Granular Foods.
Granular food – this food sinks slowly to the bottom, quickly becomes soft, and is easily eaten by fish. However, it retains its density for a long time, does not disintegrate, and even young fish can bite off the portion they need. Suitable for fish inhabiting the middle and lower water layers. Granular foods generally spoil the water much less than flakes, especially if they are from well-known brands. They are characterized by low moisture content, which prevents spoilage due to microorganisms such as molds and bacteria. In addition, the dry state of these feeds guarantees a long shelf life. There is another advantage – when feeding, they do not create as much mess as paste-like foods.
Granules come in different sizes and are designed for fish of various sizes. However, it is important to choose the right granule size based on the size of your fish. Granular foods are available in a wide variety of colors, tastes, and sizes, depending on their ingredients, suitable for fish of all ages. If the granules are red or brown (and their shades), it indicates that animal-origin components with high protein content make up the bulk of them (often called protein-rich); if the granules are green (and its shades), it means that plant-origin components make up the majority (often called plant-based or Spirulina-based). As a rule, granular foods are very high in calories, so their dosage must be carefully monitored to prevent overfeeding.
The structure of the food granule itself plays a very important role. It is also necessary to avoid feeding dry granules without prior soaking. Without soaking, dry granules begin to “swell” inside the digestive organs of fish and, at the slightest overfeeding, cause “constipation” or “indigestion” with all ensuing consequences. It is unacceptable for a granule to digest only on the surface while its central part rots in the fish’s digestive tract.
The granule should easily break down into small, easily digestible fragments, and individual granules accumulating in the intestine should not form solid, heavily swelling food lumps inside of which fermentation and rotting processes begin. Air bubbles located in the voids of dry granules also do not contribute to normal digestion. The presence of such bubbles can be clearly observed during soaking – literally 10-15 minutes after soaking begins, the entire surface of the container where this procedure is carried out becomes covered with a continuous layer of air bubbles. Fish fed such foods noticeably bloat. Their bellies swell significantly. They begin to hang in the water head down. The area around the anal opening may become inflamed.
Any granular food must be soaked in water for 30-60 minutes before use to allow it to swell and to remove air bubbles from the granules. Soaking should be carried out using a small amount of water sufficient for the granules to “swell”. To speed up the swelling process and the removal of air bubbles, the granules must be stirred in water during the first 5-10 minutes. Soaked granules are also very convenient for introducing medicinal and vitamin preparations (liquid and powder) during therapeutic and prophylactic feeding.
Even a teaspoon (or measuring spoon) is quite suitable for feeding soaked granules. It is best to feed in stages, observing the eating process and stomach fullness. Many fish species greedily fill their mouth cavity with granules and then swallow them gradually. If large granules are used, they must be crushed for smaller fish during the soaking process. The time it takes for fish to eat any granular food should not exceed 1-2 minutes, no more!
Contraindications: – Classified as “hard-to-digest” food, especially when using unsoaked granules; – generally high-calorie food, so it should not be used on a regular basis; – insufficient balance of certain types of granular food.
Tablet Foods.
Tablets and wafers – developed specifically for bottom-dwelling fish: catfish, loaches, barbs. The food sinks quickly to the bottom of the aquarium, helps train fish to a feeding spot, and facilitates the feeding of timid fish, as tablets can be hidden in secluded places. The special feature of tablets is that inhabitants of the upper and middle water layers do not have time to eat them while they fall to the bottom, allowing bottom-dwelling fish to eat their fill. It doesn’t matter that a tablet cannot be swallowed whole; the fish methodically peck at it or scrape it, depending on their mouth structure.
There are tablets that easily attach to the glass and smell so aromatic that even timid fish gather around them. The fish crowd at the front glass, biting off pieces, which brings the aquarist a lot of pleasure. They are characterized by low moisture content, which prevents spoilage due to microorganisms such as molds and bacteria. In addition, the dry state of these feeds guarantees a long shelf life. There is another advantage – when feeding, they do not create as much mess as paste-like foods. Perhaps tablet foods pollute aquarium water the least.
