Pellets vs Purely Raw Feeding?

[Stalker_Loneriff]

Hello once again to my fellow Poly keepers. First of all, I'd like to say that I'm new to the world of Polys and Aquarium keeping. I did my homework before getting my Polys and I didn't stop researching after that and I keep learning more and more. I'd also like to say thank you to all those who don't get tired of giving me tips like polyaddict86, tlindsey and many more. I value and respect all the infos given to me by my seniors here in this forum.

But there's one thing that intrigues me. I come from the dog world and currently in the dog world there is a debate whether it is more healthy for our dogs to be fed purely raw food or dog foods.

I usually get tips to mix pellets with raw shrimp, tilapia etc in this fish forums. However as a dog keeper who believes that raw feeding is the way to go as it is the 'biologically appropriate' food for them, I am kind of skeptical about pellets. I was hoping we could discuss fish nutrition in depth in this thread.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

in theory a pellet is better than just tilapia or shrimp. However I am with the raw diet side of the argument. I believe all carnivores should be fed a raw diet. My ferret only eats raw, be it chicken, rabbit or whatever I have on hand. You have to feed them the entire animal though, it cannot be just the flesh. You need meat, organs, bones, skin and fur/feather. Much the same with fish, they need the entire prey item, not just the flesh.

 

[Hendre]

They can survive off of pellets. my 70gal predator tank gets pellets as staple, but i feed bloodworm 3/4 times a week and earthworms whenever i have them.

I would say both pelletised and raw foods should be fed to get a good balance in.

 

[Stalker_Loneriff]

in theory a pellet is better than just tilapia or shrimp. However I am with the raw diet side of the argument. I believe all carnivores should be fed a raw diet. My ferret only eats raw, be it chicken, rabbit or whatever I have on hand. You have to feed them the entire animal though, it cannot be just the flesh. You need meat, organs, bones, skin and fur/feather. Much the same with fish, they need the entire prey item, not just the flesh.

yup i also feed my dog whole prey model type of feeding. as it challenges them mentally as well to eat whole prey foods. the thing is for dogs, or maybe even ferrets. there's so many information and with even little details. i noticed that fish nutrition research is not that detailed.

anyway its the same argument with dog foods. dog food people argue that that dog foods contain all the nutrients a dog needs, but i see the label and there's also a lot of crap and even ingredients that could be harmful in the long run. i believe in the natural way of feeding.

but as im new to the fish world, im also open to hearing the suggestions and opinions of people who feed pellets.

 

[Hendre]

yup i also feed my dog whole prey model type of feeding. as it challenges them mentally as well to eat whole prey foods. the thing is for dogs, or maybe even ferrets. there's so many information and with even little details. i noticed that fish nutrition research is not that detailed.

anyway its the same argument with dog foods. dog food people argue that that dog foods contain all the nutrients a dog needs, but i see the label and there's also a lot of crap and even ingredients that could be harmful in the long run. i believe in the natural way of feeding.

but as im new to the fish world, im also open to hearing the suggestions and opinions of people who feed pellets.

Pellets are usually a pretty sound and decent base diet with brands like NLS being very well balanced. But raw food also adds some value to their diet, i feed it when i can but it is also a cost factor. Pellets are much cheaper than frozen foods and people like me can't always afford the raw diets

 

[kno4te]

Pellets are easier for me. Easier to break up and feed. I will also add some cut up tilapia as well.
I leave out any fatty/meat.

Most pellets will have vitamins in it as well. So it'll be as good as using natural raw fish.

Either way won't be wrong.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

yup i also feed my dog whole prey model type of feeding. as it challenges them mentally as well to eat whole prey foods. the thing is for dogs, or maybe even ferrets. there's so many information and with even little details. i noticed that fish nutrition research is not that detailed.

anyway its the same argument with dog foods. dog food people argue that that dog foods contain all the nutrients a dog needs, but i see the label and there's also a lot of crap and even ingredients that could be harmful in the long run. i believe in the natural way of feeding.

but as im new to the fish world, im also open to hearing the suggestions and opinions of people who feed pellets.

Research is great, but all it takes is looking at a wild specimen's diet and detailing the feeding off that.

I believe unless you are providing all the necessary components in the form of supplements along with the diet of fish/shrimp/pellets that a whole diet is also advisable for predatory fish.

 

[predatorkeeper87]

Pellets are usually a pretty sound and decent base diet with brands like NLS being very well balanced. But raw food also adds some value to their diet, i feed it when i can but it is also a cost factor. Pellets are much cheaper than frozen foods and people like me can't always afford the raw diets

I wish pellets were cheaper lol, a big ass bag of tilapia lasts way longer than pellets haha.

Pellets are easier for me. Easier to break up and feed. I will also add some cut up tilapia as well.
I leave out any fatty/meat.

Most pellets will have vitamins in it as well. So it'll be as good as using natural raw fish.

Either way won't be wrong.

pellets definitely have more than just tilapia and shrimp but I think a lot of the nutrients are lost in the process of making the pellets too.

 

[tlindsey]

@predatorfishkeeper87, and Stalker_Loneriff you are right about supplementing with whole fish,shrimp etc. My fish don't like Silver Sides which has been around along time and great vs live. I remember the days of bagging Goldfish feeders,remember how bad the condition they were in when they came in. Until pellets were manufactured with good ingredients predatory fish keepers had no choice. I feed the flesh of Tilapia, Shrimp but rely on pellets, flakes to make up for the nutrients from a whole fish.

 

[Hendre]

For me it is cheaper, and i dont even get tilapia here really.

Anyway my knives are not piscivores so meaty fare is earthworms and bloodworm. I may also try crickets