The Search for the Ultimate Fish Food

[cichlid-gal]

Having a current food review topic starting to branch out into this topic, I thought maybe we should post up a thread were we could hash out and argue and discuss what we think are the best and worst fish foods and why.  Feel free to post links for research purposes and to speak your mind.  No taking things personally here...just good discussion about foods and what we feed and why.  Ultimately the goal of this thread should be to identify what we think are the "best" foods out there for our fish and why and to discuss those we think are not so good.  

Here are a couple of links to either other discussion threads or other sites that share information on fish foods.
http://www.wafishbox.com/t8311-excellent-resource-for-determining-processed-food-quality
http://www.wafishbox.com/t7574-the-proof-is-in-the-poo
http://www.wafishbox.com/t7217-new-nls-pellet-ultra-red
Spirulina Info
More Spirulina info



Foods we feed. I'll start.  I feed a variety of foods to my fish but I have four basic foods that are my standbys...the remaining are frozen foods like mysis shrimp, bloodworms, some live foods like blackworms, and some fresh veggies like peas and zucchini.

My four standbys are as follows:
NLS 1MM sinking Cichlid pellets

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, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine, Biotin, DL-Alpha-Tocopherol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Choline Chloride, Cobalt Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Ethoxyquin.

Guaranteed Analysis
Protein 34.0% min
Fat         5.0% min
Fiber         5.0% max
Moisture 10.0% max
Ash         9.0% max

Repashy foods (a variety depending on the tanks...some get Community, some Shrimp Souflee, some Soilent Green)
Repashy Community Plus
INGREDIENTS: Whole Krill Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Whole Squid Meal, Stabilized Rice Bran, Whole Sardine Meal, Dried Brewers Yeast, Spirulina Algae, Chlorella Algae, Carrageenan Algae, Dried Kelp,  Konjac, Carob Bean Gum, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Propionate, Schizochytrium Algae, Phaffia Rhodozyma Yeast, Paprika Extract, Calendula Flower Powder, Marigold Flower Extract, Rose Hips Powder, Turmeric Root Powder, Malic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Canthaxanthin, Potassium Sorbate, Magnesium Gluconate, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherols (as preservatives), Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement).

Repashy Soilent Green
INGREDIENTS: Chlorella Algae, Spirulina Algae, Whole Krill Meal, Whole Squid Meal, Whole Sardine Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Whole Anchovy Meal, Germinated Brown Rice Protein Concentrate, Pea Protein Isolate, Dried Brewers Yeast, Stabilized Rice Bran, Dried Kelp, Carrageenan Algae, Konjac, Carob Bean Gum, Schizochytrium Algae, Calcium Carbonate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Propionate, Phaffia Rhodozyma Yeast, Paprika Extract, Calendula Flower Powder, Marigold Flower Extract, Rose Hips Powder, Turmeric Root Powder, Malic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Canthaxanthin, Potassium Sorbate, Magnesium Gluconate, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherols (as preservatives), Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement).
Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein min. 45%, Crude Fat min. 6%, Crude Fat max. 8%, Crude Fiber max. 8%, Moisture max. 8%, Ash max. 12%, Calcium min. 1.5%, Calcium max. 2%, Phosphorus min. 0.75%.

Repashy Shrimp Souflee
INGREDIENTS: Whole Squid Meal, Whole Krill Meal, Whole Sardine Meal, Pea Protein Isolate,  Spirulina Algae, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Alfalfa Leaf Powder, Stabilized Rice Bran, Germinated Brown Rice Protein Concentrate, Carrageenan Algae, Konjac, Carob Bean Gum, Dried Kelp, Potassium Citrate, Calcium Propionate, Dicalcium Phosphate, Taurine, Schizochytrium Algae, Phaffia Rhodozyma Yeast, Paprika Extract, Calendula Flower Powder, Marigold Flower Extract, Rose Hips Powder, Turmeric Root Powder, Malic Acid, Sodium Chloride, Canthaxanthin, Potassium Sorbate, Magnesium Gluconate, Lecithin, Rosemary Extract and Mixed Tocopherols (as preservatives), Vitamins (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Choline Chloride, Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement).

