ProGold similar fish food

[Kayla102968]

I have been feeding my fish ProGold for a long time and just recently ran out.  I have been trying many other options of goldfish pellets and can't find one that both me and the fish enjoy as much.  I know a lot of people didn't like the fact that it was crumbly...but I actually liked that part...I think it made it easier for the fish to chew.  I've heard that fish will always prefer the food they are used to and will eventually come around to liking a new food.  My goldfish were initially on NLS and seemed to love it.  But, as soon as I put ProGold in their tank...it was like a frenzy...they more than loved it (and they had never seen it before).  When I started to get low on the progold I would feed it mixed with other high quality pellets and the goldfish would pick out all the progold pellets and leave the others until they were absolutely sure they weren't getting anymore progold.  I really miss their excitement over feeding time and am wondering if there is a pellet that is oblong and crumbly and higher in protein like progold. 

[jmetzger72]

I think NLS is excellent for nutrition and quality ingredients.  I use the Thera-A because the extra garlic helps to prevent internal infections.  I also feed Hikari Lionhead.  

[RanchuDressing]

I was a diehard Pro-Gold feeder, too (even from back in the olden days, when it was called Sho-Gold). I miss it!

I've switched over to the NLS Thera-A and I do like it. It's not as rock-hard as the Hikari Lionhead and the fish are doing well on it. I occasionally feed Saki-Hikari (purple bag), but sparingly because it's given an orange wash to my white fish in the past.

I agree that the "chew-ability" of Pro-Gold is lacking in other pellets. I buy the Thera-A 1 mm size, though, which helps to make up for it -- it's small so even swallowed whole it's easily digested.

[jmetzger72]

Pro Gold definitely delivered on growth and color.

[LisaCGold]

It's not in pellet form, but it is crumbly: paradigm fish food. They have several varieties. Aquarium coop in Edmonds has some. I live in Seattle. If you want I could give you a sample of Paradigm Herbivore. This one is only 38% protein. The other varieties have more.

[Arctic Mama]

Paradigm is my dry staple as well. I like Herbivore the best, especially with its ingredients and nutritional profile - not too protein heavy. Graze has grown on my crew. They go for Paradigm faster than Repashy Super Green, which I find impressive

[Arctic Mama]

If you want a higher protein version of Paradigm, they do offer Grow and Carnivore. But Herbivore is probably the best match for goldfish metabolisms unless you're grooming them for a show. Even then, I'm really focusing on protein snacks for the fish and keeping my staple a little leaner.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ParadigmFoods.html

[mysterygirl]

The actual Pro Gold ingredient list was kept close to the vest. They stated that it contained: 

 

Krill, Fish, Shrimp, Wheat, Spirulina and Alfalfa. 

 

I make my own gel food that incorporates whole krill. but  I also add Southern Delight Goldfish Food which lists its first 4 ingredients as:

 

Whole herring meal, salmon meal, wheat flour, Beta Carotene

 

The 3 pellets in their Goldfish Food mix also contain kelp seaweed brown algae meal, vegetable meal, Omega-3 fish oil, Spirulina Blue-green algae, Whole Shrimp meal, Alfalfa meal,  Ocean fish oil, Shrimp meal, whole menhaden meal, vitamins.

 

 

 

[GoldenSpoiledRotten]

I miss ProGold a lot too. It was amazing. 

 

MG, how have your fish been doing on the Southern Delight food?

[koko]

I still have 3/4 of a large bag.....I use it for the guppies.... I will be very sad when its gone.. Im like everyone here been using it since it was the other name.... Stuff was great...

[Kayla102968]

Thanks everyone for taking the time to comment and make suggestions on other goldfish food alternatives.  I may try some of them out .

 

I was a diehard Pro-Gold feeder, too (even from back in the olden days, when it was called Sho-Gold). I miss it!

I've switched over to the NLS Thera-A and I do like it. It's not as rock-hard as the Hikari Lionhead and the fish are doing well on it. I occasionally feed Saki-Hikari (purple bag), but sparingly because it's given an orange wash to my white fish in the past.

I agree that the "chew-ability" of Pro-Gold is lacking in other pellets. I buy the Thera-A 1 mm size, though, which helps to make up for it -- it's small so even swallowed whole it's easily digested.