Feed manufacturers have developed a wide range of tablet foods, but not all of them are fully suitable for feeding fish. Tablets with plant additives as well as Spirulina deserve the most recognition. This type of food is best suited for feeding young Cichlidae, which gradually “nibble” on it as it “swells” in the aquarium water; tablets are not suitable for adult Cichlidae because they can be swallowed whole by the fish, and such swallowing can cause undesirable consequences (getting stuck in the throat or esophagus, intestinal damage, digestive problems, etc.). Since this type of food is eaten gradually regardless of the temperament of the juveniles, you can roughly calculate the dosage of a single portion for a given aquarium. Dry tablets can simply be dropped into the aquarium, matching their quantity to the number of fish.
Storage of Dry Combined Foods.
By the way, when buying them, pay attention to the packaging – has the expiration date passed? Expired foods do much more harm than good, and giving them to fish is unacceptable. First of all, when opening a jar of food, check: is it hermetically sealed with plastic or foil, and often – also vacuumed or filled with an inert gas environment (nitrogen)? Food should be purchased in such a quantity (package) that it can be used up within a maximum of 3 months (maximum 4 months) after opening, so that light and air do not degrade valuable nutrients.
Every time the packaging is opened, light and air get into the food. After this period, you should no longer feed your fish with this food: it has accumulated fat oxidation products, indicated by a stale, “rancid” smell, partially decomposed proteins, and other harmful components, while vitamins no longer remain in it by this point. It is no coincidence that all dry food manufacturers pack their products in such diverse packaging: from a 10-gram packet or 25-milliliter jar to a huge 10 or 15-liter plastic bucket.
Therefore, you need to buy small packages; moreover, this provides the opportunity to vary different foods more often, preferably from different brands. Imagined “savings” on purchasing food in a larger container usually leads to financial losses: from discarded spoiled food to sick and even dead fish resulting from feeding stale foods. The same (or even worse!) can be said about purchasing dry foods “by weight”, without packaging.
High-quality dry fish foods must be packaged in hermetically sealed containers to prevent spoilage during storage. In addition, since certain nutrients and vitamins, such as vitamin C and fatty acids, can be destroyed by heat, moisture, and light, feeds should be stored in a cool, dry place, and jars should be opaque with tightly fitting lids. Dry food should actually be dry, not clumped together.
When buying food, pay attention to the high quality of the product and do not be tempted by poorly packaged products or products in transparent packages of unknown origin. Such food can no longer contain a sufficient amount of vitamins and nutrients, or they are of low quality, or have already degraded from light and air. Keeping sealed food in the refrigerator will help extend its shelf life up to a year. You can store food, especially large packages, in the freezer, and use small portions for feeding that can be kept in a separate place.
The jar of food must be tightly closed with a lid immediately after each feeding to minimize the food’s contact with moisture and atmospheric oxygen. The food should be stored in a dry place at a temperature not exceeding 25°C, and preferably even lower, from 5 to 15°C, and under no circumstances in the sun. Very often in the apartments of amateur aquarists, you can see a picture where the jar of food is constantly standing on the aquarium lid, right on the light fixture. This must not be allowed under any circumstances! Heated by aquarium lamps and exposed to moisture from the aquarium, the food will very quickly become unusable and will bring only harm to your fish instead of health.
If the food has become damp, caked, or even if it looks completely normal outwardly but has acquired a stale, rancid fat odor – throw it away immediately and do not even think about feeding it to your fish. Fat oxidation products are extremely harmful; they disrupt cell division processes in the body, ultimately leading to cancerous diseases. Do not store food in high humidity. If water gets in, the food will have to be thrown out – bacteria will multiply in it, making it unfit for feeding. Never handle dry food with wet hands – it is best to shake out small portions from the jar.
Additional, Compound, Homemade Foods. Meat-Vegetable-Vitamin Assortment.
Commercial Dry Foods. Flakes, Crisps. 
Last changes and additions made on August 24, 2012.
