Fish food quality seems to get better as this hobby continues to grow. Some classic brands make fantastic fish food and new brands continue popping up with some quality food. When I first started fishkeeping I felt like the main foods in my area were TetraMin and Omega One. As the years progress and my knowledge expands in this hobby, I see far more brands, tailoring food to specific types of fish and their dietary needs.
This list of foods showcases many fantastic options for fish that are normally seen munching on algae and plant matter in nature. This list is in no specific order, but the listed foods are some of my suggestions and suggestions from many different hobbyists who have used them. As a disclaimer, when I look at fish food quality, I mainly assess the ingredients. There are many methods aquarists use to determine which food is best. Some methods are scientific and others may be based on guesses, assumptions, habits, or other ways that are not as scientific. Some aquarists will look at the ingredients, amount of ash, or percentage of crude protein in the food. Working at a fish store, I have seen people look at the picture on food containers and choose their food based on what fish is on the label. This list will discuss many different foods that are great for herbivorous fish. I will provide my personal favorites at the end of the article.
Pellet Food
Pellet foods are small circular or square, bite-sized meals for fish that are designed to provide a balanced diet. Not all pellet foods are created equal, but providing a variety of foods to your fish will help assist in keeping them healthy. I enjoy using pellet food because most sink and generally stay in the same area when you drop them into the aquarium. This is in comparison to flake food that often floats at the top of the aquarium or quickly disperses and spreads throughout the fish tank if there is water movement. The following are four different brands of pellet food that I have used and have had suggested by fishkeepers.
Hikari Seaweed Extreme
Hikari Seaweed Extreme is a pellet food specially crafted for fish with an herbivorous appetite. The first few ingredients of Seaweed Extreme are: Dried Seaweed Meal, Wheat Flour, Fish Meal, Krill Meal, and Cuttlefish Meal. According to the FDA, “On a product label, the ingredients are listed in descending order of predominance by weight, with the ingredients used in the greatest amount first.” This means that by weight, Dried Seaweed Meal is the main ingredient. This is fantastic because some foods have fillers as the first ingredient which is not great for quality. Seaweed Extreme also comes in a resealable plastic pouch, with aluminum lining to keep the food fresh. Seaweed Extreme comes in small pellets (affiliate link) or medium-sized wafers (affiliate link).
It’s a great option for tangs, blennies, foxfaces, and most other marine herbivores. I suggest feeding no more than what your fish will consume. Hikari Seaweed Extreme softens in water fairly quickly and may make a mess if you let it sit in your aquarium too long. Luckily, many of us have an abundant supply of clean-up crew and bottom-feeding fish that will pick up the stray pellets. It’s also a great supplemental meal for other species of fish. You can dive deeper into Seaweed Extreme’s ingredients and information by checking it out on Hikari’s website.
Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Pellets for Herbivorous and Omnivorous Fish
The Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Pellets are a great option for both herbivores and omnivores. There are three different sizes for varying-sized fish species. You can purchase small pellets (+/- 1.2mm), medium pellets (+/- 3.1mm), and XL (+/- 8mm). The small and medium pellets come in 3.5oz, 7.0oz, and 14oz jars. The XL pellets come in a 1.1lb. and 2.2lb. bag. You’ll have to decide what size pellet food is suited for your fish and aquarium needs.
These slow-sinking pellets contain a range of ingredients, the first five ingredients include: Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Kelp Meal, Soybean Meal, and Alfalfa. Further down the line of ingredients, you’ll see garlic. Garlic is included in these pellets to introduce an appetizing flavor to (hopefully) encourage finicky eaters to begin consuming processed foods. Ocean Nutrition Formula Two Pellets (Affiliate link) is available on Amazon in the variety of sizes listed above. For the full list of ingredients and more detailed information, check this product out on the Ocean Nutrition website.
New Life Spectrum AlgaeMAX
New Life Spectrum AlgaeMAX is a pellet food fine-tuned for an herbivorous diet. You can purchase these pellets in 6 sizes: Regular, Medium, Large, Jumbo, Mini-Wafer, and Wafer. Although this formula is made with herbivores in mind, omnivorous fish will benefit from consuming these pellets as well. You can purchase New Life Spectrum AlgaeMAX (affiliate link) on Amazon to get it delivered to your home.
The first 5 ingredients of AlgaeMAX include: Seaweed, Krill, Squid, Whole Wheat Flour, and Kelp. Seaweed is the main ingredient of this pellet food by weight. New Life Spectrum uses six different seaweed species to create this formula. Check out New Life Spectrum ALGAEMAX’s product page to learn more and to see the full list of ingredients in this pellet food.
