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Re: phosphorus and phosphorus control
On Wed, 24 Nov 1999, Robert H wrote:
> I always held the assumption that high protein foods such as beefheart,
> brine shrimp, bloodworms, or Krill had the highest phosphorus and vegetable
> flake with low amounts of bone meal had the lowest levels. Is this not the
> case?
I think you're right, though I don't have a lot of numbers on hand. I
think that among things we feed to fish that fish meal probably has the
highest phosphorus content. For most other foods I've read that
phosphorus increases with protein content. The relationship is an
indirect one, as proteins contain little or no phosphorus. Vegetable
matter, depending on its source can be fairly high in protein -- spirulina
for instance -- but I suspect they will all be pretty low in phosphorus
compared to "meat" foods.
The other thing to keep in mind is that fish - like people - require a
specific balance in essential amino acids. Also, they can only use
certain kinds of fats. Feeding efficiently means getting them the right
amino acids (from proteins) and the right oils. Otherwise they must eat
a larger volume of food to get enough of whatever is most limiting.
I depend on formulated foods to get good feeding efficiency. Getting a
similarly efficient feeding regime with a mix of fresh and live foods may
be difficult.
Roger Miller