Jared and you both like the NLS Thera - A and I too loved it when I had my fish inside in a tank.  Now that they are larger fish and they are in a pond it is hard for me to tell if they get all the food.  My large singletails look so clutzy and disorganized trying to get ahold of the tiny NLS Thera-A pellets .  They just kind of wait there opening and closing their mouths and totally missing that I've even put it in.  It is just too small for my big guys.  I do love that it has a lot of garlic for immunity.  With progold the pellet was smaller than regular pellets, but it was also longer shaped and they could easily grab it...they had no trouble gobbling it up in a frenzy.

 

It's not in pellet form, but it is crumbly: paradigm fish food. They have several varieties. Aquarium coop in Edmonds has some. I live in Seattle. If you want I could give you a sample of Paradigm Herbivore. This one is only 38% protein. The other varieties have more.

That's nice Lisa...thanks...I might take you up on that .  Is it like a block of food that you take pieces off of?  Is it easy to feed a lot of fish or does it take a long time to crumble it up to the correct size?  I don't know if this is right or not...but being that my fish are in a pond I feel that they get plenty of algae and plant protein, but not much animal protein since having a human made pond that is bare bottom...not much protein is available for a lot of fish in a smaller place than a real life pond with an ecosystem of all kinds of little animals.  I like to have about 35% of animal protein.

 

If you want a higher protein version of Paradigm, they do offer Grow and Carnivore. But Herbivore is probably the best match for goldfish metabolisms unless you're grooming them for a show. Even then, I'm really focusing on protein snacks for the fish and keeping my staple a little leaner.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/ParadigmFoods.html

I'll look into Paradigm foods...I have never heard of them...thanks .

 

The actual Pro Gold ingredient list was kept close to the vest. They stated that it contained: 

 

Krill, Fish, Shrimp, Wheat, Spirulina and Alfalfa. 

 

I make my own gel food that incorporates whole krill. but  I also add Southern Delight Goldfish Food which lists its first 4 ingredients as:

 

Whole herring meal, salmon meal, wheat flour, Beta Carotene

 

The 3 pellets in their Goldfish Food mix also contain kelp seaweed brown algae meal, vegetable meal, Omega-3 fish oil, Spirulina Blue-green algae, Whole Shrimp meal, Alfalfa meal,  Ocean fish oil, Shrimp meal, whole menhaden meal, vitamins.

I haven't heard of Southern Delight Goldfish food either...I'll definitely look into it...thanks .

 

I've thought about and have tried using the larger/harder pellets of NLS or others and again they just seem to have a hard time with the harder pellets...and I do think it is better to have a smaller pellet...but still be able to find it...which is why I loved the ProGold.  I have thought about soaking the larger harder pellets...but then worry about how long I could do it before it starts removing any vitamins etc from the pellet.  Would 30 seconds be okay?

 

This winter I fed my large pond fish the Kenzen primary diet to give it a try.  A dealer sold me a 1/2 bag instead of a full bag (it comes in 10lb bags!).  It contains 49% protein with all of the protein from animal sources and has a lot of garlic in it.  When you open the bag it smells so strong of seafood and garlic.  It is a koi food though and the pellets are VERY large so I crushed them up a bit.  They were too hard to crumble though and it was a lot of work for 9 fish.  They did not seem to enjoy it as much as I enjoyed how healthy it smelled.  I did feed it all winter though and the fish did come out of the winter looking a lot more solid than they usually do.  They also never bottom sat the whole winter.  It was a warm winter this year though and the pond probably only got into the 30's only a few days.  Mostly it stayed in the 40's and 50's.  If they came out with smaller bags and smaller pellets for goldfish...I might consider it again.  Maybe the reason they weren't as excited about the pellets was because I crushed them and they had sharper edges perhaps?

 

Anyways...I just miss Progold and their healthy ingredient list and their perfectly sized, crumbly pellets that my goldfish loved .  Oh...and I do think that the size of the pellet does make a difference to the fish.  When I bought the larger pelleted ProGold the fish did not find it as exciting and it did seem to have a bit of a different texture to it so I went back to the smaller pellets.  People might say it is just goldfish habit...but like I said...when I switched from NLS Thera A to Progold pellets there was an immediate more positive reaction...it took no time getting used to it .

