Protein % and serving size

[perkinchung 2]

Hi all,

This might sound like a dumb question, but can someone explain the "min. Protein" percentages on various foods to me? For example, ProGold says it's 40% protein, so does that mean each pellet contains 40% protein? Or cubes of Hikari bloodworms, it says only min. 6% protein but yet it's recommended for wen growth. How should I interpret these percentages?

Many thanks,

Perkin

[dnalex 13,633]

Hi all,

This might sound like a dumb question, but can someone explain the "min. Protein" percentages on various foods to me? For example, ProGold says it's 40% protein, so does that mean each pellet contains 40% protein? Or cubes of Hikari bloodworms, it says only min. 6% protein but yet it's recommended for wen growth. How should I interpret these percentages?

Many thanks,

Perkin

Hi Perkin. The percentages displayed are the guaranteed minimum for the food. So, Pro-Gold is guaranteed to contain at least 40% protein.

Hikari bloodworms are mostly water (makes sense, right?), and guaranteed at least 6% protein. It's not recommended for wen growth because it contains only 6% proteins, but is recommended because it contains the right amino acids, or the building blocks of proteins.

Keep in mind that bloodworms are not a complete diet for goldfish. Animal bits should only constitute 15-20% of the goldfish diet, ideally.

[perkinchung 2]

Thanks, Alex. I don't think I asked the question correctly - so guaranteed 40% protein depends on how many pellets one feeds, right? I'm thinking of our own nutrition facts - OJ gives you 100% vitamin C with one 8oz cup. So what's the serving size to get that 40% protein for Pro Gold? I hope I'm making sense!

[Heidi_Rayanne 20]

I believe each pellet would be made up of at least 40% sourced from protein

[dnalex 13,633]

Thanks, Alex. I don't think I asked the question correctly - so guaranteed 40% protein depends on how many pellets one feeds, right? I'm thinking of our own nutrition facts - OJ gives you 100% vitamin C with one 8oz cup. So what's the serving size to get that 40% protein for Pro Gold? I hope I'm making sense!

You do make sense

Each pellet of Pro-Gold contains a minimum of 40% protein. However, it doesn't say what a serving size is, since that will vary based on age and the size of the fish.

For Pro-Gold, a good place to start out is 0.5% of body weight in food per day, to be divided into 3-6+ meals. From there, you can either increase or decrease the amount, depending on how much growth you want or don't want.

[perkinchung 2]

Got it! I understand now.

I still have to get a scale - the idea of weighing a fish out of water is out in left field for me, but when I come around to it, I know I should do it!

For now, it's been 3-5 Progold or Hikari lionhead pellets for each fish, twice a day feedings. They're all about 3.5-4 inches so that makes it a bit easier to avoid over/under feeding. They are happy but I will experiment with attention to not overfeed.

Thanks a bunch.

[Sakura 500]

Got it! I understand now.

I still have to get a scale - the idea of weighing a fish out of water is out in left field for me, but when I come around to it, I know I should do it!

For now, it's been 3-5 Progold or Hikari lionhead pellets for each fish, twice a day feedings. They're all about 3.5-4 inches so that makes it a bit easier to avoid over/under feeding. They are happy but I will experiment with attention to not overfeed.

Thanks a bunch.

The fish doesn't need to be out of the water for you to weigh it! Here's a how-to video. It's pretty easy actually.