cories. More tomorrow.
Breeding Corydoras Hastatus (Fry Pictures!)
- Thread starter OliveFish05
- Start date
OK, I'm back on my PC; I was in the clinic for my chemo treatment yesterday, and checking things on my mobile but the keyboard is so small and cumbersome for me, I only do "emergency" short messages. I'll now explainb my issue with freeze dried foods.
Back in the early 1980's when I got into the hobby, freeze-dried was often suggested as being superior to regular dried foods (may have been somewhat true, there were not the quality dried foods we now have) and second only to frozen or live, but more convenient. However, the enthusiasm didn't last and soon one heard little if anything about their "superiority," and they rather dropped out of fashion. The big problem with FD is that when they get in the tank water, they begin to soak up water, and quite a lot since they are so dried out. Eager fish will always snap up food. This FD enters the fish's digestive system, it begins to soak up liquids, and...you guessed it, same as what happens with humans, the food expands and the fish suffers digestive problems. Some will advise soaking the food first, and that would help. But the quality of FD is just not worth this, given the advancements in regular dried foods.
Which brings me to the late Jack Wattley. I'll post a link to a fitting tribute to Jack's life below if you are interested in this fascinating aquarist who did so much for the hobby in his 90+ years, he died in 2018. Jack had a monthly column in Tropical Fish Hobbyist for many years, in which he answered questions from readers; he was acknowledged by all as "the" authority on discus. Several columns were naturally related to food especially for discus. There was a time when dried foods were not encouraged, and Jack and others came up with "fresh" preparations of their own, with great success, replacing the need for live foods, something once thought impossible to achieve. In the last decade or two, Jack frequently stated that the high quality dried foods available today could not surpass even live foods in their nutritional benefits for discus, and he fed them exclusively.
I have been feeding strictly dried foods for the past several years now, with frozen (fresh frozen) once a week as a "treat." I use Omega One Veggie Flake, Omega One Veggie Rounds, and Omega One Shrimp Pellets, and New Life Spectrum basic flake. I selected these primarily on the advise of other members concerning the ingredients. From Omega One's website:
To this group of foods I add a third, Nutrafin's Bug Bites; Hagen produce these, as well as the Fluval brand, so presumably they are much the same. You can see some reviews at the second link below. I use the smallest micro size, and stir them into the tank water as soon as I add a small quantity so they sink faster. All cories absolutely go nuts over these, not surprising since they are primarily insects. Ian Fuller has endorsed them, and I feed them twice, sometimes three times weekly.
Remembering Jack Wattley - Tropical Edu International
Fluval Bug Bites Fish Food - Is it any good? ( Review and Breakdown ) (tropicalfish.io)
Back in the early 1980's when I got into the hobby, freeze-dried was often suggested as being superior to regular dried foods (may have been somewhat true, there were not the quality dried foods we now have) and second only to frozen or live, but more convenient. However, the enthusiasm didn't last and soon one heard little if anything about their "superiority," and they rather dropped out of fashion. The big problem with FD is that when they get in the tank water, they begin to soak up water, and quite a lot since they are so dried out. Eager fish will always snap up food. This FD enters the fish's digestive system, it begins to soak up liquids, and...you guessed it, same as what happens with humans, the food expands and the fish suffers digestive problems. Some will advise soaking the food first, and that would help. But the quality of FD is just not worth this, given the advancements in regular dried foods.
Which brings me to the late Jack Wattley. I'll post a link to a fitting tribute to Jack's life below if you are interested in this fascinating aquarist who did so much for the hobby in his 90+ years, he died in 2018. Jack had a monthly column in Tropical Fish Hobbyist for many years, in which he answered questions from readers; he was acknowledged by all as "the" authority on discus. Several columns were naturally related to food especially for discus. There was a time when dried foods were not encouraged, and Jack and others came up with "fresh" preparations of their own, with great success, replacing the need for live foods, something once thought impossible to achieve. In the last decade or two, Jack frequently stated that the high quality dried foods available today could not surpass even live foods in their nutritional benefits for discus, and he fed them exclusively.
I have been feeding strictly dried foods for the past several years now, with frozen (fresh frozen) once a week as a "treat." I use Omega One Veggie Flake, Omega One Veggie Rounds, and Omega One Shrimp Pellets, and New Life Spectrum basic flake. I selected these primarily on the advise of other members concerning the ingredients. From Omega One's website:
Only fresh seafoods are used in our formulas - it’s as simple as that. All other fish food manufactures rely on fishmeal as the main ingredient in their foods. Check the ingredient labels! Omega One fish foods are fishmeal and hydrosylate-free, which means they contain a higher level of natural nutrition than any other fish foods in the world.
NLS is similar, and you can rad about fish nutrition and digestive problems on their website. To this group of foods I add a third, Nutrafin's Bug Bites; Hagen produce these, as well as the Fluval brand, so presumably they are much the same. You can see some reviews at the second link below. I use the smallest micro size, and stir them into the tank water as soon as I add a small quantity so they sink faster. All cories absolutely go nuts over these, not surprising since they are primarily insects. Ian Fuller has endorsed them, and I feed them twice, sometimes three times weekly.
Remembering Jack Wattley - Tropical Edu International
Fluval Bug Bites Fish Food - Is it any good? ( Review and Breakdown ) (tropicalfish.io)
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OP
OP
Ah ok. I hope your treatment is going well.
That is very interesting! So when it starts soaking up water, does it inflate in the fish’s stomache and cause bloating?
