Who is that Fishie on the Fish Food?

(by theAquarian November 12, 2003)

When I was a bit younger I used to stare longingly at the Tetra Whisper Series of pumps. It wasn't as if I really wanted one of the pumps, I had several back home. The great thing about those pumps is that each one had a drawing of a different fish on the box. The drawing piqued my imagination as I wondered what it would be like to get some of those different fish into my aquariums.

Recently, while feeding my fish Wardley Tropical Crumble, I had a similar run-in that left me remembering back to those childhood days. While absent-mindedly staring at the container of fish food, I realized that the food label sported a drawing of an Emperor gudgeon. I'm a big fan of gudgeons, but unfortunately, I haven't ever had the opportunity to buy this specific fish. However staring at the label had actually made me think about something else. How many of our fish food labels have pictures and drawings of fish on them that the general public would have little chance of recognizing?

Making a fish food label for a fish should be something akin to making the cover of Sports Illustrated for an athlete. Consider all the extra publicity! However, if no-one even knows what these fish are, how can it possibly be helpful for them? With that in mind, I've gone through some of our more common food brands to give you a break down of the different fish that are on fish food labels so that you can start demanding these fish at your pet stores! I broke my findings down based on fish food company, omitting all the fish that are commonly known and/or available.

Wardley Foods

Total Color

We start with Total Color. This is an interesting label with an interesting mix of fish. We have a your common Banded Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia trifasciata), the Checkerboard cichlid (Dicrossus maculatus), and what I would call a Serpae Tetra, except for the fins being clear.  The fins being clear makes it a bit more difficult, and I'm not sure there is another with pronounced of a black spot on them who are also red but do not have black in their fins. These 3 fish, assuming the third is the Serpae Tetra, are fairly common in the hobby.  The are also easy to keep for the most part.  The Checkerboard cichlid must have a pH under 7.0, which is really the only deterrent I can see to keeping any of these fish.


Total Tropical (Large Flake)

These fish are a very recognizable to veteran and beginner hobbyists.. In the middle in the back we quite obviously have a Convict cichlid. On the left is the beautiful and unappreciated nicaraguense, though it is well over-colored on this label, it is nonetheless a wonderful fish to keep as long as you have a fairly large aquarium, and accepts a higher pH than 7.0, which is uncommon for American cichlids. On the right I'm thinking that this fish is supposed to be a Gold Severum. However the super orange glow is throwing me off. I have often wondered why fish food companies overexpose their pictures or over-enhance the colors of the fish. It doesn't make me think their food is better, in fact it makes me think they are trying to hid something...or compensate for a lack of quality in the food by making me think it can make fish color up in ways that those fish would never color up!



Premium Tropical (Large Flake)

This one is more obvious than most, it is a Pearl Gourami. Or is it? Look at the dorsal and anal fins. Then look at any picture of a Pearl Gourami. Those fins are NOT Pearl Gourami fins and there is no way this is a Pearl Gourami! So exactly what is this fish? Looking at its compact shape I can only guess that it is a Dwarf Gourami with the body coloring of a Pearl Gourami. It is indeed a mythical creature. Perhaps though if you feed enough of this food your Pearl Gourami will turn into this?  Or maybe you need to feed it to your Dwarf Gourami?  It is Fish Food containers like this one that made me do this article.  Honestly, it is good for a laugh if nothing else.



Premium Tropical Crumbles

This fish food is the one that started this whole journey for me. The fish as before mentioned is the Emperor Gudgeon, Hypseleotris compressa. It gets to just over 4 inches and has been reported to live in water from 55°-85°. A wonderful fish to keep that I highly recommend you pick up in stores if you happen to see it.  Do be aware though that it is a predator and will likely eat a few of its tank mates.  Sadly, this product just like the fish is not available commonly in pet stores. The product actually has been discontinued, so you may see some on closeout shelves. I've been feeding it to my young cichlids and have been very happy with it.




Premium Krill

The beautiful fish here is the Frontosa. A great fish to keep if you have an aquarium of at least 80 US gallons. This fish has for a long time been on the header banner at cichlid-forum.com for another good look at a great fish.  Keeping this fish is a little difficult, but mostly just do to the size of the fish itself.  I've heard varying reports of how mean the fish really is.  Certainly large males can be difficult to keep, but for its size the fish is actually quite peaceful and makes a great centerpiece to an aquarium.




Premium Tubifex Worms

I spent a good bit of time looking at this fish, trying to determine what it might be.  I settled on the Five-banded barb, Barbus pentazona pentazona, though that is surely up to debate. Barbs are tyically an easy fish to keep, though if I am right on my estimation of this fish it might be slightly harder to keep than your typical tiger barb.  The Five-Banded barb requires slightly acidic water, with a pH just below 7.0.  They don't get more than 2 1/2 inches long, with the males being just slightly shorter, so tank space shouldn't be an issue.



