Frequently Asked Questions

Is Omega One better, worse, or the same as other foods in regards to maintaining high water quality in an aquarium?

Much better. The difference is that the Omega One food uses a protein binder, where as all other fish foods use a starch binder. Protein binders are not water soluble while starch binders are. This amounts to an amazing difference and illustrates one of the many benefits of using fresh ingredients. Now let me get a little technical so that I can explain the difference between a protein binder and a starch binder.

Let me start by saying that the only way to get a protein bound product is to use fresh animal proteins. Like an egg or a hamburger, all animal proteins have the ability to bind themselves the first time they are cooked. When you fry an egg, or hamburger it sticks together very nicely. You can put a fried egg or hamburger in a pan of water and it will stay together indefinitely. However this finding only takes place the first time. In the case of a hamburger patty, for example, once crumbled it can never "stick" together again, unless of course, you use a starch substance, such as "hamburger helper".

Fish-meal or shrimp-meal based fish foods are using an animal protein that has already been processed and thus have lost any ability to "congeal" or bind together. This is why there is so much starch in fish-meal based foods, sometime more than half. The main purpose of the starch is to bind the fish meal together. It's not there for nutritional value.

And finally, since starch binders (like cereal) are water soluble, the product immediately starts to leach out when it hits the aquarium. Vitamins and minerals are immediately lost and the tank begins to pollute. Since protein binders are not water soluble the vitamins and minerals held firmly in the matrix and the food does not break down if uneaten, resulting in a much cleaner aquarium.

Omega One uses some starch in its food to satisfy the small carbohydrate needs of most fish. However, we urge you to read our labels. You will see that any terrestrial plant material such as wheat or corn products are way down on our list, as opposed to being number one or two on other fish food labels.

It is common knowledge that high levels of phosphorus leads to algae growth in an aquarium and pond. Is Omega One high in phosphorus?

No. In fact, Omega One has perhaps the lowest phosphorus level of any fish food, less that 1%. Most phosphorus in fish food comes from the bones of fish. If a fish food manufacturer used low quality fish meal, which many do, it will be high in bone content. This means a much higher level of phosphorus.

Since Omega One uses whole fish, the bone to meat ratio is equal to what it would be in the natural environment. This means that fish get the phosphorus that they need for solid growth but it is not excessive.