Nowadays, a visit to any pet supply chain store is going to be enough to send anyone's head spinning with the overwhelming choices available, so when it comes to choosing the right food for your tropical aquarium fish, we suggest it most appropriate to first look at the animals, and in a sense... ask them what they'd like to eat!

Plecostomus, Ancistrus, Otocinclus and other bottom-dwelling aquarium fish which are commonly found sucking on the glass of your aquarium with their mouths are going to be mostly herbivores with some omnivorous behavior, and will need a food source which is on the bottom of their fish tank. Hikari Mini Algae Wafers are a good choice for these creatures because they readily sink and are composed largely from algae and other vegetable-based nutritious additives. A nice juicy Zucchini sliced lengthwise and then attached with a rubber band to a rock in the bottom of your aquarium is a great treat once in a while, but this will also require a bit of cleanup of seeds and leftover Zucchini skin after the 'fish feast'.

But what about our little Corydoras chums? Don't these wee little catfish deserve a mention? Of course! We love these little fellows and since they also hang out almost exclusively on the bottom, let's observe their behavior: They are constantly snuffling around in the sand and gravel searching for what, exactly? They're looking for worms, small insect larvae and other delicious treats! So by observing these fishy friends, we can surmise that they are mostly going to be carnivorous and since they are bottom-dwelling aquarium fish, Hikari Sinking Wafers which contain a good deal of larval protein along with a host of other nutritious ingredients are going to be dynamite with just about any Cory catfish. Corys also enjoy fish flakes that have sunk to the bottom of the fish tank.

Next, let's have a look at the fish swimming in the mid-water, neither on the bottom nor at the surface. A slow sinking food might be best for this gang because of where they like to hang out. An excellent choice is Piscine Energetics PE Pellets for Freshwater Fish. These pellets come as small as 1mm in size and are made primarily from cold-water Mysis Shrimp which come out of the water gut-loaded with phytoplankton.

Finally, let's have a look at the upstairs neighbors, our little top water surface fish species. For this hungry gang, Fish Flakes are going to be your best bet. They float and are easily eaten by even tiny nano fish prowling the surface of your freshwater aquarium. PE Flakes for Freshwater Fish made by Piscine Energetics are easily the best flake food for the money we've ever used. Fish go crazy for them, they're very nutritious, and they are easy to digest; we've seen amazing growth, health and color with this food!

No matter which way you lean on your favorite fish food, looking at our fish, where and how they choose to spend their day, and most importantly, where and how they are searching for food will often tell us more about what a fish is hungry for then any internet source ever could. Just ask your fish!