Tag: Fishmeal

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Assessing the Fish Food Label: Protein

Shrimp meal is one of the very highest quality proteins in Koi food

Assessing an ingredients label

Ingredients labels can be very exciting, or very misleading.

They can be exciting because they seem to report excellent ingredients and real care and attention in manufacture. Misleading labels use techniques like ingredient splitting and foreign law to dupe the consumer. Come with me to the store and we shall assess a label together in nine steps.

Assessing the Fish Food Label: Step-By-Step

Shrimp meal is one of the very highest quality proteins in Koi food
Shrimp meal is one of the very highest quality proteins in Koi food

Assessment 1: Protein source.

Look for fishmeal, squid meal, whitefish meal, anchovy meal, shrimp meal, blood meal, herring meal, etc as first ingredients. These are the best protein sources for fish and are the ones I recommend. Other proteins, for example if you found a bag of food that showed Lobster meal as the first ingredient, you understand that again, aquaculture protein is best for aquaculture.

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Premium Koi and Goldfish Color Enhancing Fish Food by Blackwater Creek – Grade: A

Premium Koi and Goldfish Color Enhancing Fish Food Medium 5 lb. by Blackwater Creek

Assessment: Two aquacultural proteins in the top four ingredients, two split ingredients (wheat and soy), has spirulina and color enhancer. Unable to tell if cooked.

Averages $9/lb

Wheat Middlings, Shrimp Meal (1/6th /15% of diet ), Rice Bran, Fishmeal, Corn Gluten Meal, Dehulled Soybean Meal, Ground Wheat, Soy Protein Isolate, Spirulina Algae, Propionic Acid (a preservative), Ascorbic Acid, Yeast Culture, Canthaxanthin, Calcium Carbonate, Zinc Sulfate, Ferrous Sulfate, Magnesium Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Ethylenediamine Dihydroiodide, Cobalt Sulfate, Sodium Selenite, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin Supplement, Niacin Supplement, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Folic Acid, Menadione Dimethylpyrimidinol Bisulfite (source of Vitamin K activity), Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin.