Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

[fshfrk]

Re: tropheus and petrochromis food....

i'd just like to eat steak(pellets). but i have to eat my salad(flake) to keep my system flowing. thats what works for my fish and me.

[geoff_tropheus]

Re: tropheus and petrochromis food....

     

[myjohnson]

Re: Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

Protein - The Building Blocks:

Many hobbyists seem to get hung up on the protein percentages that are shown on fish food labels, without truly understanding exactly what those numbers mean.

The protein percent on a fish food label doesn't really tell you anything about the quality of the protein. The value of protein is directly related to the amino acid content, such as; Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Trytophan, and Valine, which are essentially the building blocks for muscle and growth. The protein percent shown on a label doesn't tell you how that protein was processed, or if it's even in a form that your fish can properly digest and utilize. Unless that protein can be fully digested by your fish, the crude protein percent on a label becomes somewhat meaningless.

High quality protein that is easily digested by fish does not cause gastrointestinal issues, no matter if the fish is classified as herbivorous, omnivorous, or carnivorous. Excess protein is for the most part excreted as waste. The idea of excess protein causing bloat, or any type of gastrointestinal issues in herbivores, is utter nonsense. Poor quality protein, as well as other hard to digest ingredients can cause bloat etc, but easily digestible protein will never cause any dietary issues. Hobbyists that keep carnivores want the highest protein percentage in a food that they can find, those that keep herbivores seem to want the least, with neither of them understanding the basic principles involved. My advice is to forget about the numbers posted on a label, and concentrate on the quality of the protein.

The ingredients listed on a food label are your first clue as to the quality of the food's protein content. Avoid those that contain too much grain such as wheat middlings, corn, brans, flour, potatoes, or protein derived from Soybean meal. (as indicated by the first ingredients listed; the ingredients that are listed first, are the most prevalent ingredients). Look instead for foods with high-quality, marine-based proteins such as whole Herring, Krill, Mussel, and Squid at the top of their ingredient lists.

Many people think of Fish meal as being a poor quality source of protein. This is simply not true. Fish meal is used in a wide variety of animal feed applications including, pet food, poultry, and protein blends. Fish meal is an excellent source of protein and is rich in essential amino acids, fats, and vitamins and minerals. High quality Fish meals such as Herring meal are processed from whole fish, not processing plant by-products.

Certain types of lower quality meals are most likely the cause for Fish meal getting a "bad rap" over the years, and if the Fish meal is comprised of processing plant by-products such as heads, scales, and bones, it will usually result in excessive ash content in the final product. Some fish food labels do not even list the maximum ash content. Obviously it is also much less costly for a manufacturer to use these types of raw ingredients, compared to a high quality source of marine protein such as South Antarctic Krill, Herring, Mussel, or Squid. On the other hand, if the Fish meal is not listed in the first ingredient and the ash content is less than 9 %, it usually indicates that too much Soybean, Corn gluten, or Blood meal is being used. While some fish such as Koi can assimilate large amounts of Soybean meal and Corn gluten, most tropical species cannot. Blood meal though high in protein is low in many essential amino acids.

Also keep in mind that a green colored food does not necessarilly contain a large quantity of vegetable matter, anymore than a red colored food equates to Krill being used as the primary ingredient.


From the words of Pablo Tepoot himself, and I agree with the reasoning and results. Hope you guys find it helpful.

[tattoo]

Re: Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

great info thanks...

[myjohnson]

Re: Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

Check your pm tatoo.

[fshfrk]

Re: Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

excellent read myjohnson. thanks

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tropheus and Petrochromis food - Protein % less or more?

There's several articles and such written by Pablo Tepoot and R.D. Over on tropheusfanatics.ivisionzone.com

Tons of good info on the www. If you are willing to do a little digging and reading.