Feeds available in USA

[AquaBANG]

Hi,

Comparative prices of popular fish feed (NLS, Hikari, etc) in US and India post a huge difference. (these are impoted into India and cost 4 to 5 times more)

Hence I have asked a friend of mine visiting US to procure them for me.

Want to know the best feed available for the following

1) convict cichlids (my guess - Hariki sinking cichlid pellets)
2) cories
3) pleco (sinking algal wafers but which one)
4) community fish such as tetras and barbs

Also if all of these can be ordered online/ some good deals available please point me to them.

My friend is in the bay area of SF, so any stores closeby offering store pickup will also be worth a try to be able to save on shipping costs! :)

TIA
Sudhir.

[helot13]

Any live (not feeder fish) or frozen food would be the best. Hikari is a great brand especially for cichlids. Most community fish can do all right with flake tetramin or Spirulina. As for online ordering, you would have to check with the suppliers to see if they will ship overseas, or you will have to use your friend in SF to act as intermediary. I am not in SF, so I can't recommend a brick and mortar store for you.

[Incredulous_Ed]

The best food for ALL of those fish is NLS. Its more expensive, but it is definetly worth it. For the convict and tetras you could just get the Community fish formula in 1 mm. For4 the cories and plecos you can get the H2O wafers.

[cocoa_pleco]

hikari IMO is the best, NLS is good too. Here bags of hikari are $3 each, and cans of NLS are $10

[AquaBANG]

bump...

need info on online deals/ stores where these feeds can be obtained.
stores in bay area/ San fransisco.
Fishy friends help please! :)

[Wild Turkey]

Freeze dried bloodworms are awesome for tetras, they love them, theyre nice and fatty, and they seem to make the colors come out more than anything else. I feed my tetras a mix of these and flake, and my corys two different types of sinking pellets, cheap and last a long time. I tend to run out of bloodworms much faster than flake so if you get some id get a few canisters of them. I also cant recommend a store, unfortunately i couldnt be farther from Cali as far as the US goes.

[Lady Hobbs]

I use Hikari all the way. It's been around a long time.

The shipment for you is probably what costs. It's a light-weight item and you could order enough for a year at a time if you needed to.

[jbeining75]

1) Hikari Cichlid Bioglold Plus

2) Hikari Micro Wafers

3) Hikari Algae Wafers

4) Hikari Micro Pellets

Sub in Hikari Bio Pure products like brine shrimp, tubifex worms, blodworms and krill to vary diet.

Hikari is around 8 dollars a bag for the Biogold Plus and around $10 a can for Biopure products....

[AquaBANG]

Thanks for the posts.
I am thinking Hikari Bio gold is pellets and Bio pure is for freeze dried stuff.
Anyways I am planning to order at Big als and have it shipped to my friend currently in Belmont CA. How good is Shrimp pellets for the cories?

[Lady Hobbs]

My corys seem to like flake food and pellets better than the shrimp but I guess they eat that, as well, altho I never see them.

Hikari makes the floating and sinking pellets depending on how your fish eat.

The sinking is number 30334 when you go to the site.

[AquaBANG]

Thanks a bunch guys... I will try to get 8.8 Oz packets, this seem to be the largest size.
And one more question. Hikari bio gold cichlid pellets comes in 3 sizes, whats recommended?

[Lady Hobbs]

Largest sizes are generally cheaper per the ounce.

[AquaBANG]

done... thanks for the inputs. really appreciate.

[Fishguy2727]

1) Nls
2) Nls
3) Nls
4) Nls

[AquaBANG]

thank you my friend. But I have already set my eyes on Hikari. May be I will order NLS too :) Thanks a bunch

[Fishguy2727]

Read the article on NLS in my blog. Then read the nutrition article on their site, the testimonials, and watch the video. THEN decide if Hikari seems as good. (Hint: it's not, I used it A LOT before I switched to NLS.)

[AquaBANG]

Ordered for a Master FW test kit, cichlid pellter feed, some bottom feeder sinking pellets and a tropical micro pellets.

Meanwhile I did a rate comparison analysis of three online stores - PETCO, PETSMART and BIGALs.

the result is the inclusive of taxes and shipping rates (to CA) Big als was the most cost effective.

Any body feels the same?

thanks for reading...
Sudhir.