Hikari Carnivore Pellets

[Mark]

Anyone else tried these?

Hikari info : Hikari Tropical SINKING CARNIVORE PELLETS

They seem pretty well accepted, especially by aquatic newts and hikari is a pretty reputable brand.

The nutritional analysis is on the web page above and the packet lists the ingredients as follows:

Fish meal, krill meal, starch, brewers dried yeast, soybean meal, fish oil, wheat flour, dried seaweed meal, spirulina, DL-methionine, L-lysine, astaxanthin, canthaxanthin, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate, (stabilised vitamin C), inositol, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamin A oil, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, niacin, menadione sodium bisulfate complex (source of vitamin K), folic acid, vitamin D3 supplement, biotin, vitamin B12 supplement, ferrous sulphate, magnesium sulphate, zinc sulphate, manganese sulphate, cobalt sulphate, copper sulphate, calcium iodate, red 3 (artificial colour)

I'll confess, I don't know what half of those are and obviously these pellets are formulated specifically for carnivorous fish but I wonder if any of the ingredients are a big no-no for amphibians. The high grade carotenoids would certainly produce some good coloration.

 

[evut]

How big are the pellets and what species have you tested them on? I have been using Pollywog amphibian pellets with mixed success.

 

[Mark]

The disc shaped pellets are around half a centimetre, swelling close to 1cm once softened in water. Small newts may struggle to swallow them whole but they could be broken in half.

So far I've tested them on aquatic N.strauchii, I.alpestris, C.asper and C.pyrrhogaster. All ate them with gusto and actively hunted for them.

In the past I've tried Rangen salmon pellets, Pollywog's amphibian pellets, ZooMed amphibian pellets and Tetra Reptomin all with mixed (mainly bad) results. Funnily enough Reptomin is the most accepted type with my collection, even terrestrial salamanders such as A.maculatum take softened Reptomin sticks from tweezers.

The thing I've noticed with the Hikari pellets is that they smell strongly (not a bad smell, rather meaty) and invoke a strong, aggressive feeding response compared to others pellets I've tried. Still, I'm not going to give them too much of a plug until I'm sure they are safe for long term feeding. Where's Ed K when you need him

 

[Kaysie]

I've heard good things about them in the past, but have never used them personally.

 

[evut]

I decided to try these - my juvenile T. verrucosus really liked them, unfortunately my picky C. pyrrhogaster turned their noses up at them. I'm glad that the Tylos at least have a new item on the menu. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Mark]

The Cynops may learn to like them. Mine ate them with relish but then they'd eat raisins if they were delivered by tweezer.

The good news for me is that my strauchii absolutely love them and they can be a little fussy. I have one male who would only eat earthworms but likes these. It'll be interesting to see if colours improve with longterm use.

 

[Azhael]

I use a different brand but they are very well accepted.
Only a couple of individuals refuse them, everybody else loves them, particularly the pyrrhos and the kaiseri. I´m even using tiny pellets for juveniles and larvae and they are taken with gusto.

Eva, be patient with the pyrrhos, they will eventually learn to take them. Sometimes mine won´t take them at first, while they are hard, but then descend on them like a plague once they get really soggy.

 

[Tim Robin]

I am going to get these and give them a try for my Neurergus species. I tried a Zoomed pellet for newts but it broke apart too quickly and fouled the water. I did not like the mess and the newts didn't seem to like them either. I will post how they are taken.

 

[Davo]

I am going to give them a go, could be handy in the winter when the snow comes and i cant get live bloodworm.

 

[jasper408]

Got it to give it a try. So far, only P. waltl is taking it, and only after the pellet completely disintegrates into a goop. Hopefully my others will accept it over time.

 

[vampy31]

My P.Chinensis absolutely loves this stuff! I had two other ones, same species who also enjoyed this. I typically only feed him this in between feedings of frozen blood worms and frozen clams. He always comes out from his hide and hunts for these pellets. It's a good supplement just to mix up their diet a bit. It should be noted that my guy is not picky at all either!

 

[Neil C]

Been trialing them about a month now and most of my Axolotls love them. The only down side I can see is that the axolotl's poo is very soft and almost impossible to remove in one piece.


Regards Neil

 

[morg]

After seeing this thread I decided to give these a try.
1st feeding today , and Ive tried on 5 newt species, and my axolotls, and sadly this first offering, nothing has taken them.

This may well be to do with the fact that all my amphibians are usualy fed on live foods only?
I will keep trying though, and see how it goes

 

[Azhael]

That´s definitely an important factor, Morg, but even so, they should eventually make the connection between the smell of the pellets and food.
I´ve started a few animals on pellets by offering them with tweezers( since these were animals that already intensely associated tweezers with food) and also by pocking the pellets with a bit of thin wire so that they move and catch the newt´s attention. After a few attempts, they start taking them on their own.
Larvae are much easier to get used to pellets than adults are, by the way, at least in my experience.

Anyway, don´t despair.

 

[ntny]

Hello folks,
just to update
yes i try out hikari sinking pellet and some of my newts are eating them now. it takes a while for them to get used.
i notice they prefer very high protein sinking pallets.
specifically i try out Hikari lionhead with very high protein level - 46% and carotenoid
http://www.hikari.info/gold/g_05.html
i haven't tried Hikari carnivore pallet though.

Thanks and cheers!