Hikari Bad Ingredients?

[Hendre]

Hikari is a bit expensive for me on my end of the world. I use ocean nutrition sinking pellets and tetra prima as a staple. The ON pellets are very good, first 3 ingredients is shrimp, fish fillet then krill. A little expensive but good food

At the end of the day variety is key, I have 6 types of dry food, freeze dried tubifex, frozen bloodworm, frozen hake and earthworms occasionally. Don't settle for one food!

 

[FESHMAN]

To what hype are you referring?

Everyone is free to advertise while everyone else is free to read or ask. Hikari does post it's ingredients, as everyone else does, and people are able to make a choice.

If there is hype, I assume it's because people like it. Why do people like it? Ask? I'm sure we all like things that some other people don't. Oh well....

I have heard many hobbyists praise hikari dry foods, maybe because the fish readily accept it? I don't know

 

[Hendre]

I have heard many hobbyists praise hikari dry foods, maybe because the fish readily accept it? I don't know

Probably an established brand and all that. There's no perfect food either

 

[tiger15]

NLS offers one grade of pellets. Hikari offers 3 grades: gold, staple and excel. The OP compares the ingredients of Hikari Gold with NLS, which is not a fair comparison because Gold is the cheapest grade. Excel contains higher quality ingredients such as krill and spirulina, so it is closer to and a fairer comparison with NLS. However, not listing the % weight of ingredients is hard to make fair comparison of one brand with the other. I use my nose to distinguish. NLS has stronger krill smell than Excel, so I believe NLS has more sea food ingredients and likely more nutritional.

 

[FESHMAN]

NLS offers one grade of pellets. Hikari offers 3 grades: gold, staple and excel. The OP compares the ingredients of Hikari Gold with NLS, which is not a fair comparison because Gold is the cheapest grade. Excel contains higher quality ingredients such as krill and spirulina, so it is closer to and a fairer comparison with NLS. However, not listing the % weight of ingredients is hard to make fair comparison of one brand with the other. I use my nose to distinguish. NLS has stronger krill smell than Excel, so I believe NLS has more sea food ingredients and likely more nutritional.

I know that nls is premium product, but for some reason alot of my fish refuse it, they take it and spit it out. They would only eat if I starve them for like a day

 

[tiger15]

I think your fish are more picky eater. Most of my fish will readily take NLS, but need to be trained to accept Hikari. NLS comes with small size, 0.5 mm to 1 mm so juvies and large fry can take them right away. Hikari comes in 2 mm minimum, and the firmer texture makes them less palatable.

 

[RD.]

Hikari offers 3 grades: gold, staple and excel. The OP compares the ingredients of Hikari Gold with NLS, which is not a fair comparison because Gold is the cheapest grade. Excel contains higher quality ingredients such as krill and spirulina, so it is closer to and a fairer comparison with NLS.

Not exactly. Hikari does not advertise or promote these 3 different formulas, as different grades, with the exception of Staple, which they do promote as being more economical.

http://www.hikari.info/tropical/index.html#c3

Gold:

A Daily, Color-Enhancing Diet For Cichlids And Larger Tropical Fish

A daily diet containing special color enhancers designed to bring out your pet's natural beauty while helping them develop desirable form.


Excel

A Daily Diet For Herbivorous Cichlids And Larger Tropical Fish

A specially formulated daily diet for herbivorous (plant eating) cichlids and larger tropical fish offering higher levels of vegetable matter.

Staple:

A Daily Diet For Cichlids And Larger Tropical Fish

An economical daily diet for cichlids and larger tropical fish.


Excel should be compared to NLS AlgaeMax, not any of their regular formulas, which again IMO still wins that comparison hands down. AlgaeMax is in my opinion by far the best herbivorous pellet on the market.

The best comparison would probably be Hikari Bio-Gold, and NLS regular formulas, in which case NLS still wins.

 

[tiger15]

Although not promoted specifically for herbivores, NLS formula contains more aquatic vegetative matter than excel, including chlorella algae, ulva seaweed, kelp and spirulina. Excel lists only spirulina unless one also counts yeast as an aquatic plant. So the comparison between Excel and NLS is fair because both are formulated for herbivores and carnivores. Carnivorous fish actually consume a lot of vegetative matter in the gut contents of their preys. So feeding only high protein food to carnivores is not a balanced diet.

Not sure about the nutritional value of yeast which is listed in all Hikari food, but not NLS. I fed yeast to my daphnia culture and my fry gladly consumed the yeast. So I have been treating my fry with yeast which is the easiest kept live food.

 

[RD.]

I didn't say the comparison was fair, or not. I was simply pointing out that Hikari does not advertise those 3 foods by some kind of grade, as you stated.

Which formula has a greater percentage is based on nothing more than speculation, as you previously stated, unless one is privy to the percentages of each. I have no idea how much plant matter is in Excell, I only know that Hikari markets it as a food designed for herbivores.

Either way, IMHO NLS is superior from an overall nutrient standpoint.

 

[tiger15]

Hikari never explicitly graded their food, but it is apparent from the price and ingredients differential. I am just saying that it's unfair to compare a low grade Hikari food with a high grade NLS. Excel is a good quality food, but I have to agree that NLS is better because it contains more aquatic vegetative and animal matter. NLS contains mollusk and likely higher concentration of krill based on my smell test. Hikari contains yeast that is absent in NLS.

Most cichlid are omnivore, rarely straight herbivore or carnivore. Mbuna graze algae but also consume significant quantity of invertebrates in the wild. Piscivorous cichlid consume prey whole in the wild including vegetative matter in the gut content. So it's best to feed all cichlid with balanced vegetative and animal matter.