Guaranteed Analysis: Crude Protein min. 45%, Crude Fat min. 6%, Crude Fat max. 8%, Crude Fiber max. 8%, Moisture max. 8%, Ash max. 9%, Calcium min. 1.5%, Calcium max. 2.5%, Phosphorus min. 0.75%.

Nutrafin Max Spirulina Flake (all tanks get a little of this, some more than others)
INGREDIENTS: Dried spirulina algae, fish meal,
oatmeal, krill, soybean flour, dried garlic, shrimp meal, dried kelp, squid liver meal, fish liver meal, dried yeast, wheat germ meal, salmon oil (ethoxyquin used as preservative), flaxseed oil, vitamins (cholecalciferol, biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, folic acid, inositol, niacin supplement, riboflavin-5-phosphate, calcium L-ascorbyl-2-monophosphate, vitamin A acetate, thiamine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity)), lecithin, sodium citrate, minerals (manganous oxide, ferrous carbonate, zinc oxide, copper oxide, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, calcium carbonate), yeast extract, fructooligosaccharide, beta-carotene.

GUARANTEED ANALYSIS: Crude protein Min. 44%; Crude fat Min. 10%; Omega-3 Fatty Acids Min. 1.25%; Omega-6 Fatty Acids Min. 1.75%; Crude fibre Max. 1.5%; Moisture Max. 7%; Ash Max. 9%; Calcium Min. 0.5%; Phosphorus Min. 0.7%; Magnesium Min. 0.15%; Copper Min. 20 ppm; Cobalt Min. 0.2 ppm; Iron Min. 350 ppm; Iodine Min. 1.2 ppm; Manganese Min. 10 ppm; Zinc Min. 25 ppm; Vitamin A Min. 10,000 IU/lb; Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Min. 500 mg/lb; Vitamin E Min. 50 IU/lb; Beta-Carotene Min. 2,000 IU/lb

I also use DRAF flakes but do not have an ingredient list for them.  My assumption was that this is a general flake food similar to others that are on the market.  Bad Donna...bad bad bad.  I have quite a stock of them as I did a big order so it will be some time before I run out of them.

Of all the foods I feed, I feel the most important food is the SPIRULINA. Everything I have read, points to how important it is to feed spirulina to your fish.

 

[DMD123]

I have used Zoo Med's Spirulina 20 and feel like this is a high quality flake food.

Here is an online review with some detail as to why: http://www.oscarfish.com/5-star-foods/294-zoo-med-spirulina-20-fish-food-flakes-ingredients-analysis.html

Crude Protein (min)... 45.0%
Crude Fat (min)... 4.0%
Crude Fiber (max)... 3.0%
Moisture (max)... 8.0%
Zoo Med Spirulina 20 Fish Food Flakes Ingredients:

Salmon Fish Meal, Spirulina Algae Meal, Soy Flour, Wheat Flour, Brewers Dried Yeast, Corn Starch, Dried Krill Meal, Shrimp Meal, Plankton Meal, Lecithin, Vegetable Oil, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate (stabilized Vitamin C).

 

[Anthony J.]

Cichlid gal, while the top ingredients of those repashy foods are impressive, I have a difficult time with any gel foods, simply based on the fact that when you add a large amount of jello and water to them, you make a very large dive in the levels of nutrients you are providing, due to the process of diluting the good stuff with water.

dmd, of the top 6 ingredients listed for that flake food, 4 are fillers, with only 2 being "good nutrient rich" ones. Not to mention, that flake food as a whole, absorbs a lot of water and leaches vital nutrients into the water the very quikly, and right away as soon as it touches liquid.

