Spirulina Flake

[EllieW]

Is it not a good idea to feed this to normal tropical fish (mollies, platy, tetras etc)?

 

[Squidward]

Is it not a good idea to feed this to normal tropical fish (mollies, platy, tetras etc)?

Spirulina flake is a high fibre vegetarian diet. I used to feed it to my Malawis.
Mollies like algae, so they would be ok with it. Not sure the rest.

 

[Harlequins]

I feed them to my fish every so often instead of the standard flakes

 

[EllieW]

Oh right ok, Might try feeding it to them occasionally then. They seem to love it thats all, much more than normal tropical flake

 

[ZoddyZod]

I feed spirulina a few times a week. Every fish in there loves it. Best to vary the dieat as much as possible though.

 

[drobbyb]

Spirulina flake is a very high protein algae flake, but it has fish meal in it too. It's fine to feed to most community fish, but variety is a good thing.

 

[Squidward]

Spirulina flake is a very high protein algae flake, but it has fish meal in it too. It's fine to feed to most community fish, but variety is a good thing.

My understanding is that Spirulina flake is low in protein. That's why it's fed to Mbuna and other vegetarians who would get bloat on a high protein diet.

 

[drobbyb]

No, it's high in protein, but instead of being animal protein, it's plant protein.

Pure spirulina flake: GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: Protein 45%- 60%, Carbohydrates 19%, Lipids 6%, Minerals 8%, Moisture 7%

Tropical flake: Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein 47.0% min.
Crude Fat 10.0% min.
Crude Fiber 3.0% max.
Moisture 6.0% max.
Phosphorus 1.0% min.
Vitamin A 15,000 IU/KG min.
Vitamin B12 110 µg/kg min.
Ascorbic Acid
(Vitamin C) 390 mg/kg min.
Vitamin D3 1,400 iu/kg min.
Vitamin E 140 iu/kg min.
Niacin 700 mg/kg min.
Inositol 1,400 mg/kg min.
Choline 2,100 mg/kg min.
Biotin 1 mg/kg min.
Omega-3 Fatty Acids 8,000 mg/kg min.

 

[Squidward]

I have a copy of the JBL "Correct Feeding of Aquarium Fish" brochure.

The breakdown of some of their foods are as follows:

NovoBel Stable feed (their standard flake)
Crude Protein:43.5% Crude Fat:7.5% Crude Fibre:1.7% Crude Ash:8.5%

NovoVert Green Feed with Spirulina (their spirulina based flake)
Crude Protein:32.5% Crude Fat:4.5% Crude Fibre:2.5% Crude Ash:7.0%

NovoRift (Vegetable based pellets pellets for Rift Valley cichlids)
Crude Protein:31% Raw Fat:3% Raw Fibre:5.5% Raw Ash:11%

The general pellets and granules all have a higher protein content. I won't type put all the figures here.

But definately lower protein in the spirulina based products.

 

[drobbyb]

That's not always the case, high quality spirulina is generally as high or higher protein than standard tropical flakes. I've been using spirulina flakes for many years and having tried different brands, not all are created equal and some have many fillers.

Here's a link to one of the best places to get fish food. I have used this guy for a few years now and his quality is top notch and his prices are very affordable. One of the best.

Here's a link to some good quality spirulina flake.

As you can see, their protein content is still considered high.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Does spirulina float until eaten? I'm trying to come up with some alternative food I can add to the tank that will give my male African Butterfly Fish plenty of time to eat from the water surface.

I have a 3Kg tub (read "bucket") of Tetra Prima on its way (superb value at £70 for what will be well over a year's supply), which does float for a little while, but Mr Butterfly has not been easy to "spot-feed" since he went into the 540l.

 

[Squidward]

Does spirulina float until eaten? I'm trying to come up with some alternative food I can add to the tank that will give my male African Butterfly Fish plenty of time to eat from the water surface.

I have a 3Kg tub (read "bucket") of Tetra Prima on its way (superb value at £70 for what will be well over a year's supply), which does float for a little while, but Mr Butterfly has not been easy to "spot-feed" since he went into the 540l.

Flake does float, but is not really suitable for Butterflies, as they can't "grip" it with their mouths. They just sort of gape below the surface of the water without being able to swallow any.
I feed my Butterflies Tetra Prima, and also a smallish Cichlid floating pellet. I can't think of the exact name now, but can check over the weekend and let you know.

£70 for a 3kg tub of Prima is cheap. Where is that from if I may ask?

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

That floating cichlid pellet name would be much appreciated!

I've only come to learn recently that ABFs are much more social than I originally thought, just in time for my favourite LFS to run out of stock again and for the FairOak MA branch to have half their expensive group lying on the tank floor for well over 30 minutes during a visit on Sunday (staff tried to convince me its normal, in that case every other ABF I've ever seen is abnormal)!

A link to the Prima, seller reported dispatch day after payment, hoping it will arrive by Monday...
http/cgi.ebay.co.u...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

star4 has used this source for Prima too

Edit: Just taken delivery by Recorded... Excellent stuff!

The tub is huge, ~12" diameter and depth. Need to keep the tub "safe" and just portion out some "normal" sized bottles for my tanks now!

 

[Squidward]

That floating cichlid pellet name would be much appreciated!

I've only come to learn recently that ABFs are much more social than I originally thought, just in time for my favourite LFS to run out of stock again and for the FairOak MA branch to have half their expensive group lying on the tank floor for well over 30 minutes during a visit on Sunday (staff tried to convince me its normal, in that case every other ABF I've ever seen is abnormal)!

A link to the Prima, seller reported dispatch day after payment, hoping it will arrive by Monday...
http/cgi.ebay.co.u...e=STRK:MEWNX:IT

star4 has used this source for Prima too

Edit: Just taken delivery by Recorded... Excellent stuff!

The tub is huge, ~12" diameter and depth. Need to keep the tub "safe" and just portion out some "normal" sized bottles for my tanks now!

Going a bit off topic here....but

I had 3 ABF but am down to 2 now.
They are much happier now that I have some water lettuce floating at the top. They feel much more secure.
Not sure where you live, but Wildwoods in Enfield have them. I think they do mail order.

 

[Squidward]

That floating cichlid pellet name would be much appreciated!

It's Hikari Cichlid Gold - floating mini pellet