An aquarium is a complex ecosystem teeming with life. Maintaining a healthy environment for the fish in your saltwater tank or freshwater tank environment takes work and patience. In some cases, you’ll spend hours each week preparing, maintain, and care for your fish.
Equally important as the maintenance of the aquarium is the types of fish food you provide the fish who live there. It may be convenient to use manufactured flakes or pellets, but live fish food has a higher nutrient content and makes it easier to maintain the water quality. Let’s look at the different kinds of fish food and explore the best option for your tank.
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Common Live Fish Food
If you want to use live food in your aquarium, you have many choices depending on your fish population. You can buy these in specialty stores or online, or you can grow your own! Here are some of the most common options:
Brine or Fairy Shrimp – These tiny shrimp are highly nutritious for a wide range of fish. Brine shrimp are ideal for saltwater tanks, and fairy shrimp belong in freshwater aquariums.
Tubifex Worms – Hearty, readily available, and easy to raise on your own, these are an excellent choice for many small to medium adult fish species.
Guppies – Yes, the humble fish that started many kids on their love for fishkeeping, the guppy is a great choice for predatory fish in your tank.
Water Fleas – These are tougher to find in stores, but they make a good addition to tanks with large fish in freshwater.
Phytoplankton – This is a popular live food option among fishkeepers. These microscopic plants are native to the ocean and environments where exotic fish live. Click here to shop a wide assortment of phytoplankton products for your aquarium.
The Best Choice for Your Aquarium
Choosing the right types of live food for your aquarium will take some research, time, and testing. Live foods offer more nutrition for your fish, and in some cases, encourage them to behave as they would in the wild. Predatory fish, for example, are healthier when they can hunt and feed rather than consume fish flakes.
Make sure you choose live food that is suitable for your particular aquarium. Freshwater tanks require freshwater fish, and saltwater tanks will need live food that thrives in that environment. If you plan on using live fish food exclusively, research how to raise and farm your own to make sure you always have an adequate supply.
Natural is Better
While processed food is always cheap and abundant, the healthiest aquariums use live fish food. Live food adds more nutrition to your fish’s diet and promotes a healthier ecosystem over time. You can buy live food in specialty pet and aquarium stores, or you can purchase it online.
If you want to maintain full control of your aquatic hobby, consider growing your own live food to meet the needs of your particular fish colony. To learn more about keeping and caring for fish, please explore the rest of our site.