Whats The Difference Between Hikari Gold And Staple?

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 26, 2012
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England
I have always fed my fish Hikari Gold (the red packet), today they had none in the pellet size i wanted so i bought the green packet 'Hikari Cichlid Staple' instead.

Whats the main difference? i'm assuming from the colour that Staple is lower protein and has more Veg in it (Better for Severums) and Gold is mainly protein (better for Oscars)

I'm using it to feed my 8" Male Red Spot Severum, Festivum and to grow my 4 baby Sevs (2 x Rotkeil, Notatus, Gold)

I think the brands are different in America, here is what i buy in the UK

what i was buying...

042055044288-CichlidGold-Large-8.png


what i bought yesterday...

042055034289-CichlidStaple-Large-8.png
 
Simply put, gold is a higher quality fish food. I own both and my fish will eat both, but cichlid gold is (usually) better for fish that require a higher protein diet.
 
So my Severums would be better with Cichlid Staple? because they dont need so much protein?

There is only a pound price difference between the 2, Staple was £8 for a big bag and Gold £9, are sure its quality or is it the fact more protein always = more money.
 
Gold has more corn & wheat, Staple has more wheat & soybeans. You might as well toss a coin as far as quality goes.



Cichlid Gold

http://www.petco.com/product/3255/Hikari-Cichlid-Gold.aspx

Ingredients:

Fish meal, flaked corn, wheat flour, gluten meal, brewers' dried yeast, dried A niger fermentaion extract, garlic, astaxanthin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin A supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, choline chloride, D activated animal sterol (source of vitamin D3), folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite (source of vitamin K activity), inositol, para-aminobenzoic acid, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, salt, ferrous chloride, copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude protein (min.) 40%, crude fat (min.) 4%, crude fiber (max.) 4%, moisture (max.) 9%, ash (max.) 12%.



Cichlid Staple


http://www.petco.com/product/3254/Hikari-Cichlid-Staple.aspx


Ingredients:

White fish meal, wheat flour, wheat-germ meal, brewers' dried yeast, soybean meal, dehydrated alfalfa meal, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride, vitamin A supplement, l-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (source of vitamin C), vitamin B12 supplement, biotin, calcium pantothenate, choline chloride, D activated animal sterol (source of vitamin D3), folic acid, menadione sodium bisulfite (source of vitamin K activity), inositol, para-aminobenzoic acid, zinc oxide, manganous oxide, salt, ferrous chloride, copper sulfate, cobalt sulfate, aluminum sulfate, magnesium sulfate.

Guaranteed Analysis:

Crude protein (min.) 35%, crude fat (min.) 4%, crude fiber (max.) 5%, moisture (max.) 9%, ash (max.) 10%.
 
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If I added up all the severums I've kept over the years, I've kept them more years total than any other single fish-- except plecos, which (except when I was a kid) I've pretty much always had with whatever fish I kept. Cumulatively, it has to be over 15 years, maybe 18, that I've had at least one severum in one of my tanks, including raising a couple of hundred fry. The following is just my experience and opinion:

I've always found them omnivorous in an aquarium and doing perfectly well on a quality flake or pellet with protein levels in the upper 30s to mid 40s (or higher as fry), the same as most fish, and I never fed them differently from my other fish. Yes, they do like certain veggie treats (mine also like brine shrimp, blood worms, black worms, mysis shrimp, etc., these days all usually freeze dried) and when hungry will eat soft aquarium plants (and when not hungry may tear them up just for fun). But they don't really need extra veggies if you feed a good quality prepared food. As far as effect on their health, right now I have a wild rotkeil severum I bought as a full grown adult near ten years ago, making it probably 12-13 years old and no sign of getting old to this point.

All of that to say this: If it was me I'd be more interested in feeding the best quality food I could and not worry over a few % difference in protein on the label.

My other thought is that I'm not a big fan of soy in fish foods, especially soybean meal, mainly due to reading studies such as the following:
Intestinal health study: Note: entertitis mentioned in the excerpt below refers to intestinal inflammation.
Lilleeng used soya meal as the source of his ingredients, which is known to contain a series of anti-nutrients and to disturb the intestinal function of salmon. Lilleeng showed that intestinal immune defences become activated immediately feeding with soya commences. He also showed that enzymes normally associated with protein digestion have abnormally high levels of activity in the intestines of salmon with enteritis as a result of soya feeding.
Click to expand...
 
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I feed my Oscars Hikari Gold. Went to get some a while back, pet store was out so I got the staple. I practically had to starve my Oscars to get them to eat it. I picked up the Gold after that ran out and they ate like they had never eaten lol.
 
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