In order for aquarium fish to be healthy, it is necessary to ensure their full and balanced nutrition and maintain optimal water parameters. Amateur aquarists have heard about filtering and replacing water, but few people think about the principles of compiling a ration for different types of fish.
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Live food
Some aquarists feed their pets live food. Fish loves it, but it has a number of significant drawbacks. Natural reservoirs, where bloodworms and daphnia are caught, can be chemically contaminated, as a result of which heavy metals and other harmful substances accumulate in food organisms, which are then deposited in the internal organs of fish.
Aquarists often buy one type of live food and believe that the needs of their pets are fully satisfied. But a monotypic diet does not lead to anything good – for most fish, dietary diversity is important.
It is difficult to store live food: it needs to be washed, sorted, and for bloodworms, it is necessary to allocate a separate zone in the refrigerator. Buy live food in small quantities – for about a week, so that it does not deteriorate and maintain its nutritional value. In the dead food organisms, pathogenic bacteria that provoke diseases instantly infect it. When frozen, some of the nutrients and vitamins are lost. In addition, their internal fluids freely enter the aquarium water and become an additional source of pollution.
Artemia
Gammarus
Gammarus is a favorite food of medium and large-sized fish, and all aquatic species of turtles eat it with appetite. In its nutritional value, it is not inferior to the best feeds of industrial production, since the proportion of protein in its composition is extremely high (proteins – 56.2%, fats – 5.8%, carbohydrates – 3.2%). Gammarus, used as a ballast feed, thanks to its hard chitinous membrane, has a beneficial effect on the digestive system of fish. The high content of amino acids, vitamins, and mineral elements contributes to the active growth and strengthening of the health of your pets, and carotene contained in a significant amount improves the natural color of fish. Since gammarus is a highly nutritious food, it is recommended that fish feed with gammarus alternate with other types of fresh-frozen food with a reduced calorie content, as well as the inclusion of dry fortified feed in the diet.
It must be remembered that the chitinous shells of all crustaceans and insects contain allergens, therefore it is highly RECOMMENDED to feed your fish with DRIED gammarus, it can cause allergies! In live form, gammarus can be a carrier of parasites, so when feeding fish, use only fresh-frozen food from trusted manufacturers, which will be well processed, seasoned and disinfected! This type of food is very good for freezing, as it does not lose all its beneficial properties.
Daphnia
Daphnia are very small crustaceans, the body size of adults is only 0.6 to 6 mm. In the warm season, a large amount is found in almost all reservoirs with stagnant water or slow-flowing rivers, where the main food for daphnia are bacteria, unicellular algae, ciliates, and other microorganisms, as well as organic residues. Since daphnia is a predominantly herbivorous crustacean, high-quality daphnia is usually “stuffed” with various algae, which makes it an excellent plant supplement for feeding fish. According to its nutritional value, daphnia is a high-protein feed containing up to 50% protein and only 15 – 25% fat. The hard chitinous shell of Daphnia is not absorbed by fish, due to which it serves as a valuable ballast substance that stimulates the motility of the intestines of fish. In general, Daphnia is excellent food and supplement to the diet for all small-sized fish species (haracin, viviparous, etc.), and it is especially suitable for feeding fry.
If you want to know more about Daphnia, check out our full article about species: https://tetrauni.com/daphnia/
Glassworm (Corethra)
In an aquarium, the glassworm is used for complex feeding of most fish species in combination with other types of food, since the glassworm is a low-calorie food (the protein content in it is about 40% of dry weight – less than that of bloodworm or tubule). The frequency of feeding fish with coronet is 2 to 3 times a week. Corethra is one of the safest foods – the risk of infection of fish with infectious or parasitic diseases when feeding with coronet is much lower than when using many other live foods. Corethra is an excellent stimulant for the propagation of Malawian cichlids, and it is also necessary for growing many types of fish in adolescents. But be careful! It is not recommended to use live coronet for feeding in spawning grounds and growing aquariums, as a live coronet is a predator that can harm young fish. Use frozen food!
Bloodworm
In its nutritional qualities, bloodworm surpasses almost all feed for aquarium fish, being the most saturated with proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, amino acids, and other useful substances. Bloodworms contain 12.8% dry matter, of which 48.5% is protein, 10.9% is fats, 19% is carbohydrates. The bloodworm also has good taste, for which almost all fish love it. But in view of the high calorie content of bloodworms, daily feeding is not recommended to them, as it can be fraught with obesity, which in turn leads to a malfunction of reproductive function, weakened immunity and metabolic disorders. Alternate feeding bloodworms with other types of low-calorie fresh-frozen food, as well as include dry fortified feed with plant components in the diet.
The main disadvantage of LIVE bloodworm is its possible toxicity! An untreated, lively bloodworm is a carrier of many pathogenic bacteria that are dangerous to the life and health of fish. Therefore, for feeding, it is advisable to use a quick-frozen bloodworm from leading manufacturers. Before the shock freezing, bloodworms are disinfected with ozone, so this food is guaranteed to be safe. At the same time, the quick-frozen bloodworm does not lose in taste, retains color and shape. Manufacturers also sort bloodworms by size, which is undoubtedly very convenient, since you just have to choose food suitable for your aquarium inhabitants.
Sludge worm
A living tubular as food for aquarium fish has a number of undoubted advantages, but due to the peculiarities of its habitats, a living tubifex may not be safe for aquarium inhabitants. Since the worm is mainly found in large quantities in heavily polluted water bodies (although it can be found on sandy and stony soils of cleaner rivers, but in much smaller quantities), its intestines can be infested with pathogens. If you throw a freshly caught worm into the aquarium, then there is a high probability of a bacterial outbreak, which can result in the mass death of fish. Therefore, for feeding, it is advisable to use a freshly frozen sludge worm from trusted manufacturers, which will be well processed, seasoned, and disinfected!
Cyclops
For feeding aquarium inhabitants, it is preferable to use a frozen cyclops, since for most of the fish hunting for a living cyclops can be a real challenge. These crustaceans are extremely maneuverable; it is quite difficult to catch them. In the water, they move in sharp leaps, the jerk speed can reach 75 mm / sec!
By its qualities, Cyclops is an excellent high-protein food that can be used to feed fry and small-sized fish species (due to the small size of the crustacean – from 1 to 5.5 mm), while intensively stimulating their color. The color of crustaceans, depending on the type and color of the food they eat in the ponds, can be gray, green, yellow, red, and red-brown. By nutritional value, cyclops are not inferior to other freshwater and marine crustaceans. His body contains up to 60% of proteins and only 12 – 14% of fat. When feeding cyclops, the fish will never have obesity, since crustaceans, especially small ones, are absorbed faster than the fish is saturated with them. The chitin shell of the crustaceans is not digested and serves as a valuable ballast substance that stimulates the intestinal motility of fish. Using cyclops when feeding your fish, you add variety to their diet