Premium Gammarus

A food that you likely won't feed very often, but the fish is a great fish to keep. This time it is the Electric Yellow a great mid-sized fish from Lake Malawi in Africa.  It is said this fish has all come from one breeding pair in the hobby, though the accuracy of that may be a bit off.  This is a great fish to keep, easy to breed, and it doesn't get so large that it requires a tank larger than 30 gallons.  You can also keep it with other fish as it isn't overly aggressive.  A tank with these and the blue Azureus makes a striking site.  The fish pictured here is a bit more yellow than you are likely to see in real life, but the fish itself is a wonderful fish to keep to say the least!



Premium Brine Shrimp Flakes

Wow! Isn't that a nice looking fish! A Rainbow fish to be sure. However beyond that I'm stumped. I cannot recall any Rainbowfish that looks like this, and I did a bit of searching to see if somehow I'd missed a fish because the white to orange/red coloration shown here is absolutely amazing. My guess is maybe it is an albino Bosemani rainbow? But seriously, whatever it is I'm sure it is a great fish. Even if it doesn't really exist...






Tetra

Cichlid Mini Granules

The most interesting thing about this one is that it is supposed to be for cichlids of a smaller size. The three cichlids shown don't seem to be all that small! I believe the on on the left is a Labeotropheus trewavasae, though the body is somewhat reminiscent of a peacock cichlid, and the middle one I'm quite sure is intended to be a Pseudotropheus zebra, also from Lake Malawi.  The one on the right I'm going to call a convict cichlid.  Now I know you are looking at this little pic thinking convict cichlids are not brown!  I totally agree.  In fact, I decided to link this picture to the full size picture so if you click on the picture to the left here, you can see the big image and tell me if you don't think it has the pattern and body shape of a convict cichlid...that somehow turned out brown?  Anyway, the convict is another great fish for beginners just getting into cichlids.  They are interesting to watch, easy to breed and easy to keep if you have anything 20 gallons or larger and don't have too many males.

Cichlid Flake Food

Interesting, I think we just saw the fish on the left on the mini granules...perhaps he grew. I'd still think he was some sort of peacock, but the body shape certainly isn't right, so I'm sticking with Trewavasae's cichlid.  The one in the middle probably is some sort of pike cichlid, let's call it Crenicichla cyclostoma, though honestly there isn't a large enough picture of the fish to know for sure.  Pike cichlids are fun to keep, but are predators of other fish, so beware.  The fish  on the right appears to be Apistogramma agassizii, the most well-known of the Apistogramma.  If you get into these fish you'll find many hobbyists waiting to include you in their group.  There are a lot of dwarf cichlids in the Apistogramma group, most require soft water and have brilliant colors, making them a prize for the aquarists that keep and breed them successfully.




HBH

Graze Flake

This is definitely a Tropheus, perhaps moori?  In either case this is a great fish to introduce with the product as Tropheus are a beautiful though overly aggressive fish. They are also herbivores for the most part, making this a good food for the fish. This is another fish that is a bit less common in the aquarium industry, however this isn't due to the lack of coloration on the fish but more likely due to the pugnacious nature of the fish and the related difficulty in breeding the fish. After all, this fish is known for killing tankmates.


African Cichlid Attack

Another over-exposed photo I think. This resembles a Benga Peacock from Lake Malawi, but that wash out yellow doesn't look real at all.  More likely this is Aulonocara stuartgranti "Yello Tanzania," though again, the yellow on this fish for some reason appears to be air brushed on.  That is a real shame as this fish is a beauty on its own, and given the rather un-aggressive nature of Peacock cichlids, it is one that I certainly suggest to everyone who has a large enough tank to keep it.  I have a lone male peacock in my show tank upstairs along with Rainbowfish, Gourami, and Loaches.  No-one ever has a torn fin.




MarineLand

Bio-Blend Large Cichlid

MarineLand recently jumped into the food business with their Bio-Blend brand name. The packaging is definitely original, changing from the old cylinder containers to something with a bit more flair.  Not sure how you are supposed to get your fingers into the container to get the food, but that is beside the point.   I haven't personally tried the food yet, but look forward to doing so. On the Large Cichlid package we see a Firemouth Cichlid, a nice fish that doesn't get especially large for an American Cichlid, and has a very nice orange hue to its throat.  The only down side of this fish is that it breeds easily and is available in large quantities, so you likely won't be able to sell off your fry for anything!
 

Well there are many more foods out there with great fish labels that will inspire and captivate, but I'll leave it at what is above. A lot of beautiful fish to see and keep can be seen on the labels of Fish Food. Unfortunately some of the fish don't actually exist except for on the labels, so you won't see them in stores. Others are rare, which sadly makes them more likely to be seen on the label than in your local pet store. However, for the truly determined, you could just get the label. The beauty of keeping tropical fish labels is that the fish will always be in perfect condition! Unless you get it wet.
 

[ Back to Fishy Tales | Sections Index ]