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Post by Carl on Oct 4, 2013 14:35:46 GMT -5
We performed a major change to the layout of the "Fish Nutrition; Aquarium or Pond" article (as we are slowly doing site wide). This includes a change to how references and recommended products are linked to. More pictures were added as well as additions and deletions to information too www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Mar 24, 2014 18:35:02 GMT -5
I updated our "Fish Nutrition" article. In particular the section dealing with "Best Used" by dates after a rather rude and disrespectful email today I added an outside reference that we also have in our "Aquarium Medications" article. Here is a quote from this section: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#best_used"This is sometimes controversial, but only due to miss-informed persons who do not realize that Fish Foods are NOT required to place such dates on their fish foods and/or do not understand what this means or what even the laws are about this mythical date. Since one of my specialties has been fish food testing going back to 1978, I have used and tested fish foods that are more than 2 years past a "best used by date", and in these controlled tests, found no discernible difference. This said, the reason some manufactures add this is only to tell customers that the food in cannot be guaranteed of 100% freshness, NOT that the food is now going to go bad suddenly after this date.
What is also noteworthy that because of newer methods of packaging, many fish food companies are no longer even placing this date of guaranteed freshness on their foods."Entire Article: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlMedications article www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Medication.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Jun 28, 2014 18:37:44 GMT -5
I have updated our Aquarium/Pond Fish Nutrition article has been updated, this includes information and link to Clay's Paradigm Fish Foods Here is a quote from the article: "Green peas or green pea flour is a good source of fiber (when not over processed) and is also used to lower protein. This ingredient when dried contains 26.6% protein without a complete amino acid profile so it is NOT and should not be used as a complete diet Dried green pea flour also contains these nutrition parameters: 2.4% fat/lipids and 28.2% starch, 27.7% fiber, 6.9% sugar, 3% minerals and 5% moisture.
Fresh or frozen green peas are often used as a digestive aid for constipation in fish (along with Brine Shrimp), in particular Goldfish. Make sure to boil or microwave the peas first (then cool) so as to soften. Then remove the skin and cut in 1/2 using the what would be the stem of the seed curved along the center of the pea as a cutting guide."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#peaCarl
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Post by Carl on Dec 3, 2014 17:11:47 GMT -5
I have updated the Fish Nutrition article with some clarifications including the overview where I clarified the "mission" of this article. I also updated the pdf download ($$) Here is a quote: "As well, the main "Mission" of this article is to educate readers as to the ingredients that make up a quality fish food and why. This way readers can apply this information to any fish food in an educated manner. As while I certainly recommend many excellent fish foods in this article, there are certainly many others that are not mentioned that might be excellent as well if only based on the ingredients and the order of the ingredients (it is noteworthy that all ingredients are listed in order of most to least)."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by angelminx on Dec 5, 2014 19:44:04 GMT -5
Hey, Carl,
Just a note: a while back (months) I purchased one of your downloads--I don't remember which one--and even though it was updated on the site, the download was the original version. I'm not too worried about it, because I will purchase another copy sometime in the future. I don't know if this has happened to anyone else, or if it was just a glitch, or what, but I thought (after reading this last post) I should bring it up.
Angelminx
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Post by Carl on Dec 6, 2014 12:01:27 GMT -5
Often the PDFs downloads do not keep up with the article updates as I am constantly making both small and large updates to articles and the pdf process is rather involved.
This said, could you tell me which one it was as it can easily be emailed as an attachment?
Carl
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Post by Carl on Feb 13, 2015 18:34:10 GMT -5
I have updated the popular Fish Nutrition article in several parts of the article. As a side note based on my Stat software, this article generates a lot of traffic for others, meaning 99% read this information and then go elsewhere to obtain their fish foods. But, hopefully these persons are providing their fish with better nutrition!! Here is a snip from the article (summary section) "Finally, be careful of fish foods that are often sold by discounters that use the same or very similar formulas and then simply re-label the food. This is unfortunately a common practice. While this does not mean these foods are poor quality (read the ingredients list will say more here), this does speak the fact you are likely dealing with a company that places costs over quality, which of course if sold at discounters such as Amazon, Dr. F & S, this is important.
Here is just one example using "New Life Spectrum Fish Foods" New Life Spectrum All Purpose MAIN INGREDIENTS: Krill Meal, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Amino Acids, Algae Meal, Soybean Meal, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal- Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Biotin.
New Life Spectrum Discus MAIN INGREDIENTS: Krill Meal, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Amino Acids, Algae Meal, Soybean Meal, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal- Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Biotin.
