Although, well suitable for ranchu, I no longer use two of the above mentioned diets. Hikari Oranda Gold and Hikari Goldfish Wheat Germ are floating pellets that I now stopped using after switching to sinking pellets. In addition, Hikari Oranda Gold has a tendency to promote swim bladder disease in goldfish, which I have witnessed several times.
In resent years the same company developed Saki-Hikari advanced diets, a "high tech" goldfish sinking pellets with probiotics, nicknamed as Saki-Green, Saki-Purple and Saki-Red. The added beneficial bacteria suppose to accelerate digestion and promote healthy digestive tract. At the moment, Saki-Purple is available in the USA while the other two can be bought from overseas suppliers in Japan, Hong Kong or Singapore.
Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Color Enhancing (Saki-Purple) includes astaxanthin and spirulina as color enhancements (see ingredients below). Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Extreme Color Enhancing (Saki-Red) contains pigment rich spirulina as a second ingredient along with marigold flower extract, astaxanthin and phaffia dried yeast (see ingredients below). I have been using Saki-Purple and can attest to a noticeable change in fish color brightness, even without presence of sunlight. I also purchased Saki-Red and intend to start using it in the spring, as it is most effective when the water temperature stays above 64 F (18°C). I will be using both Saki-Purple and Saki-Red as a supplement to a staple diet.
For ranchu staple diet I had to choose between Japan Ranchu Lord type D mini pellets (click here to buy), Saki-Hikari Fancy Goldfish Balance (Saki-Green) and Omega One Goldfish Pellets (made in USA). Based on reviews, ingredients and nutritional analyses I gave my preference to Japan Ranchu Lord (JRL).
JRL pellets are made with large amount of seaweed rich in vitamins and minerals, and contain EPA and DHA essential fatty acids. Unlike other brands, JRL does not include hard to digest wheat flour, fillers or binders (see ingredients below). The only drawback - it is the most expansive of all three mentioned staple diets. Omega one, on the other hand, is the most economical choice with less wheat products compared to Saki-Green. Nutritional analysis and ingredients for JRL, Hikari and Omega One brand pellets:
Ingredients: whole fish-meal, squid, seaweed, soy, krill, yeast, vitamins, minerals
Saki-Green - crude protein - min 45%, crude fat - min 5%, crude fiber - max 3%, crude ash - max 20%
Ingredients: fish meal, wheat germ, flour, beer yeast, starch, gluten meal, soybean meal, fish oil, vegetable oil, seaweed powder, probiotics, carotenoids, vitamins, minerals
Hikari Lionhead - crude protein - min 46%, crude fat - min 6%, crude fiber - max 5%, crude ash - max 12%
Ingredients: fish meal, wheat flour, soybean meal, krill meal, brewers dried yeast, fish oil, vegetable oil, seaweed meal, spirulina, DL-methionine, astaxanthin, rice bran, vitamins, minerals
Saki-Purple - crude protein - min 45%, crude fat - min 7%, crude fiber - max 3%, crude ash - max 20%
Ingredients: fish meal, wheat germ meal, soybean meal, wheat flour, brewers dried yeast, starch, dried bakery product, gluten meal, fish oil, spirulina, vegetable oil, rice bran, seaweed meal, astaxanthin, dried Bacillus subtilis fermentation product, vitamins, minerals
Saki-Red - crude protein - min 46%, crude fat - min 7%, crude fiber - max 2%, crude ash - max 19%
Ingredients: fish meal, spirulina, wheat flour, wheat germ meal, soybean meal, brewers dried yeast, dried bakery product, gluten meal, fish oil, phaffia dried yeast, extracted marigold flower meal, vegetable oil, astaxanthin, rice bran, seaweed meal, probiotics, vitamins, minerals
Omega One - crude protein - min 33%, crude fat - min 8%, crude fiber - max 2%, crude ash - max 8%
Ingredients: whole salmon, whole herring, whole shrimp, wheat flour, wheat gluten, fresh kelp, soy flour, astaxanthin, vitamins, minerals
As it is true with all pellets, you have to be carful with amount fed to the fish. Pellets are highly nutritious and overfeeding leads to obesity. Also, it is important to remember that dry pellets have longer digestion time of up to 2 hrs or more. It is necessary to alternate pellets with easily digestible foods like frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp and plant foods including algae.
My preference for frozen food is Hikari brand, especially for bloodworms. If not sterilized, bloodworms can become a source of pathogenic bacteria causing verity of infections in ranchu. Kyorin Co. uses 3-step sterilization process to produce free of bacteria and parasites frozen foods.
Based on time of the year, I alternate between easily digestible food and pellets. When the water temperature drops between 55-64 F (13-18°C), I feed 2 to 4 times a day with mostly brine shrimp and bloodworms. When the temperatures stabilizes above 65 F (18°C), I feed 5 times a day, where pellets are given more often. I keep at least 2 - 2.5 hour interval between the feedings.
Since ranchu are prone to obesity the amount of food is very important. I have adopted a "five minute rule", when I give as much food as the fish collectively will eat in 5 minutes. Food amount and feeding frequency gets periodically adjusted depending on the ranchu overall appearance.
There are much more food choices out there, including gel food and of course "do it yourself". But for now, I think I have enough diverse diet to offer. With balancing of what I currently feed, my ranchu already showing good results. The growth rate is normal for their age and the wen (head-growth) continues to develop well. To summarize, here is what I feed to my ranchu:
dry pellets - Japan Ranchu Lord type D, Saki-Purple and Saki-Red, Hikari Lionhead
frozen food - Hikari brine shrimp and bloodworms
plant food - shelled green peas, pumpkin, spinach, algae
One more thing. I am working on cultivating Wolffia, a floating plant that belongs to duckweeds. Why? Read about it in my future post.
Happy & Safe Holidays!
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