NorthFin Veggie Formula Sinking Pellets
Northfin’s Veggie Formula sinking pellets have your herbivorous fish in mind. Northfin uses Organic-Certified Kelp as its first ingredient. The following four main ingredients include Whole Antarctic Krill Meal, Whole Herring Meal, Whole Sardine Meal, and Wheat Flour. Although the amount of Wheat Flour in pellet food shouldn’t be a big issue, it is nice to see fillers and bonding agents further down the list like how you see with Northfin’s Veggie Formula. You can purchase Northfin Veggie Formula Pellets (affiliate link) on Amazon.
This pellet food comes in 1mm, 2mm, and 3 mm-sized pellets. The packages available come in 100g, 250g, 500g, and 1kg bags. Check out the Northfin Veggie Formula product page for a more in-depth look at the ingredients, available sizes, and more information on this product.
Flake Food
Flake food is a staple that is used in this hobby. This type of food is what I started with when I began my fishkeeping journey and I could believe that to be true for many others. Flake food is essentially a blend of processed ingredients compressed into thin flakes. Like pellet food, it is designed to provide a balanced diet for your fish. Not all foods are created equal and you’ll have to decide which will work for you. I’ll say this again, providing your fish with a variety of foods will help give them a wider spectrum of nutrients.
Ocean Nutrition Spirulina Flakes
I am back with another Ocean Nutrition product, this time I want to discuss the Spirulina Flakes by this company briefly. Ocean Nutrition claims this product does not cloud your water, helps support coloration, and now has probiotics. You can purchase 1.2 oz or 2.5 oz jars of Ocean Nutrition Spirulina Flakes (affiliate link) on Amazon. There is a 4.5 lb. box available that you’ll have to purchase from another source.
The first five ingredients in Ocean Nutrition Spirulina Flakes are Fish Meal, Spirulina, Pollock, Dried Kelp, and Wheat Flour. Spirulina is blue-green algae that is known to have high-protein content and a nice blend of vitamins and minerals You can learn more about the ingredients on the Ocean Nutrition Spirulina Flake’s product page.
Omega One Veggie Flakes
Omega One Veggie Flakes with Kelp is a flake food that is made from Alaskan Salmon and Whole Herring. The first five ingredients of this product are Salmon, Whole Herring, Wheat Flour, Kelp, and Whole Shrimp. I like that this product uses “whole ingredients” instead of things like fish meal. There is nothing inherently wrong with Fish Meal but you don’t exactly know what part of the fish is compressed to be a part of the flake food, so it’s nice to see whole ingredients.
Amazon has the 2.2 oz container of Omega One Veggie Kelp Flakes (affiliate link). This product also comes in 1 oz and 5.3 oz jars. You can learn more about the Veggie Kelp Flakes on the OmegaSea website.
Xtreme Spirulina Flakes
Xtreme Spirulina Flakes are another type of flake food that is a fantastic choice for saltwater fish. As one might guess, the main focus of this flake food is Spirulina, which is the first ingredient in this product. The following four ingredients include: Fish Meal, Wheat Flour, Non-GM Soy Flour, and Shrimp Meal. If you see varying colorations in your flake food, do not be alarmed. Xtreme does not use artificial dyes or chemicals in their foods. The coloration on the flake food comes from the color of the products they use to make it.
Amazon has Xtreme Spirulina Flakes (affiliate link) available in 2 oz, 3.5 oz, and 16 oz jars. You can check out the rest of Xtreme’s products, and a list of ingredients used for the Spirulina Flakes on Xtreme Aquatic Foods website.
Frozen Foods
Frozen foods are often used to feed all kinds of fish. Many fishkeepers steer to using frozen foods because they’re known to retain more nutrients compared to their dried alternatives. This is possible because frozen foods are often “flash-frozen” shortly after being harvested. Many stubborn fish are more open to trying frozen foods compared to processed foods such as pellets and flakes. The following are frozen foods that fairly popular for herbivorous saltwater fish.
Rod’s Herbivore Blend
Rod’s Herbivore Blend is a great food to have. It is food that most fish and coral can enjoy, but it is tailored with a bit more algae and greens with your Tangs, Rabbitfish, Blennies, and other fish in mind. Rod’s Food comes in different-sized packages. You’ll have to break off chunks of food from the package, thaw it, and then feed your fish.
The first five ingredients in this formula are Whole Shrimp, Whole Squid, Whole Oyster, Whole Clam, and Whole Octopus. Further down the line of ingredients, you will see green seaweed, red seaweed, and purple seaweed. You’ll also see spinach, broccoli, and carrots. Although by weight, the main ingredients are what we consider a staple in a carnivorous diet, a good portion of this formula is rich in fibers, which is what herbivores need. In the wild, many herbivores do not strictly consume greens. Countless microorganisms are growing and living within algae and seaweed which gets consumed by herbivorous fish. The key to a balanced diet is variety.
If you’re interested in seeing the full list of ingredients, check out the Herbivore Blend on Rod’s Website. I will discuss some of the key takeaways in the next paragraph.