 

Thanks again everyone!

[Kayla102968]

I still have 3/4 of a large bag.....I use it for the guppies.... I will be very sad when its gone.. Im like everyone here been using it since it was the other name.... Stuff was great...

I wonder if he intends on maybe going back to selling it again sometime?  It seems strange that since it was such a greatly accepted fish food that he didn't sell out the business when he retired...or even just the ProGold recipe .  I can always hope.

[mysterygirl]

I miss ProGold a lot too. It was amazing. 

 

MG, how have your fish been doing on the Southern Delight food?

 

They love it!  But to be fair they love everything.

 

I like that there is a large mix of ingredients with the 3 pellets and that they use whole herring and shrimp meal. It is only a small part of what I mix into their gel food.

 

Here is the full list of ingredients:

Edited June 3, 2015 by mysterygirl

[LisaCGold]

The paradigm fish food is a food block. It is not hard to break down at all.

[Arctic Mama]

Yes, I just crumbled some for Cory cat fry today. I had a bunch hatch out

[Kayla102968]

MG - Are your pond fish able to find and grab the Southern delight 1.5 mm pellets easily?...they are a bit bigger than the NLS.  Do you buy the 9 oz jars?  I saw they sell it on e-bay.

I see they also have a small koi blend that seems to only be missing the growth pellet and it says it is a year round food. 

Edited June 3, 2015 by Kayla102968

[mysterygirl]

MG - Are your pond fish able to find and grab the Southern delight 1.5 mm pellets easily?...they are a bit bigger than the NLS.  Do you buy the 9 oz jars?  I saw they sell it on e-bay.

I see they also have a small koi blend that seems to only be missing the growth pellet and it says it is a year round food. 

Yes I've bought one 9 oz jar of the Southern Delight Goldfish Food. SD calls these pellets 1.5 mm semi-float semi sink confetti.  They are about the size of cous-cous.

I like their semi-sink quality: they'll float  in the middle column which is nice for my feeding sphere.

They have no problem finding it. 

[koko]

 

I still have 3/4 of a large bag.....I use it for the guppies.... I will be very sad when its gone.. Im like everyone here been using it since it was the other name.... Stuff was great...

I wonder if he intends on maybe going back to selling it again sometime?  It seems strange that since it was such a greatly accepted fish food that he didn't sell out the business when he retired...or even just the ProGold recipe .  I can always hope.

 

Hes not planing on selling it again hun.... He is done with that side of the business.... He does have another one but not goldfish stuff anymore.... He was thinking of selling the recipe but changed his mind

[Kayla102968]

 

 

I still have 3/4 of a large bag.....I use it for the guppies.... I will be very sad when its gone.. Im like everyone here been using it since it was the other name.... Stuff was great...

I wonder if he intends on maybe going back to selling it again sometime?  It seems strange that since it was such a greatly accepted fish food that he didn't sell out the business when he retired...or even just the ProGold recipe .  I can always hope.

 

Hes not planing on selling it again hun.... He is done with that side of the business.... He does have another one but not goldfish stuff anymore.... He was thinking of selling the recipe but changed his mind

 

Awww...that's too bad.  Thanks for the information Koko

[koko]

 

 

 

I still have 3/4 of a large bag.....I use it for the guppies.... I will be very sad when its gone.. Im like everyone here been using it since it was the other name.... Stuff was great...

I wonder if he intends on maybe going back to selling it again sometime?  It seems strange that since it was such a greatly accepted fish food that he didn't sell out the business when he retired...or even just the ProGold recipe .  I can always hope.

 

Hes not planing on selling it again hun.... He is done with that side of the business.... He does have another one but not goldfish stuff anymore.... He was thinking of selling the recipe but changed his mind

 

Awww...that's too bad.  Thanks for the information Koko

 

yeah bummed me out.... I think he would have liked it if I could keep it going, but with Justine in my life I just couldnt... If he had offered like 5 years ago possibly but now

[Hidr]

I saw some pro-gold on ebay.  Don't know how it holds up but maybe you can get some that way for a while anyways.

