Tropical Diets

There are many different types of tropical fish food diets that you can choose from. The four main types of tropical diets include flaked food, frozen food, live food and food pellets. Each type has its own purpose and benefits and the type of food you choose should be based on the type of fish you have in your aquarium, as some choices are better for different species of fish. For the avid aquarium owner, you could even choose to forgo store bought food and make your own.

  1. Flake Food

    • Flaked Fish food is one of the most common type of fish food available on the market, and this is the go-to food for many first-time aquarium owners. Most species of fish that are sold at pet stores can thrive off a diet of flake food. Flake food is a popular choice because it can be stored for a long period of time without going bad. When purchasing flake food for your fish, read the labels carefully to see what types of fish they suggest feeding the flakes to. The more expensive brands of flake food are tested in laboratories to make sure they can support the suggested species, so spending a few extra dollars on this food might be to your benefit.

    Frozen Food

    • Another option for aquarium owners is to feed their tropical fish frozen food. Aside from flakes and pellets, frozen or freeze dried food is the best food in terms of shelf life. Frozen food is essentially live food that has been frozen to keep the nutrients intact. This is said to be a preferred choice amongst fish because it closely replicates eating live food. When feeding your fish frozen food, you should also consider adding another flake supplement to their diet. Fish require a variety of different nutrients which do not come in one form of dried food. Where flakes and pellets are specially designed to contain all these nutrients, frozen food could be lacking in variety.

    Pellet Food

    • Pellet food is another type of food that has a longer than average shelf life. Like flake food, pellets are designed to contain the required nutrients for a variety of species of fish. Again, spending a few extra dollars to purchase laboratory tested pellets could be to your advantage. Pellets are often fed to larger fish because they are larger and more substantial than flakes. Pellets could pose a potential threat to the system if they sink to the bottom before fish can eat them. Be sure not to feed your fish too much, or purchase a bottom feeder who will feast on any leftovers.

    Live Food

    • You can feed your tropical aquarium fish using a live diet consisting of worms, insects, and other live fish. This method of fish feeding is a very time consuming activity for two reasons. Firstly, you might have to cultivate the live food on your own to have an adequate supply. Secondly, if you are purchasing food from a pet store, you will have to spend time locating a reliable food source. Since live fish food does not go through any quality control tests, you could accidentally harm your fish by purchasing parasite or disease ridden food. However, some tropical fish will only eat live food and as a result you will be forced to purchase or cultivate live food to accommodate their diet. Brine shrimp and guppies are two of the most popular live foods that people cultivate at home.