Big_pond, a tilapia grower that I know used a 50 pound bag of the "cheap" stuff recently. After draining the holding tank, there was almost 10 pounds of sand in the tank bottom. It was a filler in the cheap stuff. Maybe they devour the cheap stuff because it is starving them.

Aquamax will not only be a quality food, but because it is so much more digestable and contains only usable ingredients, in the long run it can cost less than the "cheap" stuff----You need less to grow bigger fish. Some "cheap" feeds will contain chicken feathers as the main protien source Protien from ground feathers is not digestable by fish and is therefor useless (even though the % claimed may be accurate).

Try to find proven info on the food's % of digestability and absorbed nutrition. IIRC, Aquamax products are consistantly in the high 90's while some store brands may be in the low 20's. An added benefit to more food digested besides better growth rates is that high digestibility means a big reduction in fecal waste. This can help maintain better water quality---another growth rate improver.