Do fish get bored with one food? is part of the “Basic Fish Nutrition” article published by Pablo Tepoo.

When it comes to this question the majority of hobbyists tend to express in unison “Variety is the spice of life” or “Would you want to eat the same food all the time?” These are all human interjections. In captivity, many marine butterflyfish that only consume coral polyps in the wild, would rather starve to death than switch food. Harlequin Shrimp eat only the feet of the Starfish, Monarch Butterflies (caterpillar) only eat milkweed, and Koala Bears only eat Eucalyptus leaves.

As long as the one food can sustain the fish in a thriving condition this should not be an issue. Fish are creatures of habit; they are simply not capable of getting bored. Can fish thrive on one food? The answer is yes! Fish do require a varied diet, but if that one single food is made from a wide variety of high quality raw ingredients, the varied diet that many hobbyists seek can indeed be found in one single formula. If one was to take all of the various ingredients found in a typical wide variety of formulas, and create a food that contained all of these various ingredients in a proper ratio and balance, would it not be the same as feeding all of these foods separately? If only high quality premium ingredients are being used, in many cases that single food might actually be much better for the fish.

This concept has been proven in commercial aquaculture since its inception, and there is certainly nothing new to feeding fish a complete and balanced diet by using a single food. The aquaculture industry has been doing just that for the past century. What many hobbyists fail to realize is that the aquaculture industry is responsible for the vast majority of the science that all commercial fish food manufacturers use when formulating their various foods for tropical fish.

While the information gleaned from these aquaculture studies is basically sound, the majority of this research involves fish that are being raised for human consumption. With the exception of the color of the flesh of certain species such as salmon, trout and shrimp, the overall coloration and longevity of the animal is not a primary concern. Unlike most tropical species, fish raised for human consumption have a very short life span. In light of this, food that’s designed for warm water Tropical fish has to be modified to ensure that a lower amount of lipids is used, high quality marine proteins are used as the main source of protein, and a wide array of natural color enhancing ingredients must also be supplied via the diet such as Krill (Euphausia superba dana), Spirulina algae (Spirulina platensis), natural Astaxanthin (Haematococcus pluvialis)…etc.

About the Author: Pablo Tepoot, founder of New Life International Inc- Fish Food

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