Sorry for the long wait, it's been a hectic week. So without further adieu here's the second part of Cost vs. Quality. Enjoy!
Food and Nutrition
I will be the first to say that not all imported and expensive feeds and supplements for your pets are always good and advantageous for them. Here is where you go double time on your research.
Iams, Science Diet, ANF, etc., have been around for years in the dog and cat food business. Theirs is a track record to boast of. Hikari, Sera and Otto have also been in the aquarium business for more than 30 years. Go for proven brands. I specially don't mind expired or on sale items of color enhancing or energy food for my flowerhorns. Why? Because I don't feed them directly to my flowerhorns.
My super mealworms eat them and digest the nutrients better than my fishes and then feed them to my horns, who will retain more if they ate the color enhancing feeds directly.
I am not a vet but even before reading it in a Japanese fish magazine, I was already doing it. Again out of pure common sense. Bot now more so because I have the feed company's scientific findings to back it up. Moreover, I am not bound to go the market daily or even weekly and buy fresh shrimps at such high prices, when my horn collection will devour two or three kilos of these shrimps a week. For those that have access to cheap fresh shirmps why not. Even for those that have one or two flowerhorns in their case, by all means. But if you have 30 or so, think of all the cleaning you have to do every two days because of the waste matter decaying on the tank floor.
Bird food in no different. I see more and more imported seed mixes, and pellets coming into the market. I hope they declare it properly in line with the sky high prices that they charge. There is a 35% tariff on all specially formulated feeds, such as guinea pig pellets, koi food, etc., whereas there's only a 5% tariff on feed supplement or ingredients.
While bird seeds in bulk are also imported, I still think it uneconomical buying mixes in two counts. There is a value-added cost when you buy mixed seeds and secondly, you want to serve the different seeds separately so that they don't pick their favorites and leave the ones they don't want. Given seperately, you know how much of each one can be fed daily without wasting on leftovers.
Be practical when it comes to pet food. Go with those that have the track record. Second, localize whenever you can and third be diligent and watch what you gives your pet the best results. Mind you, I said the nest, not fattest, nor shiniest, or even the most hyperactive. Balance out these results and you will have a carefree time of handling your pets.
Food and Nutrition
I will be the first to say that not all imported and expensive feeds and supplements for your pets are always good and advantageous for them. Here is where you go double time on your research.
Iams, Science Diet, ANF, etc., have been around for years in the dog and cat food business. Theirs is a track record to boast of. Hikari, Sera and Otto have also been in the aquarium business for more than 30 years. Go for proven brands. I specially don't mind expired or on sale items of color enhancing or energy food for my flowerhorns. Why? Because I don't feed them directly to my flowerhorns.
My super mealworms eat them and digest the nutrients better than my fishes and then feed them to my horns, who will retain more if they ate the color enhancing feeds directly.
I am not a vet but even before reading it in a Japanese fish magazine, I was already doing it. Again out of pure common sense. Bot now more so because I have the feed company's scientific findings to back it up. Moreover, I am not bound to go the market daily or even weekly and buy fresh shrimps at such high prices, when my horn collection will devour two or three kilos of these shrimps a week. For those that have access to cheap fresh shirmps why not. Even for those that have one or two flowerhorns in their case, by all means. But if you have 30 or so, think of all the cleaning you have to do every two days because of the waste matter decaying on the tank floor.
Bird food in no different. I see more and more imported seed mixes, and pellets coming into the market. I hope they declare it properly in line with the sky high prices that they charge. There is a 35% tariff on all specially formulated feeds, such as guinea pig pellets, koi food, etc., whereas there's only a 5% tariff on feed supplement or ingredients.
While bird seeds in bulk are also imported, I still think it uneconomical buying mixes in two counts. There is a value-added cost when you buy mixed seeds and secondly, you want to serve the different seeds separately so that they don't pick their favorites and leave the ones they don't want. Given seperately, you know how much of each one can be fed daily without wasting on leftovers.
Be practical when it comes to pet food. Go with those that have the track record. Second, localize whenever you can and third be diligent and watch what you gives your pet the best results. Mind you, I said the nest, not fattest, nor shiniest, or even the most hyperactive. Balance out these results and you will have a carefree time of handling your pets.
to be continued...
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