I can’t overstate the importance of feeding high quality foods to your fish. Besides regular and consistent water changes, the quality of the food you feed your fish may be the most important factor in their health and longevity.
Just as human food varies in quality, so does fish food. So, whether you choose to feed pellets, sticks, discs, frozen, or flakes, select high quality.
As for your brands and options, there are many to choose from – some commercial, some proprietary. However, there aren’t many commercial brands that I trust. In fact, most of my foods are purchased from fish breeders and fish sellers who sell their own food, often special blends. Why? Because these business owners understand what works for their fish. Whether it be for color enhancement or breeding conditioning, these people know the effects of various foods on their fish.
Rather than point out the specific foods I use, I will tell you where I get most of them from – Cunningham Tropicals, Ken’s Fish, and Super Cichlids. I think Josh Cunningham’s foods are fantastic, and he has quite a selection. Lisa and Martin Hoeber, owners of Super Cichlids, carry several top brands. Most of my fry and juvenile food comes from Ken’s. I would encourage you to purchase your food from your LFS, if they carry high quality options. If not, consider purchasing your food from any of the three places I list above.
Btw, if you want to know more about Josh or the Hoebers, see the interviews below:
If you’re a pellet/stick fan, one of the best pellets I have found is CS Pro by Aquarium Life Support Systems. They also make CS Pro flakes with the same ingredients, which is regularly in my food rotation.
As for feeding fry, I did a post on that back in 2021.