The other main type of fish food, and the most popular, is dry food in the form of flake, pellets, tablets, granules and food sticks. It is big business and, thanks to research into pet nutrition, aquarium fish can be fed exclusively on dry food for their whole lives and do very well indeed. Every nutrient that a fish requires can be added to dry foods to help keep them healthy.
Benefits of dry food
One of the main reasons for feeding dry foods is convenience. The foods come sealed in pots and sachets and can be used at will by the aquarist. Dry foods are also complete foods, and fish can do better on dry foods than some frozen foods, as dry foods can be nutritionally balanced, vitamin enriched and otherwise supplemented and enhanced in a controlled, precise way. Pots of dry food can also be purchased from supermarkets, making them highly accessible.
Flake
The most popular form of dry food by far is flake. It does not resemble any food that species encounter in the wild, but a huge number of fish will happily eat it in captivity. The composition of flake makes it available to fish of all swimming levels, because when it first hits the water it floats, then after a few seconds it softens, takes on water and begins to sink slowly to the bottom, satistfying mid-tank and bottom feeder as it does so.
Flake is available for coldwater, tropical and marine fish and comes as a mixture of several different colours of flake. The colours represent different nutritional supplements, such as red flakes for colour enhancing and green flake for vegetable matter. A mixed flake can be regarded as a staple food, containing a little of everything, and this should be fed on a daily basis. Specific flake types are also available to enhance colour or to encourage growth.
Sticks and pellets
These are aimed at larger fish that prefer to eat bigger mouthfuls of food. Sticks float on the surface for sometime and are easily removed with a net if not eaten within a short period of time. They do soften when they hit the water and will also be nibbled by some smaller fish. Pellets are heavier than sticks and will put bulk on a larger fish if they are offered regularly. As pellets contain a great amount of food, fewer should be fed and all uneaten food should be removed. Not all larger fish will take sticks and pellets at first, but they generally prefer them once they have got used to them.
Granules
These have been specially designed to fall slowly through the water, making them acceptable for midwater feeder, such as Discus. They are hard at first but soften when wet and can be fed exclusively to promote growth and colour. Again, they are often initially ignored if introduced to unfamiliar fish, but will eventually be readily accepted.
Tablets
Tablet foods are of great advantage to aquarists that like to keep bottom-dwelling fish such as catfish and loaches. These fish will often miss out on floating foods, which will be quickly taken by midwater and surface-dwelling fish. It is also a misconception that bottom dwellers can live exclusively on uneaten food and algae in the lower layers. They need food in their own right, and many tablet foods are designed especially for them. When dropped into the water, they quickly reach the bottom and can be added last thing at night for nocturnal species.
Algae wafers
These are sinking foods suitable for algae eating fish. They have a very high vegetable content. These are usually aimed at sucker-mouth catfish and other bottom-dwelling fish, but they are eaten with vigour by nearly all fish and even fish that usually feed from the surface ( example guppies). Make sure that the wafers go to the intended species by feeding them after lights out at night or by dropping the wafers down a tube right into the catfish's usual hiding place.
Tips: Some tablets can be stuck to the glass making them a treat for all tank mates.
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