fish food question

reefer1187 · 01/28/2006, 09:51 AM

hey everyone i dont know if this is a stupid question or not but i was wondering what is the difference between flake foods and pellet foods?

also does anyone know of "aquadine custom formula" this is the flakes that my lfs provides me with, just wondering how good it is or if its good at all?

oyam123 · 01/28/2006, 10:09 AM

most people i know stay away from flake. un eaten flake
it just adds more unwanted nutrients to the tank.
you have better control on feeding with pellets.
best of all is a mix. some dry, and some frozen.
also depends on the fish you have.

Paintbug · 01/28/2006, 10:16 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oyam123
most people i know stay away from flake. un eaten flake
it just adds more unwanted nutrients to the tank.
you have better control on feeding with pellets.
best of all is a mix. some dry, and some frozen.
also depends on the fish you have.

you can have a nutrient problem with any left over food! i use flakes myself. the only thing is if you use flakes make sure to either soak them in some water first, or place them in the tank below the water. sometimes if they are left floating a fish will suck in air when feeding and that will cause problems with their ballast. thats one advantage with pellets, they sink (most do). but like oyam said keep your fish's diets varied. mix it up with some frozen one day, some flakes the next, maybe a little of both once a week. it also depends on what fish you have. you may have some fish that like veggies, some that like meats, some that like both. just mix it up for them. and remember DONT over feed!! if the food you put in the tank isnt gone in 2-3 mins you are overfeeding.

reefer1187 · 01/28/2006, 11:27 AM

so the difference is flakes float and pellets sink?

reefer1187 · 01/28/2006, 12:38 PM

?

Paintbug · 01/28/2006, 12:39 PM

basicly. but not all fish will eat pellets.

bertoni · 01/28/2006, 01:37 PM

The pellets and flakes are all just custom formulations by various companies, and they're all different. There's no consistent definition except flakes are flat and the pellets are blobs.

cweder · 01/28/2006, 02:55 PM

I am using the Aquadyne Custom Formula myself. The fish love them. I only have a chevron tang and a blue throat trigger. I either soak them first in tank water or they are excellent to put Garlic Extreme drops, Selcon or I use Warner Marine vitamin HUFA supplement. These flakes soak it up great and even the bristletooth chevron can tank them right in. They are devoured in about 3 seconds. I have tried a variety of pellets and prefer the Aqaudyne flakes. The pellets are all very hard. I also feed green Sea Veggies for the Tang and frozen squid and krill for the trigger.
I will am looking for a good food to put into an auto feeder for a vacation coming up if any one can suggest something. I am looking at the Eheim but I am afraid the flakes will float right over ther overflow.

dchao · 01/28/2006, 04:44 PM

Generally speaking, pellets contain more fiber. So I would prefer to use flakes for the Carnivores and pellets for the Herbivores.

bheron · 01/28/2006, 04:57 PM

I agree with the poiny on the flakes. I always used pellets. When I tried flakes they just broke into a million little pieces, and I dont know how much was eaten or just decayed. With pellets, they appear to eat almost 100% of the food.

dchao · 01/28/2006, 05:07 PM

Yes, Bryan. Also you can get different size pellets for different fish, good ways to target feed you fish. My Emperor only go for the large pellets, and my YT only like the smaller ones, there is hardly any fighting during feeding.

However, don't just feed you fish pellets only. They still need variety of food, specially food with high HUFA. Frozen formulas contains some fish oils like egg oil, liver oil, which are all high in HUFA.

01/28/2006, 09:51 AM	#1
reefer1187 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: new york Posts: 253	fish food question hey everyone i dont know if this is a stupid question or not but i was wondering what is the difference between flake foods and pellet foods? also does anyone know of "aquadine custom formula" this is the flakes that my lfs provides me with, just wondering how good it is or if its good at all?

01/28/2006, 12:39 PM	#6
Paintbug Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Stoneville, NC Posts: 6,169	basicly. but not all fish will eat pellets. __________________ Never ask a girl over to see your crabs!! <-Tony-> Current Tank Info: NONE currently

01/28/2006, 01:37 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The pellets and flakes are all just custom formulations by various companies, and they're all different. There's no consistent definition except flakes are flat and the pellets are blobs. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/28/2006, 04:44 PM	#9
dchao Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Francisco Posts: 910	Generally speaking, pellets contain more fiber. So I would prefer to use flakes for the Carnivores and pellets for the Herbivores. Last edited by dchao; 01/28/2006 at 04:58 PM.

01/28/2006, 04:57 PM	#10
bheron Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Valley Forge, PA Posts: 2,655	I agree with the poiny on the flakes. I always used pellets. When I tried flakes they just broke into a million little pieces, and I dont know how much was eaten or just decayed. With pellets, they appear to eat almost 100% of the food. __________________ Bryan Current Tank Info: 220 since Nov 2005

01/28/2006, 10:09 AM	#2
oyam123 Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: minnesota Posts: 82	most people i know stay away from flake. un eaten flake it just adds more unwanted nutrients to the tank. you have better control on feeding with pellets. best of all is a mix. some dry, and some frozen. also depends on the fish you have.

01/28/2006, 11:27 AM	#4
reefer1187 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: new york Posts: 253	so the difference is flakes float and pellets sink?

01/28/2006, 12:38 PM	#5
reefer1187 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: new york Posts: 253	?

01/28/2006, 02:55 PM	#8
cweder Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 550	I am using the Aquadyne Custom Formula myself. The fish love them. I only have a chevron tang and a blue throat trigger. I either soak them first in tank water or they are excellent to put Garlic Extreme drops, Selcon or I use Warner Marine vitamin HUFA supplement. These flakes soak it up great and even the bristletooth chevron can tank them right in. They are devoured in about 3 seconds. I have tried a variety of pellets and prefer the Aqaudyne flakes. The pellets are all very hard. I also feed green Sea Veggies for the Tang and frozen squid and krill for the trigger. I will am looking for a good food to put into an auto feeder for a vacation coming up if any one can suggest something. I am looking at the Eheim but I am afraid the flakes will float right over ther overflow.

01/28/2006, 05:07 PM	#11
dchao Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: San Francisco Posts: 910	Yes, Bryan. Also you can get different size pellets for different fish, good ways to target feed you fish. My Emperor only go for the large pellets, and my YT only like the smaller ones, there is hardly any fighting during feeding. However, don't just feed you fish pellets only. They still need variety of food, specially food with high HUFA. Frozen formulas contains some fish oils like egg oil, liver oil, which are all high in HUFA.