San Francisco Bay Seaweed Delight
San Francisco Bay Seaweed Delight is a frozen fish food that comes in cubes that you break off, thaw, and then feed to your fish. Each package comes with 30 cubes you can use to feed your fish. This food does not contain fillers and is enhanced with garlic.
This frozen food is heavy on fibrous ingredients. The first five ingredients include Nori, Dulse, Bladderwrack, Romaine Lettuce, and Mustard Greens. It’s a much different formula when compared to Rod’s Herbivore Blend. Both are fantastic options for fish food and serve a slightly different purpose. You can check out more ingredients and information about Seaweed Delight on San Francisco Bay’s Website.
Other Foods
Flake, pellet, and frozen foods are your more traditional foods that can be given to fish. However, there are other types of food that your herbivorous tank mates may thoroughly enjoy. The following are a few of many foods I highly recommend feeding your saltwater herbivores.
Nori Sheets
For those who don’t know, Nori Sheets are essentially sheets of seaweed that you can give your fish to graze on. It’s a great food to feed tangs, foxfaces, rabbitfish, angels, and other saltwater fish. I have seen species you wouldn’t expect to graze on Nori Sheets, such as Triggers and Pufferfish. Many brands sell Nori Sheets for fish. You’ll likely see Omega One Seaweed (affiliate link) more commonly at your fish store compared to other brands. Two Little Fishies Sea Veggies (affiliate link) are also an excellent option for Nori.
Some fishkeepers purchase Dried Kelp Seaweed used for Sushi and feed that to their herbivorous fish. You have to be careful with this because these Nori Sheets may have oils, salts, or other ingredients in the package. One that has been suggested to me is the 100 Sheets Dried Kelp Unseasoned Seaweed (affiliate link). You get more for your dollar, but use it at your own risk and check the ingredients to make sure there is nothing dangerous for your fish in the package.
Rod’s Food Three Weed Blend
If you’re looking for a variety of algae sheets packaged under one umbrella, look no further than Rod’s Food Three Weed Blend. This product provides you with red, purple, and green sheets of seaweed to give your fish a variety of seaweeds to graze on. It’s a great product to use for your tangs, angels, foxfaces, and other large grazing marine fish. Unfortunately, Rod’s Food is not available to all you Amazon shoppers out there, but take a trip to your local fish store and you may find some available. At the end of the day, the best way to continue this hobby is by supporting your local fish stores! You can check out Rod’s Food Three Weed Blend and many other Rod’s Food products on their website.
Live Macroalgae
Different species of macroalgae may be great food options for your fish. This will only be useful if you have a refugium and can grow different macroalgae species in there. Sea Lettuce, Gracilaria, and certain caulerpa species are a few that may be devoured by herbivores. It’s usually less of a hassle just feeding your fish Nori Sheets, but the option to give them live seaweed is there. For anyone interested, here is a quick guide on How To Setup a Refugium in a Saltwater Aquarium.
Romaine Lettuce
I have never personally tried feeding my fish Romaine Lettuce, but many fishkeepers swear by it. It’s another food that herbivores should happily graze on if you put it into your fish tank. If you go this route, the bare minimum you should do is to thoroughly rinse the lettuce to rid it of potential pesticides. Some hobbyists also recommend freezing the lettuce before feeding because that separates the cellulose and soft tissue which makes consumption a little easier.
Final Notes
Researching your fish’s diet is important to decide what should be given for food. Certain fish can be sensitive to high levels of protein. In the freshwater world, certain Mbuna species and Tropheus Cichlids require low levels of protein otherwise they run the risk of getting a condition called bloat. I highly recommend learning about the fish before jumping in and purchasing it.
Based on my experiences and the ingredients listed, my favorite food options from this list are New Life Spectrum AlgaeMAX, Northfin Veggie Formula, Nori Sheets, and Rod’s Herbivore Blend. This does not mean the other foods are bad. I am not a food scientist, so I don’t truly know what makes one food better than the other. These four foods are simply my personal preference. The key at the end of the day is to provide a variety of options to your fish so they can get the best of everything. Let me know what foods you enjoy feeding your herbivorous fish. Check out 7 Best Fish Foods for Small Fish to learn what is best to feed your nano fish.
What to Feed Dwarf Angelfish
In the wild, dwarf angelfish consume a variety of foods, which include algae, corals, invertebrates, sponges, and much more. This brings up the question, “What should we feed dwarf angelfish in captivity?
6 Best All in One Saltwater Aquariums
Not everyone wants to deal with planning, laying out, and piping filtration systems in their aquariums. Many of us enjoy some customizability to an extent, but some features are better off being pre-installed. That’s where all-in-one aquariums come in. All-in-one fish tanks eliminate the hassle of setting up filtration systems and provide other features already…
How To Set up Aquarium For Betta Fish
Betta Fish are gorgeous, colorful freshwater fish that are filled with incredible personalities. These fish don’t belong in tiny vases or in a cold, dark room. They should be kept in warm and filtered water with space to stretch their fins and swim around.