Pellet fish foods have come a long way from years past.  They are now a smorgasbord of amazing nutrition that can really shore up the foundation of your aquarium diet.   While most pellets for saltwater aquariums are sinking pellets, you may find some out there that are floating (which I don’t recommend).  The reason for this is that most saltwater aquariums today have overflow boxes (a.k.a. skimmer boxes) where the surface water is skimmed and sent back to a sump.  Floating pellets would only end up getting sucked into the overflow and then go uneaten, and break down in your system, adding to pollution (increased nitrates, phosphates, and suppressed pH and alkalinity).  So, to recap, you want to go with a sinking pellet. 

One of the best pellet brands we have come to love is the New Life Spectrum pellets, in both small and large pellet sizes.  I have a friend who loves it so much, that in some aquariums it is all he feeds.  Now, I don’t agree with this, feeding only one kind of food, but the point is that he has gotten such amazing benefits from it.    We have been using this one for years and just love it.  I could hardly believe it when a colleague of mine told me that his Bartlet’s Anthias were eating New Life Spectrum pellets.  That says a lot.  I want the fish to be able to eat the pellets as soon as they are added to the aquarium, so often we will soak them for a few minutes to soften them up.

Ocean Nutrition also has some great pelleted foods, as does Hikari.  The Hikari product we have used a lot is their “S” pellet (for small).  This is great for any newly arrived captive-raised fishes (i.e. clownfishes, pseudochromis/dottybacks) who are accustomed to being fed small pellets and will at first ignore anything that doesn’t look like a small pellet (1 mm) and sinks quickly.  In other words, at first, all they are interested in eating are very small pellets. 

One big caution with feeding pellet foods, is that they are very easy to over feed.  The moment the can is opened you want to be very deliberate and move slowly so as not to spill them either.    Uneaten pellets can end up settling into your substrate/sand where they will break down and add to pollution in your aquarium (increased nitrates and phosphates, suppressed pH and alkalinity too).  Of course, this happens with any food the is overfed, not just pellets.  So, remember that less more often is better than more less often.  How’s that for a tongue twister.

We also like to offer a larger pellet for bigger fishes.  This way we have two different sizes of pellets, providing more diversity and better suited to ensuring that everyone (fishes) gets a pellet that is just right sized for them to readily eat. 

Medicated pellets are also available for when you have a sick fish, or one that needs rehabilitation.  New Life Spectrum makes a medicated pellet in case you wanted a brand to look for.

I like to think of pellet foods as an all-in-one vitamin food, because there are so many different ingredients that go into them.

Happy Fishes,

Warren Gibbons
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