New Life Spectrum Grow MAIN INGREDIENTS: Krill Meal, Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Amino Acids, Algae Meal, Soybean Meal, Fish Oil, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Vitamin A Acetate, D-Activated Animal- Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Biotin.
As you can see, these are not poor quality fish foods, although not the best either since they use generic fish meal as their #2 ingredient and just as importantly you are pretty much getting the same thing with a different label."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#summaryCarl
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Post by Carl on Nov 5, 2015 18:40:02 GMT -5
I have again updated the "Fish Nutrition" article Here is a quote from the article: "Spirulina is different from other algae and is similar to bacteria in many ways, occupying a niche between plants and bacteria. Spirulina is similar to cyanobacteria in structure which can be toxic (spiral shape, unlike true plant plankton). Spirulina and Blue-Green algae are recognized by the body (fish in particular) as a bacterium, causing an increase in antibodies, which in turn increase disease resistance. Spirulina is also high in usable or digestible amino acids.
Spirulina is probably one of the best fish food ingredients available, INCLUDING for carnivores (usually fed via gut loading, more information later in the article). Any staple fish food diet for community fish is improved by the addition of Spirulina Algae, which is why Spirulina 20 which has Spirulina as its number one ingredient is superior to most other basic fish food flakes for everyday feeding of general/community aquarium fish."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Feb 21, 2016 11:59:15 GMT -5
I have further updated the "Fish Nutrition" article "Condensed Fish Protein Digest in fish food "Condensed Fish Protein Digest" is the condensed enzymatic digest of clean undecomposed whole fish or fish cuttings using the enzyme hydrolysis process. This product can better be defined and is often labeled as "fish protein hydrolysate". This hydrolization process involves the liquification of whole fish or fish left-overs in a vat of enzymes. The bones and scales are discarded with the subsequent slurry passed through a spray dryer. The end product that is often used in fish foods is an inexpensive, highly digestible protein that is practically void of ash and phosphate.
While there are both positives and negatives of the use of this product in fish foods, the negatives clearly outweigh the positives."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Mar 9, 2016 10:48:05 GMT -5
I have again updated the "Fish Nutrition" article. Here is a quote from the article: "Cricket Flour/Meal is highly digestible and since insects or insect larva/pupae are a common natural food ingredient for many fish, its use as part of carnivore or omnivore fish food is something that improves the quality of the food but is unfortunately not very commonly used (likely due to costs). Many fish are predominately insectivorous (animals that primarily eat insects) such as Arowana, African Butterfly fish, so the use of this Cricket Flour is something that might be sought out as an ingredient."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#cricketCarl
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Mar 9, 2016 15:30:20 GMT -5
Great update. Excited to see how the new fish food looks!
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Post by Carl on Jun 8, 2016 9:34:13 GMT -5
I have further updated the "Fish Nutrition" article. Here is an excerpt: "Another practice, even among many of the "better" brands is too much protein/amino acids, as this can cause kidney issues later on and affect fish longevity. Therefore the best fish foods will also blend ingredients to "limit" proteins for optimal protein/amino acid utilization. In a study many years back where I attended a seminar, it was shown in animals that over abundance of proteins in prepared animal foods to encourage growth or simply under the assumption "the more the better" was THE cause of premature renal failure and death. This is where Paradigm Fish Foods and even more so the newer Custom AAP version formulated by Clay Neighbors is superior to all other fish foods to date."A Menhaden fish is pictured, which when used whole is a premium source of protein as well as a very high source of Omega 3Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Aug 4, 2016 16:49:22 GMT -5
i have further updated the "Fish Nutrition" article in several parts of the article. Here is an excerpt from the article: "Any prepared fish food that has to add vitamin, mineral, and other supplements to bring their food up to higher standards is obviously not providing these via optimal ingredients and/or is cooking them out via the preparation process (such as making flakes or pellets versus crumbles which destroys less of the nutrition value). Admittedly even some of the better brands perform supplementation, but I still would seek a fish food that supplements as little as possible. In fact there are many fish foods on the market that utilize excellent ingredients, but their failure to optimize ingredients and/or their preparation process often leaves these fish foods lacking, this includes many of not most of the popular so-called "quality" fish foods currently on the market. This is where Clay Neighbor's work in fish nutrition has improved on just using top notch ingredients, he (along with myself) have realized for years after many controlled tests and observations that it is not only about top quality ingredients than taking this to the "more the better" as so many fish foods have done and continue to do. Clay's latest innovation is the "AAP Custom All Natural Fish Food Crumbles" which s the most optimized prepared fish food available.
