The question is what kind of organic food for a goldfish aquaponics system should you choose? Today I bring the 2 best selections + 1 that might seem like it, but no.
Northfin Food Formula for Aquaponics with Goldfish
In my opinion, Northfin makes the best organic food for a goldfish aquaponics system available on the market to date. And it’s not just me. Many other goldfish keepers love this food for their goldfish aquaponic systems.
Now, it’s not certified organic, but they do use all natural and even some organic ingredients. Most importantly, this food is made to specifically address the nutritional needs of goldfish.
Unlike other brands, it uses high-quality marine protein as one of the main ingredients: whole-grain Antarctic krill meal and herring meal.
It has no fillers, which often causes cloudy water and digestive problems. This food offers the best balance between natural, healthy and good quality ingredients and what your goldfish needs to eat.
If you’re looking for certified organic, there’s one on the market, but read on and you’ll see why I’d go with Northfin instead.
Repashy Super Gold
There is a reason why Repashy Super Gold is the top food on my list of the best food brands for goldfish aquaponics systems.
And especially if you have fancy goldfish, gel food for goldfish is ideal to help prevent the most common bladder problems due to its high moisture content.
High digestibility = healthier and stronger fish. My goldfish go really crazy over these things.
When it comes to nutrition, the ingredients can’t be beat. Despite not being certified organic, you will notice that there are not as many «unpronounceable» and fortifying as often found in other foods.
(Usually, when a food is high in fortifiers, it’s because it didn’t have much nutritional value to begin with.)
One thing I really like is that it does not have wheat products, which can irritate the intestinal tract of goldfish.
If you are looking for the best organic food for the goldfish in your aquaponics system, Super Gold is an excellent choice.
Again, it’s not an organic goldfish food, but here’s why I think you shouldn’t sacrifice a goldfish’s nutritional requirements just because it’s labeled organic.
AquaOrganic Aquaponics Fish Feed
Aquaorganic aquaponics fish feed is probably one of the only brands that makes USDA certified organic feedmarketed forgoldfish aquaponics systems. You will not find this product on Amazon ES but it serves to illustrate what I want to show you.
See the full list of ingredients here:
Organic Rice Bran, Organic Rapeseed, Organic Flax Meal, Organic Alfalfa Meal, Organic Oats, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Dried Lactobacilli Fermentation Product, Choline Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Ferric Choline Citrate Complex, Sulfate manganese, manganous oxide, zinc oxide, sulfur, ferric choline citrate complex, copper sulfate, copper choline citrate complex, cobalt choline citrate complex, potassium citrate, attapulgite clay, rush peat, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D3, Natural Source Vitamin E, Pantothenic Acid, Pyridoxine (HCL), Riboflavin, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Ascorbic Acid, Citric Acid, Yeast Culture, Niacin, Biotin, Folic Acid, Dihydrogen Dihydrogen ethylenediamine, sodium selenite, organic dried seaweed,organic grape seed powder, enzyme product, organic lecithin, organic aloe vera juice, calcium hydroxide, organic garlic, diatomaceous earth, natural source (Mg, Fe, K), organic tomato powder, organic sources of (powder Aquatic Food Orange Peel), Cayenne Pepper, Dandelion Root Extract, Cloves, Sage, Peppermint, Fennel, Hops, Parsley, Thyme, Lemongrass, Elderflowers, Chamomile Flowers, Licorice, Basil, ginger), Yucca Schidigera, granite powderMint, Fennel, Hops, Parsley, Thyme, Lemongrass, Elderflowers, Chamomile Flowers, Licorice, Basil, Ginger), Yucca Schidigera, Granite DustMint, Fennel, Hops, Parsley, Thyme, Lemongrass, Elderflowers, Chamomile Flowers, Licorice, Basil, Ginger), Yucca Schidigera, Granite Dust
It might not seem like much of a concern to most people, but here’s the kicker:
When it comes to carassius auratus nutrition, I have some major concerns about what is in this feed (and what is not).
Why is the first ingredient rice bran?
Goldfish do not eat grain. The first ingredient means that there is more of it than anything else in the food. These complex carbohydrates tend to cause cloudy water problems due to poor digestibility.
Fiber is important in a goldfish’s diet, but is best supplied by supplementation with fresh vegetables – not through grain-based bran in their staple diet. In my opinion, this brand really missed the boat here.
More importantly… where is the good quality marine protein here?
Goldfish are non-vegetarian and need high-quality marine protein for muscle growth and development. A good quality goldfish food will ensure that it is in the first few ingredients… but in this mix it is nowhere to be found.
Perhaps this is because they are trying to supply this food to tilapia farmers as well, but it is unacceptable for any goldfish food intended to be a dietary staple.
Some of these ingredients seem too strange to put in goldfish food. Rapeseed, flax meal, diatomaceous earth, mint, hops and granite dust. What exactly are you trying to accomplish with this? Have you ever seen a wild fish chewing on flax seeds or hops?
In general, despite having an organic label, this does not appear to be a good long-term dietary staple that can meet the nutritional needs of goldfish.
Just because it’s «certified organic» and has a mile-long list of fortifiers doesn’t make it a good food. Organic means no pesticides, so that’s a bonus, but to me that pro doesn’t outweigh the cons of this one.
I am all for organic, but not at the expense of the nutritional needs of the fish. Why take the risk of deficiencies in the diet of your fish? a very real problem among aquarium fish.
Where do I want to go?
There are much more important things than organic labels for a goldfish. Factors like high-quality marine protein, good fats, and carbohydrates are what I look for when choosing food for my goldfish.
And let’s face it, without proper nutrition, your goldfish won’t be around long to help you with your aquaponics project.
Good nutrition helps your Carassius Auratus fish live as long as they should and stay strong and healthy.
Now, a large part of the people who do an aquaponics system do so because they want to produce healthy vegetables for human consumption and try to minimize toxic substances.
When using an aquaponic system to grow plants, there is no need to spray pesticides, herbicides or add chemical fertilizers to the water (this would harm the fish anyway).
So you’re already leaps and bounds away from most commercial products, regardless of what you feed your fish:
“But I don’t want to add any chemicals to my aquaponics system, not even in my fish feed”
Look, if you’ve put a typical fish water conditioner in your system, you’ve already added a chemical. The trace amount of any preservative in a better quality fish feed is much less than that.
(For what it’s worth, you can find an all-natural, vitamin-based water conditioner here.)
Final Thoughts on Organic Food for a Goldfish Aquaponics System
If there was a food out there that combined organic with good nutrition, it would be awesome. I haven’t found it yet, so these are the best options I know of.
So if it were me, I’d go with NorthFin or Repashy for a goldfish aquaponics system.
It’s important to give your goldfish a good quality staple diet, but no matter what you use for that, they need something to «graze» throughout the day.
You can read more about this in our article on feeding goldfish.
Did this article on organic food for a goldfish aquaponics system help you? What kind of food do you plan to give your golden friends? Let me know in the comments below!
