Pond Boss Forums MANAGING AN EXISTING POND Feeding Optimal Bluegill fish food

I think the surface water oil slick from the Purina feed was coming from an oil, probably fish oil formulation, that was sprayed on the pellets to impart, A. fish odor, and B. fishy flavor to make the food more palatable.

It will be very interesting and educational to hear the results and hopefully pictures of the fish dissection when Bruce sacrifices one of his test subjects. I suspect that this "test" has already been done by the Optimal fish physiologists when developing the initial trial food formula for feed trial tests of fish grown in recirculating aquaculture systems. This is what physiologists do as part of their job description. If a lack of "white colored livers, and a lot of tissue in the abdominal cavity" is absent, then I suspect Optimal will allow pond fish to live longer and ultimately grow to larger sizes which is one of the goals of the new Optimal food for sunfish.

As on the 'inside track' for this new fish food, I have been told in dealing with this new Optimal food that fish meal is not all the same. There are numerous grades of fish meal, similar to many other products especially food stuffs. Some fish meal is cheap, low quality, 'junky' stuff and not all that healthy for fish growth and digestibility. Because it is fish meal does not make it a quality food product for growing healthy fish. Also when really highly experienced with ingredients required for growing fish, there unique vitamins and minerals usually present in natural foods eaten by fish that make a big difference in final quality of a healthy fish. Knowing about and using these premium ingredients is what separates average, good, and superior food products. Using these specialized ingredients can be very important for the health and life span of the specific animal that is being raised.