A correct diet is essential for aquarium fish – our little friends’ only feeding source comes from us.

There are many types of fish food that can be used in a tank: granules, pellets, flakes, frozen, freeze-dried, and live food. I discussed all of them in my article “Fish diets“, which outlines the base of our knowledge regarding fish food.

It’s no secret that my favorite type (besides live food) is granulated food.

In my 400-liter tank, I have a Zebrasoma flavescens, a Centropyge bicolor, a Centropyge acanthops, a Neocirrites armatus, a Premnas biaculeatus var. Giava, fifteen Chromis viridis, a Macropharingodon geoffroy,and a Calloplesiops altivelis.  For the past six months, I have been exclusively feeding my fish Menù Marino, the granulated food offered by the Italian company Equo.

Except for the Calloplesiops, which prefers something else, all of them feed greedily on Menù Marino, and they have been doing so for six months without a single death or a change in behavior. Six months may not be a period long enough to scientifically judge a new food, but I think I would definitely judge it if I had any death during this time!

Equo Menù Marino granules are made of ichthyc flours processed until the raw materials are completely balanced in a homogeneous paste. This paste is then heated up and processed by an extruder, which shapes it into spaghetti-like strands of different lengths, which can then be cut, crumbled, or sold in that shape.

One of the advantages of this food is that after extrusion, the paste has been enriched with vitamins, proteins, garlic, betaglutans, omega-3 fatty acids ,and other things to obtain a perfectly complete food. Moreover, it can be vacuum-sprayed to make sure that the granules are a specific size, they sink at the correct rate, they don’t flake off in contact with water, and they are of the right dimensions for different fish sizes.

Equo Menù Marino has a structure designed to make it act a certain way: the granules sink very slowly, giving each fish plenty of time to feed. Some of the food stays at the water’s surface, especially if you use a feeding ring as I do, while other pieces  start to sink immediately. This way, the granules will be distributed more widely, creating enough room to allow timid fishes to eat undisturbed.

Equo Menù Marino starts from a ichthyc flour base to which wheat, gluten, fats, oils, yeasts, fish products, and subproducts are added.

The following additives are also added to the paste:

• E672 Vitamin A 13.160 IE/kg.
• E671 Vitamin D3 (cholecalcipherol) 2.800 I.E./kg.
• Ea700 Vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) 263 mg/kg.
• E6 Zinc (sulfate) 105 mg/kg.
• E1 Iron (sulfate) 99 mg./kg.
• E5 Manganese (manganese oxide) 26 mg./kg.
• E2 Iodine (calcium iodate) 6,6 mg./kg.
• E4 Copper (sulfate pentahydrate) 6,6 mg/kg.
• E3 Cobalt (carbonate) 1,3 mg./kg.
• E8 Selenium (selenite) 0,4 mg/kg.

The chemical composition is as follows:

There is a preponderance of proteins, as it should be for a food that replaces the normal diet of carnivorous fish (which feed on fish or crustaceans).

The food arrives in a vacuumed package to avoid exposure to moisture. After opening, the aluminum can and the screw cap keep the food fresh and dry.

A dosing spoon is also included.

Conclusions

I really liked Equo Marine Menù granules. I cannot ask my fish if they liked it, I fear I won’t be able to interpret their answers… but considering how they greedily feed on it every day and the fact that no death has occurred in six months, I feel satisfied with the quality of this food. Their coloration is splendid, a good sign that the additives are doing their job. I suggest you try it and see for yourself.

It is easy to dose, it sinks slowly, and I recommend the use of a feeding ring to make sure that every fish eats its share and the granules don’t deposit somewhere in the tank and decompose.

The 55-gram can costs, in Italy, 11.32 euros (21 cents per gram), but it can be bought in a 500-g can for 46.80 euros; the big package is more cost-effective, but needs to be used within 6 months of opening it.

PRO

Slow sinking
 Fish like it
Reasonable price

CON

None observed

[translated by Giorgia Lombardi]