My .02

 

[DMD123]

With Spirulina being 20% of the product and Salmon meal being listed first (so higher content) The 'fillers' are probably a lot less than other brands out there. Many look better due to 'wet' weight items being placed first but in their dry form you would find most brands have a higher grain base than you would like. I still feel it is a high quality flake. I use this on smaller community fish but the flakes are LARGE enough that even my big Pearsei can eat them. Though I do prefer feeding pellets.

 

[cichlid-gal]

Cichlid gal, while the top ingredients of those repashy foods are impressive, I have a difficult time with any gel foods,  simply based on the fact that when you add a large amount of jello and water to them, you make a very large dive in the levels of nutrients you are providing,  due to the process of diluting the good stuff with water.

dmd, of the top 6 ingredients listed for that flake food,  4 are fillers, with only 2 being "good nutrient rich" ones. Not to mention, that flake food as a whole,  absorbs a lot of water and leaches vital nutrients into the water the very quikly, and right away as soon as it touches liquid.

My .02

Anthony....I like the Repashy foods and my fish do too. I like the fact they have "whole" fish meal (and the 1st 4 ingredients of the Repashy Shrimp Souflee bang the gong so to speak). What I don't know about is the "gel" factor. I will do some research on that and see what I can find but my gut feeling tells me that it's not an issue really.

As for flake absorbing lots of water and leaching vital nutrients into the water...my fish eat the flake food so fast that water flys out of my tank and I'm a soaking mess by the time feedings are done...no really...my fish eat the flake food so fast I don't think it hangs around long enough to lose anything over time as there is no time for that to happen.

I have used Zoo Med's Spirulina 20 and feel  like this is a high quality flake food.

DMD...I remember when I was first researching spirulina flake that I looked at the Zoo Med product. I don't know why I went with the Nutrafin one instead other than the higher spirulina content (with write ups showing formula featuring a 40-Percent Spirulina, 5-Percent garlic flake).

 

[JimA]

Nice thread, I have been feeding my Tropheus a mix of high quality flake,  Ocean Nutrition formula marine pellet 2 and NLS Thera A

NLS
Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Algae Meal, Garlic, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, Vegetable and Fruit Extract, Ginseng, Vitamin A Acetate, DL Alphatocopherol (E), D-Activated Animal-Sterol (D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Folic Acid, Biotin, Thiamine, Riboflavin Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Calcium Pantothenate, L-Ascorby-2-Polyphosphate (Stable C), Choline Chloride, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate and Manganese Sulfate.

Protein 38% Min., Fat 9% Min., Fiber 5% Max., Ash 9% Max., Moisture 10% Max.
 

The Formula2 pellet

Shrimp, Euphasia pacifica plankton, sardine, kelp, wheat flour, squid, fish eggs, soya-lecithin, Spirulina, salmon oil, garlic, minerals (potassium iodide, iron oxide, manganese sulfate, magnesium oxide, zinc sulfate), MPAX™ (Marine Protein Amino eXtract: fish meals, hydrolysates, select amino acids (L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan)), vitamins (ascorbic acid (vitamin C), biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, nicotonic acid, riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), tocopherol acetate (vitamin E)), Betaïne, calcium proprionate, potassium sorbate, ethoxyquin, carotenoid pigments (astaxanthin, canthaxanthin), yeast (ßeta-glucan).

Guaranteed analysis

Protein 38.1 %
Fiber 2.8 %
Fat 9.7 %
Ash 10.5 %
Moisture 14.5 %


The Flake as a treat then I mix the NLS and the other together..  Seems to be working well!!

 

[cichlid-gal]

Nice thread, I have been feeding my Tropheus a mix of high quality flake,  Ocean Nutrition formula marine pellet 2 and NLS Thera A

NLS
Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Algae Meal, Garlic, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, .....

