"Gill Passman" wrote in message
...
I'm pretty much with Tristan on this one in that food designed for a
certain animal is what the animal/creature should be being fed....yes, my
cat will eat the dog food, the dog will eat the cat food, the cat will eat
the fish food (but a bit cost prohibitive to feed a cat a couple of
cartons of marine flakes twice a day at around £7 a tub - but useful for
hoovering up spillages)....the dog will eat the food I give my guinea pig
and rabbit, the guinea pig and rabbit would eat the wild bird food I put
out - the cat would eat most of whatever is on offer but I rather fancy
the cat would prefer to eat the birds, the guinea pig and rabbit -
lol......haven't tried the fish on the diets of the mammals but I'm pretty
sure they would take it....and I am also pretty sure (with the exception
of giving meat the herbivores) that everyone would put on weight and grow
with whatever mixed up diet I care to give them....but none would be
healthy long term.....
Now it may well be true that one person has success in producing fat, big
fish by feeding them cat/dog food...
...but equally most of us in the
Western World have had success in producing big, fat children by feeding
them an inappropriate diet...
Not FAT fish. That's overfeeding. Well fleshed is not fat. We have a 4
month winter here so the fish have to carry enough fat to see them through.
By spring they're the perfect weight and breed like crazy. There's a big
difference between fat and well fed - be they children, dogs, gerbils or
fish.
..if we argue that the diets are
inappropriate for the children perhaps it should also be considered that
certain diets are inappropriate for our pets for the same reason.....
Now if the motivation is to get good bucks for fat, large but potentially
unhealthy fish
Don't assume they're unhealthy. Unhealthy fish don't survive 4+ month
winters and breed more fry than their ponds can hold.
then I guess that this is something we see
all the time in the fish trade...but it doesn't make it right.....
Now, when it comes to fish food.....expensive does not equal
good.....equally cheap doesn't equal the equivalent to other available
foods.....personally I've tried a number of foods (of varying price tags)
for my tank fish.....the conclusion has actually been that the mid-range
food suits better.....but not really because of how the fish grow, colour
etc. etc....but because of the impact on the water quality......
Aquarium fish are more limited in the availability of natural foods. My fish
have access to things indoor fish do not.
cheap foods contain a lot of bulk that eventually pollutes
the water with nitrates and phosphates, higher priced foods contain a lot
of protein (IME) which equally pollute the water with that rather nasty
oily skim on the surface (I dread to think what a high protein cat/dog
diet does - as afterall cat and dog food is designed to satisfy the needs
of carnivores).....the key is to find the food that suits you, your
environment and your fish.....Fish food suited to the fish is the starting
point....experimentation with it to get the desired results and maintain
the health of your fish is the goal....
Exactly, and if your fish thrive on trout and catfish chow.... stick with
it. Don't rock the boat or fix something if it isn't broken.
..feeding food not
designed for the animal in question is a non-starter....
So are we to assume you only feed natural foods to your children such as
veggies, fruit and meat? No snacks, no candy, no pie, no bread, no chips,
no milk past weaning... only the natural foods we would find in the wild
that we evolved with and thrive on?
Gill (getting off soap box for an hour or two)
--
RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Troll free pond and fish Forum:
http://www.karlsforums.com/forums/fo...ay.php?fid=104
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