Hopefully this article can educate readers as to all important aspects of what goes into an optimum prepared fish food diet. This way readers can apply this information to any fish food in an educated manner. "Carl
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Post by Carl on Nov 10, 2016 17:19:59 GMT -5
I have further updated the "Fish Nutrition Article" Here is an excerpt from the article: "Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. It is also found in psyllium, a common fiber supplement. Green peas contain 34% Fiber. Of that percentage 25% is Soluble Fiber.
Fiber acts as a laxative. All fiber is passed. However it has no effect on the ecology of your aquarium.
Some would have you believe that 12% Fiber is too much for Carnivorous fish. This is simply not the case and fish food guru Clay Neighbor's research into fish nutrition live subjects proves it. In fact fiber numbers closer to 18-19% are much more healthy, even for Carnivores! Unfortunately the majority of fish foods are too low in fiber, many as low as 4% or less (such as New Life Spectrum or 5% for NorthFin). "Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by devonjohnsgard on Nov 11, 2016 14:08:02 GMT -5
I have further updated the "Fish Nutrition Article" Here is an excerpt from the article: "Soluble fiber attracts water and turns to gel during digestion. This slows digestion. Soluble fiber is found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, and some fruits and vegetables. It is also found in psyllium, a common fiber supplement. Green peas contain 34% Fiber. Of that percentage 25% is Soluble Fiber.
Fiber acts as a laxative. All fiber is passed. However it has no effect on the ecology of your aquarium.
Some would have you believe that 12% Fiber is too much for Carnivorous fish. This is simply not the case and fish food guru Clay Neighbor's research into fish nutrition live subjects proves it. In fact fiber numbers closer to 18-19% are much more healthy, even for Carnivores! Unfortunately the majority of fish foods are too low in fiber, many as low as 4% or less (such as New Life Spectrum or 5% for NorthFin). "Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl Great article update. Fiber is huge, which many foods lack.
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Post by Carl on Mar 17, 2017 9:22:04 GMT -5
I have updated the Fish Nutrition article. Here is an update from the Shrimp Meal section: "Shrimp/Krill meal has been found to be an acceptable supplemental protein source for fish, but inferior to whole fish meal such as Whole Menhaden Fish Meal for pepsin digestibility. As well, over all protein digestibility is low compared again to other protein sources such as Whole Menhaden Fish Meal with Shrimp coming in at about 20% digestibility while Whole Menhaden is closer to 90%. Another issue with shrimp meal is its over all energy levels are too high which long term could lead to fatty liver issues.
In the end, Shrimp is a great appetite stimulant and part of a diet if fish are finicky eaters, but it fish will eat other foods just fine, shrimp or fish foods containing shrimp should be avoided long term!"Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.htmlCarl
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Post by Carl on Apr 21, 2017 9:33:46 GMT -5
I have further updated our Fish Nutirion aticle
Here area couple of excerpts; From the Overview section: "The content is based on part on my extensive observations as well as tests in fish nutrition dating all the way back to 1978 utilizing my 1000s of client aquariums I had under contract, including the Bahooka Restaurant with over 110 custom aquariums where I had complete control of feeding and therefore was easily able to take notes in in trials of different methods and long term results (since I maintained these aquariums for years). I also attended seminars along with professional trade shows and allowed mentoring by others who had more expertise. During my early years I earned the nickname "Green Flake Man" at these trade shows for my research into fish food, in particular those with high amounts of Spirulina Algae.
Where this article differs from most all others is this information and research dates back several decades and ALL recommendations (& fish food developments) are based on this in depth research. This is UNLIKE most articles that are written after so as to support the latest marketing scheme for a premium fish food. I know of NO other article that can make this claim."
And from the Protein/Amino Acid section: "Bottom line; Not all protein sources are equal nor is maximum protein desirable. An analogy used at a pet food seminar I attended was this: You can achieve the protein analysis on many pet foods with a used pair of leather shoes, but leather shoes contain little usable proteins. In this seminar the leaders demonstrated that either too much protein (instead of optimum protein) and/or less digestible proteins/amino acids led to premature kidney (renal) failure. This was easily demonstrated with Purina Dog and fish chows.
We need to remember that protein's primary function is to build or repair muscle and tissue. Its the only component in food that can build or repair muscle and tissue. Protein not used for repairing muscle and tissue can be converted to glycogen and stored. However the conversion is not very efficient often resulting in a shortened lifespan. The use of Protein as a fuel has long ago been discredited and debating protein levels at this point in time is the equivalent of debating whether the earth is round or flat."