From my experience, it's a bit controversial....some say yes, FD foods will expand in fish's stomach and cause problems, others say not so at all...easily avoided (if it is indeed true) by presoaking those foods in a bit of tank water before feeding...then they are fine to feed, IMO
Yes, it does, that is proven. Pre-soaking should deal with this, but the fact remains the quality of these foods is inferior, also proven. I just see no point in not feeding better nutrition when it only means perhaps a higher purchase cost, but my fish are worth it.
OP
OP
I have some freeze dried blood worms that I fed my betta, and I do soak them.
Ah Ok! Does the freeze drying process deplete some of the nutrients and such? I am able to find them frozen, so I will go with that then!
Frozen food is always more nutriious than dried food. Years ago, before everyone had freezers, we had the choice of fresh or dried food but you don't see many dried foods at the supermarket nowadays while the freezer section is full of frozen food. The same applies to 'live' fish food.
Yes, as will the drying process for any foods, presumably. But the real crux of the issue is that we no longer hear of the incredible nutritional gains of FD, and as I thought I made pretty clear, the high quality of certain dried foods (there are others besides those I mentioned specifically, don't misunderstand) really makes it pretty obvious where the better nutrition lies. Some junk food is not going to harm most of us, but a diet of it likely will have consequences better avoided; same with fish.
OP
OP
Ok, so I am having a hard time finding the foods, frozen or live. Do you know of any specific places I should look or any good brands? I am able to find frozen Mysis, frozen blood worms, and frozen brine shrimp on Petco, but I can't find any daphnia. I am open to live food too, just don't know where to find it and I also heard they can carry parasites?
OP
OP
Looking through the frozen food options on Petco and Petsmart's websites, I found
Ingredients:
Freshwater Frenzy
Bloodworms*, Brine Shrimp, Water, Cyclops, Daphnia, Watercress, Sodium Alginate, Spirulina Algae, Astaxanthin, Yucca, Wheat Flour, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source Of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Betaine, D-Alpha Mixed Tocopherols (Source Of Vitamin E), Garlic And Paprika
Emerald Entree
Water, Brine Shrimp, Mysis, Krill, Plankton, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spirulina Algae, Menhaden Oil, Sodium Alginate, Wheat Flour, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source Of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Betaine And D-Alpha Mixed Tocopherols (Source Of Vitamin E)
Spirulina Brine Shrimp
Brine Shrimp, Water, Spirulina Algae and Carrageenan
Bloodworms
Bloodworms*, Water and Xanthan Gum
*Bloodworms are a natural product that may cause allergic reaction in some people.
Any idea if this would be a good choice? It looks like it includes a lot of the things mentioned, Daphnia, Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Mysis, Krill, Plankton. There are also a lot of plant based ingredients though, an all those things which I have no idea what they are. I do like the idea of buying it all as one pack with everything in it, but I will do whatever is best for the fish
San Francisco Bay Brand® Freshwater Multi-Pack™ Frozen Fish Food
Ingredients:
Freshwater Frenzy
Bloodworms*, Brine Shrimp, Water, Cyclops, Daphnia, Watercress, Sodium Alginate, Spirulina Algae, Astaxanthin, Yucca, Wheat Flour, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source Of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Betaine, D-Alpha Mixed Tocopherols (Source Of Vitamin E), Garlic And Paprika
Emerald Entree
Water, Brine Shrimp, Mysis, Krill, Plankton, Spinach, Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Spirulina Algae, Menhaden Oil, Sodium Alginate, Wheat Flour, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (Source Of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Betaine And D-Alpha Mixed Tocopherols (Source Of Vitamin E)
Spirulina Brine Shrimp
Brine Shrimp, Water, Spirulina Algae and Carrageenan
Bloodworms
Bloodworms*, Water and Xanthan Gum
*Bloodworms are a natural product that may cause allergic reaction in some people.
Any idea if this would be a good choice? It looks like it includes a lot of the things mentioned, Daphnia, Brine Shrimp, Bloodworms, Mysis, Krill, Plankton. There are also a lot of plant based ingredients though, an all those things which I have no idea what they are. I do like the idea of buying it all as one pack with everything in it, but I will do whatever is best for the fish
I cannot help with sources in the US. Someone must carry Omega One brands, it is very popular.
As for live foods, OK but only as treats, much like frozen. It is difficult to get all the necessary nutrition in live foods, or any single frozen, which is why the quality dried foods are "staples." If w could provide the range of speci8es in live foods the fish eat, it would be a different thing, but that would be an enormous undertaking in northern climes.
OP
OP
Hello again! I have been working on setting up my Cory tank, some driftwood and lots of plants! And yesterday I brought home some higher quality foods and treats for them.
I bought:
Omega One Sinking Catfish Pellets (it was what came up when I searched “shrimp pellets”
TetraMin Tropical Flakes
San Francisco Bay Frozen Freshwater MultiPack, which has frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, mysis, and other things
Does the tank look ok? I have some fake plants I can add too if they need more cover! And I am ordering some Almond Leaves today. I am also looking for some water sprite to order online as well
I bought:
Omega One Sinking Catfish Pellets (it was what came up when I searched “shrimp pellets”
TetraMin Tropical Flakes
San Francisco Bay Frozen Freshwater MultiPack, which has frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, daphnia, mysis, and other things
Does the tank look ok? I have some fake plants I can add too if they need more cover! And I am ordering some Almond Leaves today. I am also looking for some water sprite to order online as well
OP
OP
Thank you! Right now the Cories are nervous from me moving Plants around, would it help them settle in easier if I turned the lights off?
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