Fluval Bug Bites Cichlid Fish Food, A6581

Perfect size for my growing Oscar with that said he will eat almost anything was looking for variety for him and this is perfect!

They sink fast but the fish love them.

il canale Amazon non e’ mai il piu’ economy per questi articoli di nicchia ma e’ un mangime che neanche online dai venditori specializzati si trova (facilmente) – mangime accettate benissimo, per questo da consigliare

Très satisfaisant pour nourrir mes poissons !!

Una porquería se quedan los pellets flotando los discos pasan olímpicamente de esta comida. Después de una hora ahi siguen flotando y estropeando el agua del acuario. Estos señores de fluval no sé que entienden por “slow sinking”…. ni por comida para cíciidos. La comida para cíclidos americanos no es la misma que la comida para cíclidos africanos etc.. esta comida se la comerán bien cíclidos con hábitos depredatorios. Los discos que comen del fondo no le hacen ni caso….. Una auténtica pérdida de dinero la verdad, que no es barata la comida…. Otro apunto, la gente con sump va a alucinar viendo cómo se traga la comida por el rebosadero…..

i see alot of people complain that some of the pellets don’t sink. While this is true most of the time i find it very beneficial as it splits up my aggressive cichlids during feeding time. Most cichlid don’t mind going to the top for the food. Also find this food to be the perfect size, med/large. great for small 5-6 inch cichlids but at the same time they are not to small for larger cichlids between 7 and 13 inches. All in all, great price, great ingredients. No complaints here.

In this review, I compare Fluval Bug Bites Cichlid Pellets against Aqueon Cichlid Pellets and Hikari Blood Red Parrot pellets. By all means, not a comprehensive or expert review, just a Cichlid owner’s thoughts on the three comparable pellet types.

From a value perspective, Fluval Bug Bites is twice as expensive per ounce as Hikari pellets and ten times more expensive per ounce as Aqueon pellets. The exact cost came out to be $3.52/oz for Fluval, $1.80/oz for Hikari, and .36/oz for Aqueon.

From a feeding perspective, Fluval and Aqueon are both “slow-sinking” pellets while Hikari is a floating pellet. In my opinion, Fluval sinks very, very quickly whereas Aqueon does not. I would not describe Fluval as a “slow-sinking” pellet, I would describe it as a “fast-sinking” pellet. My Blood Red Parrot prefers the floating pellets but will eventually make his way down to any pellets that landed on the substrate.

Taste-wise, my Blood Red Parrot prefers Hikari over Fluval and Fluval over Aqueon. While he might leave the Aqueon pellets, I find that he eventually will eat the Fluval pellet, it just may not be right away. Size-wise, the Fluval pellet is the largest. It’s not exactly a square shaped or circular pellet, it’s more like an extended-width square pellet (at least in comparison to the other pellet types). It’s the largest pellet of the three brands. I would recommend the Fluval pellet for medium or large-sized Cichlids.

As far as ingredients go, the three brands of pellets share many of the same ingredients. Where I see the most differentiation is in the type of protein used and the guaranteed analysis stats. For protein, Fluval uses dried black soldier fly larvae, salmon, and fish protein concentrate. Aqueon uses fish meal, shrimp meal, dehulled soybean meal, and squid meal. Hikari uses fish and krill meal.

Guaranteed analysis indicates the following:
– Aqueon has the highest min crude protein at 42%; Fluval and Hikari are tied at 40%.
– Fluval has the highest min crude fat at 12.5%; Aqueon at 8% and Hikari at 5%.
– Fluval has the highest max crude fiber at 5%; Aqueon at 3% and Hikari at 2%.
– Fluval and Hikari are tied at 10% max moisture; Aqueon at 9%.
– Hikari has the highest min Phosphorus at 1.3%, followed by Aqueon at 1% and Fluval at .80%.

Now, with regard to Fluval, here are my thoughts. Fluval is twice the cost of Hikari and ten times the cost of Aqueon and so, as a buyer, I would expect Fluval to deliver better quality pellets with higher guaranteed analysis stats. This is not the case; Fluval Bug Bites offers similar quality and ingredients as its cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately for Cichlid pellet buyers, this means that the choice between Fluval or Hikari or Aqueon comes down to the Cichlid’s own taste preferences. It may very well be that while my Blood Red Parrot prefers the Blood Red Parrot pellets offered by Hikari, another type of Cichlid may prefer Fluval instead. As for me, I’ll continue to buy Fluval because I want my Blood Red Parrot to have options and the bag itself (although expensive) offers a consider number of pellets and will last you a while if you have a small number of Cichlids and you feed only what your fish will eat in a few minutes.

For anyone wondering if they should choose pellets over flakes (or sticks or crisps), I will say that, in general, my Blood Red Parrot Cichlid prefers flakes over pellets, pellets over crisps, and does not care for the sticks at all. Again, I think this comes down to the Cichlid’s preferences so you may have a different experience.