NLS seems to be better to me after examining the ingredients of each, because it contains garlic and has less fillers than Omega One's Betta Buffet. Omega One contains wheat flour and wheat gluten, whereas NLS only has whole wheat flour.
NLS seems to be better to me after examining the ingredients of each, because it contains garlic and has less fillers than Omega One's Betta Buffet. Omega One contains wheat flour and wheat gluten, whereas NLS only has whole wheat flour.
Yes but Omega has whole meats, which are generally better than meals.
Yes but Omega has whole meats, which are generally better than meals.
NLS does specify that their meals are "whole", which clearly isn't as good as having "whole meats", but is not bad like the unspecific "fish meal" seen on many of the lesser-quality brands. NLS also has a lot of vegetable/fruit extracts and spirulina. I suppose I'm a bit biased since I feed NLS as part of my betta's diet.
I think omega has to put wheat flour in to hold it together and wheat gluten to make it non-water soluble so it floats and doesn't dirty the water. NLS doesn't have wheat gluten, but it is only semi-floating, which means it sinks after a few seconds.
I think omega has to put wheat flour in to hold it together and wheat gluten to make it non-water soluble so it floats and doesn't dirty the water. NLS doesn't have wheat gluten, but it is only semi-floating, which means it sinks after a few seconds.
Interesting observation, you may be right about the gluten making it easier to float! And you're correct about wheat and whole wheat being the binding agent. Gluten isn't the best thing even in human foods, though, so I try not to feed it to my little fishy who probably has a more sensitive stomach than me (and I'm mildly gluten intolerant). I've never had problems with NLS clouding the water, though, despite its lack of gluten. But it does sink like a stone.
Interesting observation, you may be right about the gluten making it easier to float! And you're correct about wheat and whole wheat being the binding agent. Gluten isn't the best thing even in human foods, though, so I try not to feed it to my little fishy who probably has a more sensitive stomach than me (and I'm mildly gluten intolerant). I've never had problems with NLS clouding the water, though, despite its lack of gluten. But it does sink like a stone.
Yeah, I imagine people that feed their fish correctly shouldn't have a clouding issue either way, but after hours of research, I have come to the conclusion that the brands are equal because NLS does not have gluten in it, but Omega has whole meats in instead of meals, and the meats make up the first 3 ingredients instead of the two in NLS.
Nice conclusion, finnfinn. Guess it all boils down to availability, for people trying to decide between the two. One more thing: did you get around to comparing the pellet sizes? NLS is 1mm sized, but I'm not sure about Omega One. That's another factor that should be taken into account, seeing that smaller males and females sometimes have a very difficult time of it trying to fit larger pellets into their mouths.
Nice conclusion, finnfinn. Guess it all boils down to availability, for people trying to decide between the two. One more thing: did you get around to comparing the pellet sizes? NLS is 1mm sized, but I'm not sure about Omega One. That's another factor that should be taken into account, seeing that smaller males and females sometimes have a very difficult time of it trying to fit larger pellets into their mouths.
I have examined the sizes, and if there is a difference, it is negligible. I actually switched to omega one from top fin pellets not long after getting my fish because the top fin was too big for him. Even though he was pretty small (I think his fins had just finished developing and i picked him because he was the smallest one ;) ) he was able to eat the Omega One pellets just fine....in fact I accidentally dropped two pellets in together the other day and he gulped them up in one bite! (granted he is bigger now, six months later)
*takes deep breath* Sorry for writing a novel here!
EDIT: ....or I guess more like a medical journal haha...
Oh wait! actually NLS IS really better! I just learned that wheat gluten is a protein filler and that's why Omega has more protein! Also when a meat is listed as "meal" as the first ingredient, You know it is really the most abundant ingredient, because it is already cooked. With whole meats, you don't really know how much is in the food.
I actually use the Hakari Gold micro pellets, and after reading the ingredients, I thought of switching to the Omega One pellets, I have not yet, I see that my fishy's are doing quite well with the Hakari.
but the Hakari is Fish meal, and I have heard that the first 3 ingredients in the formula should be a fish mentioned combo, such as (salmon, halibut, and one other one) then wheat or some other filler, however, I choose Hakari, because It floats and I didn't want to go with one that does not.
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