[jmetzger72]

Another thing I've returned to and recommend is to mix 2 different pellets that your fish tolerate well and feed these at the same time.  This helps to ensure that they are getting a complete amino acid profile which means they will be able to effectively use the protein in the food. Many foods are deficient in at least one amino acid as well as other necessary ingredients.  Combining 2 or more foods helps to cover all of the bases.  I mix New Life Spectrum 2mm pellets with Hikari Lionhead, but you can create your own combo.  The important thing is to feed them at the same time, not on alternating days.  Use different brands to introduce more varied ingredients.

[Kayla102968]

I saw some pro-gold on ebay.  Don't know how it holds up but maybe you can get some that way for a while anyways.

I saw that too, but I think I'm just delaying the inevitable .  I'm going to have to get used to another food eventually anyway.  I guess it would give me six months though .

 

Another thing I've returned to and recommend is to mix 2 different pellets that your fish tolerate well and feed these at the same time.  This helps to ensure that they are getting a complete amino acid profile which means they will be able to effectively use the protein in the food. Many foods are deficient in at least one amino acid as well as other necessary ingredients.  Combining 2 or more foods helps to cover all of the bases.  I mix New Life Spectrum 2mm pellets with Hikari Lionhead, but you can create your own combo.  The important thing is to feed them at the same time, not on alternating days.  Use different brands to introduce more varied ingredients.

Yes...this is a good idea.  For my larger fry I mix the NLS and Omega One higher protein goldfish pellets.  Both of these have whole fish ingredients which I like.  For the larger adult fish though the pellet size is a little too small.  I should try the larger pellets of NLS again and see if I can find Omega One larger goldfish pellets.

Edited June 5, 2015 by Kayla102968

[Hidr]

 

I saw some pro-gold on ebay.  Don't know how it holds up but maybe you can get some that way for a while anyways.

I saw that too, but I think I'm just delaying the inevitable .  I'm going to have to get used to another food eventually anyway.  I guess it would give me six months though .

 

Another thing I've returned to and recommend is to mix 2 different pellets that your fish tolerate well and feed these at the same time.  This helps to ensure that they are getting a complete amino acid profile which means they will be able to effectively use the protein in the food. Many foods are deficient in at least one amino acid as well as other necessary ingredients.  Combining 2 or more foods helps to cover all of the bases.  I mix New Life Spectrum 2mm pellets with Hikari Lionhead, but you can create your own combo.  The important thing is to feed them at the same time, not on alternating days.  Use different brands to introduce more varied ingredients.

Yes...this is a good idea.  For my larger fry I mix the NLS and Omega One higher protein goldfish pellets.  Both of these have whole fish ingredients which I like.  For the larger adult fish though the pellet size is a little too small.  I should try the larger pellets of NLS again and see if I can find Omega One larger goldfish pellets.

 

You could mix it with the stuff you plan to feed after its gone. Make it last longer and get the fish use to the new stuff.

[Kayla102968]

 

 

I saw some pro-gold on ebay.  Don't know how it holds up but maybe you can get some that way for a while anyways.

I saw that too, but I think I'm just delaying the inevitable .  I'm going to have to get used to another food eventually anyway.  I guess it would give me six months though .

 

Another thing I've returned to and recommend is to mix 2 different pellets that your fish tolerate well and feed these at the same time.  This helps to ensure that they are getting a complete amino acid profile which means they will be able to effectively use the protein in the food. Many foods are deficient in at least one amino acid as well as other necessary ingredients.  Combining 2 or more foods helps to cover all of the bases.  I mix New Life Spectrum 2mm pellets with Hikari Lionhead, but you can create your own combo.  The important thing is to feed them at the same time, not on alternating days.  Use different brands to introduce more varied ingredients.

Yes...this is a good idea.  For my larger fry I mix the NLS and Omega One higher protein goldfish pellets.  Both of these have whole fish ingredients which I like.  For the larger adult fish though the pellet size is a little too small.  I should try the larger pellets of NLS again and see if I can find Omega One larger goldfish pellets.

 

You could mix it with the stuff you plan to feed after its gone. Make it last longer and get the fish use to the new stuff.

 

That's a great idea .