Hikari First Bites Review
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Introduction
Note: This Hikari First Bites review is from my own personal experience as an aquarium hobbyist.
Whenever someone has some baby fish pop up in an aquarium, one of their top concerns is, “What do I feed them?”. They typically are very small and need to have very specific foods to survive. While there are options that you can make at home, the ease of having a premade food like Hikari First Bites makes life a lot easier.
Hikari First Bites is one of the most popular fry foods on the market. I personally think it is a good option for a decent amount of baby fish that most keep in the aquarium hobby. I try to cover all of the basics for the food in my Hikari First Bites review below.
Do baby fish like the food?
Yes, practically all fish that eat flake foods will try to eat Hikari First Bites. However, not all baby fish will eat prepared fish foods and prefer live foods like baby brine shrimp or infusoria. Also, something to note, is some of the particles may be too big for fry that are extra small at birth. Sera Micron fry food or microscopic live fauna in a well-seasoned aquarium may be a better option for smaller fish fry. I personally feed Hikari First Bites to my guppy fry and gold ocellatus fry which are larger at birth.
Package Sizing and Pricing
Hikari First Bites are a fair price if you take into account that a little food goes a long way for baby fish. A .35oz pack will run you about $5 but can last you for a very long time depending on how many baby fish you need to feed. This may not seem like a good value considering you can crumble up a decent flake food for a similar effect. But some will still prefer the fact that it is already in a small form for use and doesn’t require the extra work to grind to a very small powder.
A Look at the Powder
First Bites come in a fine powder form that is fairly uniform and easy for larger fry to eat. The powder generally sinks very slowly with some that stay floating. It is a suitable size for most commonly fish bred in aquariums.
When you feed a powder food it can be a little difficult to measure the appropriate amount of food. I would recommend mixing some food in water and then feeding with a pipette. Or I would recommend adding the food with a small brush, Q-Tip, or using a clean fingertip.
Many small feedings are better for baby fish. Be careful not to overfeed and pollute the water.
Ingredient Quality
Apart from the ingredients having a decent amount of krill in it, I don’t see much difference in the ingredients compared to a quality flake food. The protein content is a little higher at 48% which is good for growth. The rest of the nutrients are perfectly fine for baby fish and will be suitable for their growth.
Market Availability
Hikari First Bites is widely available in most pet shops and online. There is a link for buying some from Amazon at the bottom of this review.
My Final Thoughts
Baby brine shrimp and other live foods will more than likely always be the best option for baby fish. But the reality is that not everyone has the time, money, and effort to put into feeding live foods.
If you have some new fish fry and don’t want to do anything fancy for feeding, I believe Hikari First Bites is a great option to try. As long as the fry is an appropriate size and it shows interest in the food, then it should serve you well.
Another great commercial fry food option to check out is Sera Micron. If you follow the link, it will take you to my full review.
Where to Purchase Hikari First Bites
If you believe this food is something you would like to try, feel free to use the link below to purchase some for yourself.
Thanks for reading!
Check out some of my master list of fish food reviews here and feel free to comment below on what you think of the food.