Hikari 12.3-Ounce Lionhead Sinking Pellets for Pets, Mini

good

This food is far superior than traditional flake food for medium to large fish, but small fish under 1.5 inches may struggle with the pellet size in an amusing way. (think of a kid getting caught red handed with cheeks puffed full of cookies). With a glass bottom aquarium, sinking pellets result in zero waste when feeding the fish as apposed to floating pellets that will eventually sink wherever or get caught up in plants. My fish usually catch them before they hit the bottom. Ever since I started using this food, my fish have been ravenously begging me for more every time I'm near the tank, however chewing more than a mouthfull keeps them occupied for some time after feeding, which works out well (and is again amusing to watch). I'm starting to wonder is there is some sort of addictive substance in the formula. I'm feeding it to all my fancys and they are all doing very well and are always happy to see me during feeding time, but they are also always very hungry no matter how much they get, but I think that's just how goldfish are. My fish have had zero swim bladder problems since using this food as well. Though my Orandas are growing fast and healthy, this food doesn't seem to be working any magic for their wen. I think it's purely genetics at play there.

Really good food. My fish love it. It really makes the Lionhead fish head grow bigger and faster.

My goldfish and my bristlenose pleco go CRAZY for this food. They will eat, but are noticably dissapointed when I give flakes or frozen peas. My albino bristlenose actually gets a bit aggressive over this food... I have been using for years and no problems. If your tank is smelling or getting cloudy, you may be overfeeding or need to clean the tank more often. In order to decrease the mess, i use a feeding bowl for my fish. Put pellets in a cup. Use a clean baster to add some tank water to cup. Use baster to suck up food, and you can basically place the pellets right into the bowl. This way, the food gets moist which lowers chance of swim bladder desiese. It also eliminates waste in two ways: 1) the food does not get lost in your substrate 2) by using a baster, you are only adding the food to your tank. The water in your food cup will become cloudy before feeding, and by using the baster, all those unwanted food particles clouding the water will never end up in your tank. Simply dump the water out of the food cup down the sink after feeding. I know this was a long review, but this is the best food I have come upon, and thought I should share my tips on how to use properly

My goldfish absolutely love this food. Their wens are getting huge, and they are healthy and active. Amazon has a good price on this food, but it is definately more costly than other food like flakes. But I've had these Orandas and Lionheads for 5 years now so I don't mind spending more for food with high quality ingredients. The pellets are mini sized but do expand some in the water. At first I didn't know if the size would be too small because I have some big guys (my calico Oranda weighed 9 oz last weigh in) and these pellets are more of a guppy sized food. However the good side is that they have to search longer to find their food and don't eat too quickly. So these small pellets make them work harder to find food. One of my round-bodied Oranda is prone to swim bladder and floating food caused her to suck in air when she ate. So I now feed them only sinking food. (They also get veggies like cooked peas and squash along with spiralena to boost their immune systems.) I just ran out of this food and got them some API sinking pellets at the pet store. My Oranda now has swim bladder problems again and the water is cloudy. So I am ordering more of this Hikari food to keep on hand.

I've been keeping Fancy Goldfish for almost 40 years - and using Hikari for almost as long. I'm glad to see they have removed MSG from their Goldie formulas and reduced the amount of fillers. When Hikari went back to their original formulas and developed newer and healthier alternatives I began to incorporate their foods once again. The Lion Head formula is rich in Fish Meal, Krill and Spirulina - considerd the most 'perfect' food on earth. In fact, I would encourage all Gold Fish lovers to add Zoomed's pure Spirulina flakes to your fishes diet - they'll flourish incredibly. As for the Lion Head formula my fish go crazy for it. The pellets sink nice and slowly reducing any top gobbling. The intake of air from floating foods is one the main causes of buoyancy issues and air bladder disease. Smaller pellets also provide your fish with activity as they indulge in their natural inclination to graze. As for Wen growth and color enhancement I haven't seen any results I would consider significant but I have seen an increase in activity and many of my 'bottom dwellers" which is always concern now spend much of their time mid tank. All in All the Hikari Lion Head formula is a superb food that packs plenty of significant proteins and fatty acids. 5 Fins Up!