Adding a vitamin supplement to your tropical marine aquarium food is a good idea in most situations. A lack of certain vitamins can lead to slow growth and faded colors and, in a worst case scenario, deformities, weight loss and worse. Sick or diseased fishes will also recover faster if they are not suffering from any vitamin deficiencies.
You’ve heard of people taking fish oil supplements as part of their daily health regiment, Right? Well fish oils are loaded with fat-soluble vitamins including vitamins A, D, E, and K, which are responsible for everything from general healthy growth to antioxidant effects. Fish require these fat-soluble vitamins for optimal health, and they get them from sources such as fish flesh, shellfish flesh, worms, and seaweed. Feeding a varied diet including marine fish and crustacean flesh, as well as some live foods, is the first step to insuring sufficient quantities of fat-soluble vitamins in tour fishes’ diet.
In addition to fat-soluble vitamins, marine aquarium fishes require water-soluble vitamins (most important are B and C). These vitamins are critical to healthy growth, metabolism, strong immune systems, and digestion among other critical functions. Fishes get water-soluble vitamins from a variety of sources, but they can be taken directly from the aquarium water if the vitamins are present in the water. Food sources of vitamin B and C include the same sources as mentioned above for vitamins A, D, E, and K. Vitamins B and C can also be added directly to the aquarium water.
Many aquarists rely on a varied diet finely tuned to their stock in order to insure proper vitamin uptake. It is, however, a good idea in my opinion to also soak the food in a commercially available vitamin supplement before feeding (especially frozen and freeze-dried foods). To avoid vitamin deficiencies in your fishes, consider using a supplement as a regular part of your husbandry protocol.
Be sure the supplement you use does not contain phosphates, nitrates or yeasts, which can all negatively affect your water quality. Some aquarists use vitamin C liquids and other vitamin products from their local health food store, but there are many commercially available supplements to consider including Kent Zoe, Boyd Vitachem, and Kent Marine C.
Fish, like people, need their vitamins. Feeding a varied diet and using a supplement will insure the long-term health, growth and beauty of your animals.
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