Carl
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Post by Carl on Apr 29, 2017 12:12:15 GMT -5
I have further updated the Fish Nutrition article: Here are a couple of excerpts, the first from the section about Beef Heart since there are still a few persons who do not realize that this was long ago discredited as a long term fish food source. The second if from the Summary QUOTE: "Although still fed to fish and often part of many homemade fish food recipes due to popular YouTube channels and other social media, Beef Heart is a food source that should be used very sparingly if at all. Although many carnivorous fish enjoy it and it may be a good way to kick start growth in juvenile fish, excessive long term use can add stress to the fish' digestive tract and kidneys, thus lowering resistance to disease and shortening lifespan (which I noted in some side by side fish food comparisons in the 1980s where Oscar Fish that were fed a diet primarily of Beef Heart had CLEARLY shorter life spans and were more prone to infections or other problems such as HITH).
Although lower in fats than most warm blooded animal meats, Beef Heart is still about 18% Saturated Fat. These fats are very difficult for fish to process these fats, especially older fish.
The well known aquatic author Martin A. Moe (my favorite is the "The Marine Aquarium Handbook") states: "Fish are cold blooded and all digestion reactions take place at 70 to 80F, the temp of aquarium water. Thus they may not be able to efficiently digest or use the types of fats present in the flesh of warm blooded animals. They are much better off with the flesh of animals that are similar to their normal prey." As well the amino acids (which make up proteins) are not ones that are easily utilized by fish."
SUMMARY:
Hopefully the reader has gained some very helpful insights into what truly constitutes an optimum fish food. As I noted in the beginning, my fish food trials starting at the Bahooka Restaurant in the 1970s in their 110+ aquariums under contract were my earliest tests. I did not let these tests go to my head, in part I could not always explain the results, so I continued in research over the decades. Then, when introduced to fish food Guru Clay Neighbors who taught me about energy levels and a university study backing this up, this was a real "light bulb" moment for me as it put together missing pieces of the puzzle as to why I had some VERY DIFFERENT results as per fish health & longevity with certain foods when the ingredients checked out as otherwise "premium". The difference turned out to be in the analysis (as noted earlier in this article) and the results of these often vastly higher than optimum energy levels by even many premium fish food brands now is explained in oxidative stress and other issues that running too much energy through a fish will do thus the results I observed over the years. Put simply; energy levels is so very key to a truly quality fish food!!!"
References: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#beefwww.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#summaryCarl
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Post by Carl on May 12, 2017 9:19:18 GMT -5
I have further updated the "Aquarium Fish Nutrition" article Here is an excerpt from the "Importance of Energy Levels Section": "A University of Florida study has shown ceroidosis of the organs and Malawi Bloat are directly related to energy levels of food being too high. Another point as to the importance of optimized energy levels are free radicals/oxidative stress. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that are naturally formed when the fish converts food into energy. Free radicals can cause "oxidative stress," a process that can trigger cell damage, therefore limiting these free radicals by an optimized energy level will benefit your fish long term."Reference: www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Quality_Fish_Food.html#energyCarl
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Post by Carl on Oct 26, 2017 8:44:19 GMT -5
I have further updated this article: Here is an excerpt from the Energy Levels Section: "A University of Florida study has shown ceroidosis of the organs and Malawi Bloat are directly related to energy levels of food being too high. Another point as to the importance of optimized energy levels are free radicals/oxidative stress. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules that are naturally formed when the fish converts food into energy. Free radicals can cause "oxidative stress," a process that can trigger cell damage, therefore limiting these free radicals by an optimized energy level will benefit your fish long term. My own observations over decades of professional fish keeping with 1000s of clients aquariums concur with this research and also includes Dropsy and as well as issues of bloat in goldfish. Susceptibility to other infections such as my observations with Columnaris are also confirmed in this research. This is why the optimization of energy levels in a fish food is so important as research and professional observations point out!! HOWEVER, My own extensive studies, in particular those I conducted using the Bahooka Restaurant's 110 aquariums showed that no one food should be used and that supplementation is always a good idea. As well there may be times to temporarily increase energy levels such as breeding, healing after injury/sickness, etc. As well, while I stand by the energy levels in this research, my own personal research indicates hitting this "perfect" score (280) then adding 5-10% would add any margin needed for times when energy levels might need to be quickly increased will the while not adding to fatty liver and oxidative stress more than needed."Carl
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