Comments: I've used Hikari for over thirty years with great results. Some of the other Hikari formulas have been down graded in protein and now carry MSG - However Cichlid Gold isn't one of them.

The best things about this food are that the first ingredient is white fish meal. It's important when evaluating any pet food that the source of animal protein is identified, in this case it's white fish. In addition many companies that manufactures pet foods get around certain guidelines by weighing the protein source prior to cooking. Being as raw meat is over 90% water prior to cooking what is often listed as the first ingredient - is in fact much lower on the list.

This Hikari formula lists "white fish meal" as the first ingredient making this food a step up in quality. I use this food in conjunction with Zoo-Meds Spirulina 20 which is incredibly rich in protein, amino acids and other essentials with virtually zero filler. This combination - with the addition of fresh blanched kale and other dark greens has brought their color out dramatically, the fish are wonderfully healthy and highly resistant to bacterial infections and other illness.

My 12" Red Devil and equally large Flowerhorn and Texas Red virtually do head stands when they see the Hiraki bag. My only complaint is the amount of filler including wheat. The first three ingredients of any fish food should without question be animal based protein. To it's credit it's free of Ethoxyquin which is often listed as a preservative but is in fact a pesticide. Which if you read the studies is especially lethal to fish - even in trace amounts. A good article can be found on Wiki-pedia which links to one of the above mentioned studies.