The Formula2 pellet
Shrimp, Euphasia pacifica plankton, sardine, kelp, wheat flour, squid, fish eggs, soya-lecithin, Spirulina, salmon oil, garlic.....

Thanks Jim...hey...I like that Thera A formula.  I donated a whole bucket of that stuff to the GSAS spring auction because I use the small stuff and had a bucket of the Thera A shipped to me by accident...hmmm...now I'm wishing I had given that some thought...

And the Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 looks pretty good too.

Oh..and after spending some time reviewing all this stuff I have decided that John and I need to be eating SPIRULINA too.  I'm gonna get some powder and make smoothies in the morning.  Eating with the fishes we will be

!:

 

[DMD123]

I use NLS in my "mix"..... right now the hard core NLS people are cringing because it does it all, right? My mix also includes Hikari Cichlid Excel, Dainichi XL and NLS. My stock are mostly vegetarians, lol. Really they are.

 

[JimA]

Nice thread, I have been feeding my Tropheus a mix of high quality flake,  Ocean Nutrition formula marine pellet 2 and NLS Thera A

NLS
Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Wheat Flour, Algae Meal, Garlic, Beta Carotene, Spirulina, .....

The Formula2 pellet
Shrimp, Euphasia pacifica plankton, sardine, kelp, wheat flour, squid, fish eggs, soya-lecithin, Spirulina, salmon oil, garlic.....

Thanks Jim...hey...I like that Thera A formula.  I donated a whole bucket of that stuff to the GSAS spring auction because I use the small stuff and had a bucket of the Thera A shipped to me by accident...hmmm...now I'm wishing I had given that some thought...

And the Ocean Nutrition Formula 2 looks pretty good too.

Oh..and after spending some time reviewing all this stuff I have decided that John and I need to be eating SPIRULINA too.  I'm gonna get some powder and make smoothies in the morning.  Eating with the fishes we will be

!:

 The only way I eat that stuff is with my Sushi Wait I guess that's seaweed..

 

[JimA]

I was surprised by the Ocean Nutrition, one of the guys on Trophs.com had been using it. It's made with salt water fish in mind, but my Trophs love it, it's a softer pellet not crunchy, and it sinks..

 

[DMD123]

Ive wanted to try the Ocean Nutrition Cichlid Veggie Pellet for a while but its harder to find at my usual places. It seems to have a good reputation. Anyone here try that formula?

 

[JimA]

Ive wanted to try the Ocean Nutrition Cichlid Veggie Pellet for a while but its harder to find at my usual places. It seems to have a good reputation. Anyone here try that formula?

A bit different, not sure the fish would notice??


Cichlid  brand

Vegetable matter (alfalfa, corn, soybean, wheat), fish meal, Spirulina, kelp, krill (Euphasia superba), fish hydrolysate, brewers yeast, lecithin, salmon oil, garlic, vitamins (ascorbic acid (vitamin C), biotin (vitamin H), cyanocobalamine (vitamin B12), riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), tocopherol acetate (vitamin E), pantothenic acid (vitamin B5), menadione (vitamin K3), folacin (vitamin B9), cholecalciferol (vitamin D3), retinol (vitamin A1), pyridoxine (vitamin B6), niacin (vitamin B3)), minerals (calcium carbonate, cobalt carbonate, copper sulphate, manganese sulphate, calcium iodide, sodium selenite, zinc sulphate, magnesium sulphate), asthaxanthin and preservatives (BHA, BHT, and ethoxyquin).


Formula 2

Shrimp, Euphasia pacifica plankton, sardine, kelp, wheat flour, squid, fish eggs, soya-lecithin, Spirulina, salmon oil, garlic, minerals (potassium iodide, iron oxide, manganese sulfate, magnesium oxide, zinc sulfate), MPAX™ (Marine Protein Amino eXtract: fish meals, hydrolysates, select amino acids (L-Lysine, DL-Methionine, L-Tryptophan)), vitamins (ascorbic acid (vitamin C), biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, nicotonic acid, riboflavin (vitamin B2), thiamine mononitrate (vitamin B1), tocopherol acetate (vitamin E)), Betaïne, calcium proprionate, potassium sorbate, ethoxyquin, carotenoid pigments (astaxanthin, canthaxanthin), yeast (ßeta-glucan).

