Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations optimal vs aquamax pricing

i use both feeds and like both of them. i had super good growth from using am for years at my old pond. last year i used a mix of both here at the new pond. if optimal is better for bg like they claim, reckon how much better?

i can get am for 75 cents a pound and optimal cost 1.25 per pound. that's a good bit of difference. i'm not sure how many bags i bought last year, but let's say 1000 lbs. that's a $500 difference.

thoughts?

Great question Scott. We went and visited the guys at Optimal in Brookings SD to answer the very question. Great guys and lab but no hard data. Even the anecdotal data is weak, imo. The fish farmer we work with will be doing a side by side growth comparison this year. Using hybrid and pure strain bluegills. He has data from the last 10 years on the current brand he is using for a baseline. From the results we will then make a cost analysis decision.

Without knowing the exact numbers it's impossible to make a value based decision, imo.

I feel like i would have happier fish if i was feeding them more feed and more often. the bg love both feeds and i doubt they care about their overall health. they just wanna be full. i sure wish the aquamax had the strong fish smell like it did before they started making it at a different mill. i went to a state hatchery a year or so ago and they used zeigler feed for their trout. it had a real strong fish smell. i can't get that in my area though.

Here, the Optimal Jr costs less to order than Aquamax Grower 400 bought locally.

i mainly use 600 and my local guy quoted me $37.50 per bag out the door today. he did say the 400 was higher, but the 500 is the same as the 600.

i guess we aren't going to have a winter this year. my local supplier doesn't keep am year around unless you order it. they place their order on thursday and get feed on monday. i have some optimal on hand and more ordered.

The Grower 400 was $70 out the door late last summer.

that seems steep, but i haven't bought any.

I recently read a post that stated one PBF member's experience is it takes #60 of AQM to achieve the same growth as from #40 of Optimal.

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