Update:
I said I was going to be completely transparent on this test so that's what I'm going to be.. :-))
April 20 I contacted my local Purina rep and ask him to order the feed I needed, 2 bags of MVP for my own pond use and 2 bags of AquaSport 500 for my trial experiment.
On April 29th I contacted Optimal about BG feed for the trial. A discussion was had that questioned the comparison of multi-sized particles and whether that would be apples to apples or not.
11 Days later I received custom sized Optimal BG in perfect round, 3/16" pellets-at my door step.
I have 135 BG that were hand selected and measured at a minimum of 5.25" and a max of 5.5" in a holding pen that I'm currently feeding a mix of 2 brands of pellets, neither optimal or purina. I have a separate pen setup with a divider in which 40 of the closest fish in length and weight will be placed into each side.
The problem I have here is I'm still waiting on the Purina feed exactly 30 days later-not sugar coating any part of this.
Phase 1 is complete in my mind....
I find that Aquamax MVP is readily available, but other Purina feeds often are not. Sometimes they can be ordered, but take weeks to arrive. This has been less an issue with Optimal fish food, even though it is made much farther away from me.