 

[bronzefighter]

Here's a pretty informative link about fish foods, rating them on a scale of 0 to 6 stars. Lot's of good information with actual analysis regarding ingredients and nutritional content.

 

[plaamoo]

I've been feeding this almost exclusively for dry food for a year or so. It's fresh & my fish love it!

http://www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com/ingredients.html

 

[dwarfpike]

I like the link bronzefighter ... while I don't agree with their wacky rating system, I do like seeing all the ingredients and at what percentages. Gives me a few new foods to target. Thanks!

 

[Anthony J.]

I too enjoyed the link, there is the major drawback that its very difficult to base a food in a bracket simply off of its ingredients list, as there are many factors to consider in the way the food itself is delivered, like a hard pellet vs a very crumbly one, or a waffer vs flake. But, the ingredients lists are quit handy, and all in one place.
I would like to touch base on dianachi for second. This is regarded by some people as the best food on the market. And guess what, I agree with those people, if you are feeding koi, carp, or goldfish. To me, hands down dianachi is great for those fish, but adding a few additional ingredients to an excellent koi formula, and calling it a cichlid food, has never made sense to me.

I probably don't need to share what I feed but will anyway, I feed exclusively New Life Spectrum. I feel it is the leader of the pack when it comes to fish nutrition, and there is so much information to back it up. I buy 3 sizes, in the big buckets twice a year. Grow, for cichlid fry, live bearers, tetras and corydoras, 2mm for juvenile cichlids, and thorichthys species,  and 4.5 for all my big guys. My large predatory fish get to munch on the occasional earth worm or culls from a cichlid spawn or live bearer drop. And smaller fish, like tetras, young cichlids, live bearers etc get an occasional treat of frozen or live brine, maybe 1 or 2 times a month.
I am pretty strict when I feed, small portions twice a day 3 days a week (M,W, F) a small single potion 2 x a week (T, Sat) and go without food on Sun, and Thu. Of course, all this can change to trigger spawning, or recovering females who recently dropped or layed eggs. Or if they are fry, being raised away from there parents.

 

[cichlid-gal]

I've been feeding this almost exclusively for dry food for a year or so. It's fresh & my fish love it!

http://www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com/ingredients.html

Since you are feeding this food, do you have an ingredient list for it?

The site is rather elusive as far as what is in their product...really you can make a lot of claims but if you don't "show" what your product is comprised of (especially in the food arena) I don't know that I would interested at all

 

[plaamoo]

I've been feeding this almost exclusively for dry food for a year or so. It's fresh & my fish love it!

http://www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com/ingredients.html

Since you are feeding this food, do you have an ingredient list for it?  

The site is rather elusive as far as what is in their product...really you can make a lot of claims but if you don't "show" what your product is comprised of (especially in the food arena) I don't know that I would interested at all

Elusive? Really?? I think he lays it out very clearly. Click on the order link to view individual products.

http://www.almostnaturalfishfood.us/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=25

 

[cichlid-gal]

I've been feeding this almost exclusively for dry food for a year or so. It's fresh & my fish love it!

http://www.almostnaturaltropicalfishfood.com/ingredients.html

Since you are feeding this food, do you have an ingredient list for it?  

The site is rather elusive as far as what is in their product...really you can make a lot of claims but if you don't "show" what your product is comprised of (especially in the food arena) I don't know that I would interested at all

Elusive? Really?? I think he lays it out very clearly. Click on the order link to view individual products.

http://www.almostnaturalfishfood.us/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=25

I guess I'm looking for an ingredients list rather than just a description. Here's what I find on the order page for cichlid flakes

Ingredients: Very special formulation of my seafood-1 and seafood-2 categories followed by my greens category and then my vitamins category.

