Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Need opinions on Silver Cup and Cargill feed

I'm thinking I will be switching feed here soon.. I was wanting to get opinions or specs on silver cup and cargill's fish feed.. Anyone used them or have thoughts.. I've also talked to my HSB supplier who goes through major tons of AM and he said there is a noticeable difference in the new feed.. Different color, texture, smell he also said if AM is no longer fish meal based he'll be switching to Silver cup which he says is better than Cargill but I'd like to hear thoughts from you guys..

Silver Cup has a couple of feeds they recommend for BG on their website. Their "Classic Trout" formula appears similiar to AQ500 in physical size, and protein content. I wouldn't mind seeing a tag from one of the bags though, just to compare apples to apples.

Before I do anything further, I would like to get Purina's take on the AQ.... I'm sure there are differences from what was produced a few weeks ago, but I need more information before I make any decisions.

Good luck hearing from them.. And if you do let me know..

Start here - fish food links archive

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=92623#Post92623

Don't forget this thread.... little more info.

http://forums.pondboss.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=295611

All the trout farmers I know use Silver Cup and say it's the best feed available. Silver Cup also answers phone calls and emails as I've done both with them.

A big supplier in Michigan, Dan Laggis, that supplies many warmwater and coolwater species swears by Silver Cup too.

I can't say anything about Cargill as I have no experience with it and don't know anyone that has.

I used a couple bags of Cargill (brands change)about 8 years ago and did not like it at all.

When I picked up the SMB from Laggis this Spring, I also picked up a bag of SilverCup feed. It floats, and is approximately the size of AquaMax 400.

I think silver cup is only available in one size too

I was wrong maybe cargill has limted sizes??

For those in the mid-Atlantic, don't be afraid to look at Zeigler. They are the main supplier of feed to most of my commercial fish-raising friends. I am able to "piggy back" on orders.

Silver Cup and Cargill both have extremely good reputations regarding fish feed. I wouldn't be concerned about the feed quality from either source.

From visiting their website, it appears that Silver Cup is available in many different sizes. The Classic trout that they recommend for BG is 4.5mm.

Actually they recommend Pond LE for BG.. But the description for Pond LE is kinda od.. It'd be nice if they made a mix which could daily be done by me.. There website along with silver cup really lack information and specs..

The only downside to Silver Cup (which was recently bought out by a European company called Skretting (see below) is it's manufactured in Utah and if you can't find someone in your area to piggy back an order on to it's not cost effective to ship. That said there are fish farms that use it in Michigan and Ohio that I know of.


Skretting have acquired Nelson and Sons, Inc., the manufacturer of Silver Cup fish feed. The company has 2 production facilities near Salt Lake City, Utah. The total consideration for this transaction is EUR 11 million.

Nelson and Sons is a family owned business with 50 employees that started to produce fish feed in 1956. The company produces for the freshwater markets in Western USA, including a significant share in the Idaho Trout business. The company is also active in Canada and Mexico. The total annual fish feed production is around 30,000 MT. The company has annual revenues of approximately EUR 17 million. The profitability is in line with the profitability of Skretting’s fish feed business.

Knut Nesse, Managing Director Skretting, said, “Silver Cup is a well respected name throughout the US, Canada and Mexico for its quality specialty feeds. Further, Silver Cup is active in other areas and product niches than Skretting, so it is a natural extension of our move into new aquaculture feed markets”.

Well piggy backing from Utah wont happen but my father in law is always don south where cargill is located.. What's you Guys thoughts on cargill I'm leaning more towards it now..

Pond LE is what they recommend under their BG heading, but if you read a little lower you will see "Classic Trout" recommended as an alternative.
Pond LE would not be my first choice, as I'm looking for a replacement feed that closely matches the AQ500 I'm feeding now, which is 41% protein..... Pond LE is 32% protein, while their alternative Classic Trout is 40%.... a lot closer to AQ500.

a nutreco company


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Feed specifically formulated for Blue Gill:
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I used classic trout last year and it grew my HBG out from 3 to 5 inches to 7 to 9 inches in a year. Using AM500 this year and seriously considering going back to the classic trout. It really comes down to which is easiest to obtain. I will say the HSB and HBG love both of them

sprkplug, I'll send some of the Silver Cup down to you when I send the chainsaw. It's smaller than the AM500. I'll see if the label is still on the bag, if so, I'll scan it and post it.

Thank you sir!!

Well, until the bag of food is used, I don't think the label is coming off the bag. It's on the bottom of the bag, sewn thru the label lengthwise to the bottom of the bag. If I remove it now, it's either rip the label in half lengthwise, or open the bottom of the bag (the top is already open).

Should have looked for "this side up"!

Reading from silver cup and Cargill's website they are basically trying to eliminate fish meal with alternative here's some clips from there site

Cargill

Fishmeal replacement
Fishmeal is an excellent source of protein and other essential nutrients to aquaculture species but it is a limited natural resource. Through our extensive nutrient research and work with other Cargill business units, we are able to source ingredients that provide the necessary nutrients and apply technologies to utilize them without affecting growth performance and production.
As a result, we have been able to significantly decrease our use of fishmeal in aquaculture feeds. We continue to look for amino acid sources and other essential nutrients in co-products to continue our journey in replacing fishmeal in aquaculture diets.










Skretting (silver cup)


is applied to many of Skretting USA's products. MicroBalance means that essential micro-nutrients found in fishmeal can be sourced from alternative raw materials, thus reducing the requirement for fishmeal without impacting fish performance or health.

Cargill

There is a lot of new research going on now (resulting in new studies)on replacing fish meal with grain products or other animal sources. I am not impressed with the data. It is done for commercial purposes (aquaculture - cost of feed vs. growth over the short term) and does not fit well with long term recreational fishery supp feeding. Common sense tells me that the common pond fish like BG , HSB , LMB that eat fish do better with fish based products. The protein amino acid and lipid profiles match much better than plant , chicken or beef or others. I am not buying the so called research yet. There is too much room for economic bias ( producers make much more if they can sub other sources for fish meal and still charge the same). I was not born yesterday. They may get caught with higher corn , wheat , soybean prices to boot.

They have been trying to do that for a very long time.

Freedom Feed's had a good run with their veggie based diets, and had the independent analysis to back them up. One day, they just vanished.

Maybe Bill Cody knows something about this. IIRC, FF was in Urbana, OH.

Well after doing some reading it seems cargill and monsanto are kinda in partnership to develops these soy based protiens for fish feed using genetically modified soybeans developed by monsanto.. Basically I don't think I need to draw a picture but one hand is feeding the other..

Eric, I agree. I've been peed on and told that it was raining several times.

I know of a Texas animal food dealer that sells fish food cheaper than Purina can buy the ingredients. I studied the label and concluded that it wasn't going to do my fish much good. Then I called Dr. Mark when he was still with Purina to verify costs.