My little dojos' Christmas treats ...

[mermaidwannabe]

Hubby bought my dojos no fewer than five containers of their favorite treats, Sera brand O'Nips. He gets as big a kick out of these little weather loaches as I do. At feeding time, they go absolutely crazy over them. Of course, my other fish in the 65 nibble on them, too. Dojos don't mind sharing their larder ...

Boy, are they growing!

What will your loaches find in their Christmas stockings?

[Goes to 11!]

My fish are not even getting fed since I wont be home .

BTW - Not those for sure LOL. Have you ever looked at an evaluation of that particular food? You really might want to.

The http://www.oscarfish.com/1-star-food...-analysis.html site rates it a 'One star food' out of a six star scale - That is the lowest rating possible btw & it ranks right down there with Wardleys and Tetra.

Here is just a bit of their analysis:

It is not known if this food contains Ethoxyquin. Absent a manufacturer’s statement that it does not, we must assume it does. While synthetic vitamin K is not listed in the ingredient list, it can be assumed to be included under the label “Vitamins”. This food certainly contains artificial colors. One of which is Ponceau 4R, a known carcinogen banned from human consumption in many countries, including the United States.
Oscarfish.Com Rating: 1 Star

There simply is not enough confidence in the preferred protein content of this food. Nor is there sufficient confidence in the quality of the primary meal products used. Combine this with probable use of Ethoxyquin, synthetic vitamin K, and listed use of artificial colors with known health risks, to justify a rating any higher than a 1 star. Ponceau 4R Ponceau 4R is an egregious enough ingredient, by itself, to prevent rating this as anything approaching a worthy food.

Consider that info a gift.

[mermaidwannabe]

Thanks for the tip.

I clicked on the link and read what they have to say. The fact that this food contains spirulina is a plus, as spirulina is considered very nutritious. Even if it's there in small quantities, it's certainly better than being absent completely.

As for the questionable ingredients, the article states they are uncertain of the presence of some of them.

While whole krill would be best, krill meal still offers some nutritional benefits.

The milk protein thing is questionable. I'll be watching my fish carefully to see if any digestive issues arise, and will discontinue feeding these tablets in that event, and watch what happens after they quit getting them. If the problems resolve, it's a good bet the milk protein might be to blame. If no problems arise, then it's probably not an issue.

As with all fish food, this would never become a singular or steady diet for my dojos. They receive a balanced diet consisting frozen brine shrimp, frozen krill and other frozen goodies from a variety pack, freeze-dried blood worms, New Life Spectrum and Hikari products, Omega One Veggie Rounds, and a variety of other top quality foods. They also directly receive Ocean Nutrition Spirulina flakes.

Knowing what I've now learned, I plan to cut down on the frequency of serving these treats, but I don't believe they're totally without benefit so don't immediately plan to completely eliminate them from their diet. The article does list some positives about them.

Thank you for sharing this information. This is what makes this forum so valuable.

--mermaidwannabe

[Lady Hobbs]

From the little I have read about ethoxyquin in the past, it stated that any fish food that contains fish products, or bi- products of fish such as the meals, that it's a requirement that ethoxyguin be used as a preservative due to the fish fat.

On the other hand, I also read there was a problem with ethoxguin in dog food and the worse food to fed your dog was Purina. I tend to also agree that even tho it's not always listed on the ingredient list, it is probably used anyway. How else can they prevent fats from becoming rancid?

(Hobbs shrugs shoulders) So, after my day of reading on this topic, I still don't know. I wouldn't worry about the loaches, tho. It's not like this is the only thing they get to eat.