Feed The Fish In The Different Levels Of The Aquarium

Possibly it will be the feeding of aquarium fish the facet of aquarium hobby that most changes have happened in recent decades. On the one hand, the number of stores that sell live food has increased, since its collection in nature becomes increasingly difficult. On the other hand, the commercialized food preparations have evolved a lot and offer, nowadays, a wide range of products that the fan chooses according to their needs. If we also take into account the relationship between nutrition and health, the importance of food in the reproduction of fish (the ultimate goal of any good aquarist) and the problems that arise at the beginning until the proper frequency and doses of food are found, there is no doubt that this is a topic of great interest, both for the experienced hobbyist and for the novice.

Types of fish feed.

Taking into account the type of substances that form the basis of their diet, three main types of food can be distinguished, the herbivores or phytophagous, feed almost exclusively on vegetable matter, the carnivores or zoophagous , feed on animal matter and the omnivores that feed on both types of matter. Most species move preferentially through a certain depth. Thus we can also distinguish between surface species with the mouth oriented upwards, and the back flat, and neutral waters, with the mouth oriented forward, with the mouth oriented downwards, and the ventral area flat.

In their natural environment, surface species usually feed on small invertebrates that move or fall to the surface of the water. Bottom species are, in general, omnivorous for food and take advantage of any leftovers found in the bottom of the water. In the aquarium we can find representatives of all these groups and species. It is necessary to put in place adequate means so that all fish receive their feed. A community aquarium, with fish of all these types, is in principle more complicated to feed, however, it has the advantage that food not used by one can be used by another. Read More verywellfishing

Nutritional requirements in fish diet.

Fish, like the rest of the animals, obtain from the degradation of food the elementary components needed to manufacture their own body structures and the energy needed to carry out their functions (breathing, reproduction, locomotion, etc.) Fish are one of the vertebrates that make the best use of it the nutrients that food contains. So while a human being converts 10% of what some fish like brown trout into body tissue, it converts up to 50%.

In this assimilation, environmental factors influence, to cite an example, we will say that, to obtain the same growth, it is necessary to provide a greater amount of proteins as the temperature rises. A balanced diet should include foods that encompass the five groups of basic nutritional components that are, proteins , lipids , carbohydrates , vitamins and minerals. Diets poor in one or more of these components cause serious illness. Diets with an excess of fat- soluble vitamins (Hypervitaminosis)or minerals such as copper or fluorine can produce intoxication as they coagulate in body tissues. The proportion of each of them varies, within average values, according to the physicochemical parameters of the aquatic environment and the type, age and specific circumstances of each fish.

1. The proteins .
2. The lipids .
3. The carbohydrates .
4. The minerals .
5. The vitamins .

Proteins:

Biochemically they are complex molecules formed by the union of other simpler elements called amino acids . Twenty different types of amino acids are known, some must be received directly from food as they cannot be synthesized. Their combinations in number and position in the protein chain give rise to an infinite number of different proteins , involved in the most diverse metabolic functions, with cellular transport, energy source, immunological defense, regulation of biochemical reactions, etc. The protein requirements of fish are quite high, generally representing half or more of the total food ingested. Fry and growing young require higher proportions.

Lipids:

In principle, fish need about 20% of their diet to belong to the group of substances known as lipids or fats. They are mainly used as an energy reserve and insulating against external conditions, temperature, humidity, etc. The fatty acids linoleic , linoleic and oleic cannot be manufactured by fish and must be contained in food.

Carbohydrates:

The carbohydrate needs in the fish diet are of little importance. It intervenes in obtaining energy as a secondary source after proteins and in structural and immunological functions. In the manufacture of feed for fish farming, proportions of carbohydrates greater than the needs are used as protein substitutes, due to the economic savings that this implies.

Minerals:

Minerals are essential in the diet of fish. The actual proportion varies depending on the species and age of each fish. Usually the amount of minerals in the diet should not exceed 4%. Two groups of minerals can be differentiated in relation to the amount required in the diet by fish. Some such as zinc, hay, fluorine, copper, cobalt, iodine, manganese, should be ingested in minute amounts at 0.0001% of the food weight. Potassium, phosphorus, sodium, chlorine, calcium, magnesium and sulfur are required in larger proportions. Minerals, usually in the form of salts, can be acquired by fish from the food they eat or directly in the water, through the gills. They intervene in multiple metabolic processes, such as bone tissue formation, enzymatic regulation, PH regulation and hydration level, etc.,

Vitamins:

Vitamins are organic substances that regulate metabolism and that the animal is not able to synthesize. They must therefore be ingested like food. It is recommended, without forgetting the risk of hypervitaminosis, that the food has a little more vitamins, as it tends to oxidize or even dissolve in the aquarium water. Vitamins in aquarium water have a chemical name and/or an alphabetic name, with or without a subscript. They are divided into two groups, according to the fluid in which they dissolve:

Water Soluble (soluble in water): Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C, Thiamine or B1), Riboflavin (B2), Nicotinic Acid (B3), Pantothenic Acid (B5), Pyridoxine (B6), Biotin (B8 also called Vitamin H), Acid Folic (B10), Cobalamin (B12), Inositol and Choline (vitamin j)

Fat-soluble (soluble in organic solvents): Retinol (vitamins A), Calciferol (vitamin D), Tocopherol (vitamins E, and vitamins K). The amount of vitamins required depends on the specific type of vitamins and the size, age and situation of the fish, going around the milligram class for every kilogram of food.