Min. Crude Protein 41% Min. Crude Fat 13% Max. Moisture 9% Max Ash 12% Max. Crude Fiber 4%

There is a statement on the ingredients page that says "I will list the main ingredient with each of my foods but will stop there. This is in part to the fact that I would rather not make it any easier for anyone to figure out the exact formulas. I will assure you, however, that after the main ingredient which I list for each food, the other ingredient categories (seafood-1, seafood-2, greens, and vitamins) will be listed in order of prevalence". I do not see the main ingredient listed on those flakes.

And Plaamoo, I'm not trying to run down this food, I just can't find what I'm looking for which is an ingredient list. I don't know all the ins and outs of propietary stuff or what you worry about as a producer of things so I can't address his concerns there only mine.

 

[plaamoo]

" I just can't find what I'm looking for which is an ingredient list"

Not seeing the forest for the trees?

This....
INGREDIENTS: Dried spirulina algae, fish meal,
oatmeal, krill, soybean flour, dried garlic, shrimp meal, dried kelp, squid liver meal, fish liver meal, dried yeast, wheat germ meal, salmon oil (ethoxyquin used as preservative), flaxseed oil, vitamins (cholecalciferol, biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, folic acid, inositol, niacin supplement, riboflavin-5-phosphate, calcium L-ascorbyl-2-monophosphate, vitamin A acetate, thiamine hydrochloride, vitamin B12 supplement, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin E supplement, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity)), lecithin, sodium citrate, minerals (manganous oxide, ferrous carbonate, zinc oxide, copper oxide, calcium iodate, cobalt carbonate, calcium carbonate), yeast extract, fructooligosaccharide, beta-carotene.

Makes you feel better than this...?
I will tell you that the seafood-1 category, in alphabetical order, includes but is not limited to black cod, cod, halibut, herring, salmon, plus several others.
I will also tell you that the seafood-2 category, in alphabetical order, includes but is not limited to clams, krill, octopus, rockfish, several types of various fish eggs, shrimp, squid, plus several others.

The vitamin additive that I add in, as formulated by the Tropical Fish Nutritionalist, includes but is not limited to Vitamins A, B-12, D, B-1, B-2, B-6, C, E, Niacinamide, Calcium, Biotin, Folic Acid, Iron, Iodine, Zinc, Phosphorus, Magnesium, Copper, Manganese, Potassium, Choline, Inositol, Rutin, PABA, Citrus Bioflavonoid Complex, Betaine HCL, Hesperidin Complex, Desiccated Liver, L-Lysine HCL and d-alpha Tocopheryl Succinate

"Almost Natural Tropical Fish Food" does not contain lots of starches (another form of filler) as many other types of tropical fish foods do."
"Because the "Almost Natural Tropical Fish Foods" are processed immediately upon the arrival of the fresh human consumption grade food ingredients, it pretty much sticks together by itself"
"Think about the following for a minute. Which do you think has far more natural proteins - a freshly caught fish you just cooked and put on a dinner plate OR a fish that has been processed and turned into powder, had preservatives added, stored in dry storage on a shelf for months, was reprocessed with many starches and other ingredients, had more preservatives added, sat around for a few more months in dry storage and then put onto your dinner plate. Doesn't the second scenario just described sound delicious and healthy?? "

Those meals used in mass produced fish foods are typically by-catch-trash scraped from the decks of Asian fishing boats and not taken care of in the least, picking up god knows what along the way. Many if not most shrimp comes from Asian shrimp farms and are laden with antibiotics and pesticides.
I'm not pushing Ed's food. I do know high level breeders and fishkeepers that are very happy with his product. My picky fish snub their nose at that stale off the shelf mass produced stuff. They fight over this. You can feel and smell the difference yourself.