For a starter, "fish meal" products are not nutrient stripped, and to suggest so is ludicrous.
Last time we crossed paths, you asked for a link to the U of FL article on fish meal, and then disappeared. Perhaps you would like to revisit that discussion, and read it again?
http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=297394
A high quality fish meal is not only nutrient rich, the amino acid content is most certainly able to be utilized by fish. The following article was written by R.D. Miles, Professor, Department of Animal Sciences, and F.A. Chapman, Associate Professor, Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences; Florida Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida.
http://www.thefishsite.com/articles/200/the-benefits-of-fish-meal-in-aquaculture-diets
Fish meal has the same amino acid content as the fish products used by Omega. Just because a marketing genius like Denny Crews says so, don't make it so.
Also, when formulating a feed, it doesn't matter how long the list of fish ingredients are on a label, the total is still the total, whether ones uses 500lb's of herring, 500 lb's of cod, or 500 lb's of 10 different species of fish.
My main concern is the total percentage of the formula, and the amino acid content of that percentage.
Any hobbyist that's truly interested in what they feed their fish can research the amino acid profiles, as well as the crude protein, and even the digestible protein of most ingredients used in commercial fish feed.
Obviously the main players with regards to amino acids will be the fish/marine based ingredients.
Here's a good read on South Antarctic Krill Meal (Euphausia superba) which is the main ingredient found in NLS. (it's
orange - like the fishes poop that eat it)
http://www.aquafeed.com/article.php?id=439§ionid=5
You can also find the NRC's (National Research Council's) amino acid stats for the 4 most popular forms of fish meal, including Herring meal, in the link below. Also note the CP (crude protein) content of each meal listed. Herring meal scores higher than the others.
http://www.fao.org/ag/AGA/AGAP/frg/AFRIS/Data/332.HTM
While the overall quality of all fish meals are ultimately based on the quality of the raw product, as well as the processing methods, when it comes to overall protein content & their amino acid profiles, Herring meal & South Antarctic Krill meal are a difficult combo to beat.
Here's a little trip down memory lane for you.
From the ASTF annual report 2000
Fish Friendly OmegaSea President and CEO Denny Crews loves fish. He has a small aquarium at home and another one in his office on the docks in Sitka.
He likes fresh water fish. He likes salt water fish and now he's in the business of making fish food. "I've been either commercial fishing or saving fish most of my life," he said.
Before founding OmegaSea, Crews worked as the national sales representative for Tetra, the largest fish food supplier in the world. The problem was the primary ingredient in most fish food is fishmeal, a substance with low nutrients because it is processed before it goes into fish food. "The nutritional level just isn't there," Crews said.
Crews decided to head back to Alaska and find a way to use fresh
fish waste from commercial processors to create a nutritional food for fish. To kick start the business, Crews went to the Sitkabased processors and asked for free fish. They were more than happy to oblige. Crews supplies the processors with totes so they can dispose of the fish heads and carcasses as they clean and gut the fish. The processors, Crews said, are more than happy to get rid of the byproduct because it saves them the time and cost of grinding and dumping the waste.
Once back in his plant, Crews grinds the remains of salmon, cod and other species into a slurry with vitamins and other ingredients to produce one of the fastest selling flake fish food on the market today.
Now, with the help of project funds from ASTF plus matching funds from Alaska Growth Capital, Crews has a $1.5 million project to buy equipment to develop a new product line fish pellets.
If successful, the venture could provide up to 50 fulltime jobs in
Sitka and a new, stable industry. Already OmegaSea serves 1,600 retail stores throughout the U.S., including 12 in Alaska. The New York Aquarium uses OmegaSea. So does Aquarium Concepts in Oklahoma. Meanwhile,
Crews has just finished putting together his first order for a distributor in Japan, where the home aquarium market is second only to that of the U.S. Both the U.S. retail market and the Japanese market are ready for pellets, he said.
"We're interested in strong growth," he said. "In dry aquarium fish food, roughly 60 percent of the market is flake fish food, and 40 percent of the market is pellets. Presently, pellets are becoming more popular. The ASTF funds will allow us to expand into this growth market, helping us to increase sales and become a more rounded player in the industry."
It will take Crews about a year to develop the product and get it to market, he said. After he's conquered the pellet market, he'll venture into hatcheries. Crews said he plans to look at the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association in an attempt to provide pelletized food for the hatchery fish, which may guarantee a stronger, healthier return of the species to their
spawning grounds.
Then it will be on to dog and cat food using fresh fish waste,
which will bring Crews full circle. It seems his favorite fish in the
home aquarium is a dogface puffer fish that looks something like a small puppy.
As I stated at the beginning of this post, this isn't my first rodeo.
jGentry - feel free to run all of the feed trials that you like, it's not like it hasn't been done before, in controlled environments. Your results may or may not tell you anything. Either way, good luck!
And again, I have no problem if you or anyone else chooses to feed a lower cost feed.
But consider this ......
What if those same elements that are potentially missing in captivity for a Moorish Idol, or an Achilles Tang, or at the least not provided in sufficient quantity, or of lower quality, in a diet designed for freshwater fish, could help boost the immune system of those freshwater fish?
We all know that a fish under stress, be it from aggression, breeding, poor water quality, whatever, requires a higher nutrient content than a betta that floats carelessly around in it's own 20 gallon tank. Those extra nutrients, while perhaps not
required to keep a fresh water fish healthy long term, may in fact help keep them disease & illness free when other diets would not.
Most commercial foods designed for freshwater fish will give fairly decent overall results, some are simply more nutritionally sound than others. Something as basic as the vitamin C content found in a food can have a major impact to a tank full of cichlids forced into a glass cage, as the higher the stress levels in a tank the more important the level of vitamin C becomes. Yet I see hobbyists who are apparently satisfied with a feed that contains less than 100 mg/kg of vitamin C. That might be adequate for
their fish, in
their tanks, but I choose to use a food that offers a much higher inclusion rate than that.
What if the inclusion rate of garlic used in NLS has been shown (in published papers involving aquaculture) to increase the overall digestibilty of protein, carbohydrates, and fat, as well as to lower the total bacteria count within the intestine, muscles, and water column. This too could give an edge to a fish under stress, or fighting certain pathogens, yes?
When it come to using garlic in fish food, the real key is using the correct inclusion rate of garlic, which is something that New Life has paid close attention to over the years. As the science changes, or more information becomes available, inclusion rates have been adjusted to optimum levels.
In the end all of the little things tend to add up, and it's the little things that can also separate the so-so foods, with the premium foods. Please note that the full list of micro-nutrients & their various levels found in NLS have never been disclosed to the public.
Perhaps if I was able to post on a public forum what you "don't" see on a label, some might find some of this easier to understand, or accept. Obviously there are times such as this that I wish that I could do just that.
I'm sure that others still wouldn't give a rats behind one way or the other, and that's fine by me too.
Cheers,
Neil
