Food for Thought 1: Krill

Food for Thought 1: Krill

by Mandy Anders

Krill is one of the many important foods aquarium fish consume. Krill are small, marine shrimp-like crustaceans than form an important part of the marine food chain. In the wild, krill serve as the primary food for many types of marine organisms, including fish, whales, squid, and penguins. These energy packed, high protein.

Crustaceans can be fed to aquarium organisms as a whole food or as an ingredient in processed fish foods. Krill benefits aquarium fish by providing both a natural protein source and color enhancer. Consuming krill or foods with krill will help aquarium fish to grow faster, stay healthier, and look more colorful.

Choose whole, freeze-dried krill to enhance red coloration on sanke, showa, and kohaku koi. The freeze-dried krill float, allowing pond owners to view the koi feeding at the pond’s surface. This form of krill is also good for top-feeding predatory fish like arowanas. Frozen krill is a better choice for large, predatory marine fish such as lionfish, puffers, groupers, and

Snappers. These fish tend to ignore floating food, but will track the frozen variety as it slowly sinks down through the water column. Offer picky eaters krill on a skewer to entice them into consuming frozen food. The frozen krill more closely resembles their natural prey than pelleted or cubed food. Smaller fish can get all the benefits of krill from high quality frozen or pelleted foods that include krill as a primary ingredient. New Life Spectrum pellets , Formula One flake food , Formula One frozen food, and Formula Two frozen food all include krill as one of their major ingredients. These foods can be used to feed a wide variety of both fresh and saltwater fishes, and the manufacturers blend krill with other nutritious ingredients to provide a healthy, balanced, staple diet. Remember, variety is the key to providing a healthy diet for aquarium fish. Feeding only one type of food results in missing nutrition. Use krill with other foods for maximum nutritional value.