Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets Fish Food Review

I did a lot of research on all the necessary pieces for setting up our aquarium – most of it was decided by on-line research.  One item that I couldn’t begin to decide on with only internet research was what fish food was best.  I waited until we picked up our first batch of fish and had the very nice fish store employee offer his suggestion.  He handed me a small bag of Hikari Tripical Micro Pellets fish food; it was a great suggestion and this has turned out to be a great food for the fish in our nano aquarium.

Hikari Micro Pellets Fish Food – Size and Ingredients:

As the name suggest, this fish food from Hikari has a texture of small, circular grains.  During my first experience with aquarium fish as a child, I remember most fish food to be in flake form. I like the consistancy that comes with this Hikari food.  Being in pellet form makes the feeding more consistent.  The food disperses evenly and it all stays afloat long enough for the fish to take notice and feed.

Hikari Micro Pellets Fish Food

This food has grains that are slightly larger than sand.  It is a great choice for smaller fish that might have a hard time getting larger food into their mouths.

From the Hikari website, they have the following to say about their tropical micro pellet fish food:

“Small, Multi-Colored Pellets Designed Specifically For Small-Mouth Fishes, Providing Them Superior Nutrition With Excellent Digestibility. Great For Tetras, Barbs, and Other Small-Mouth Tropical Fish Providing Outstanding Value Versus Flakes.”

“Our unique “Micro Coating” eliminates nutrition loss and water clouding.”

“A balance of Krill and Spirulina offers vivid coloration.”

“The premium-select marine & vegetable protein mix is ideal for small tropical fish who require larger energy reserves.”

“This precisely colored granule improves underwater visibility thereby resulting in more rapid acceptance with less uneaten food.”

“A softer texture that’s ideally suited for most smaller community tank fishes.”

The ingredients for this fish food are listed as follows:

“Fish meal, krill meal, soybean meal, flaked corn, brewers dried yeast, cuttlefish meal, wheat germ meal, wheat starch, fish oil, powdered cellulose, hydrolyzed vegetable sucrose polyesters, dried seaweed meal, lecithin, DL-methionine, garlic, spirulina, astaxanthin, choline chloride, vitamin E supplement, L-ascorbyl-2-polyphosphate (stabilized vitamin C), inositol, D-calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, vitamin A supplement, thiamine mononitrate, pyridoxine hydrochloride, niacin, menadione sodium bisulfite complex (source of vitamin K activity), folic acid, vitamin D₃ supplement, biotin, disodium phosphate, ferrous sulfate, magnesium sulfate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, cobalt sulfate, calcium iodate, red 3*, yellow 5*. (*artificial colors)”

One notable item missing from the ingredients and minerals list is copper.  This is important if you have invertebrates in your tank; substantial quantities of copper are harmful to them. I’m not sure why fish food needs to have artificial colors.  If it is just to make the fish food appear more appetizing to humans, I wish they would leave it out.

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Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets fish food is packaged in a resealable bag to keep it fresh and is sold in three sizes: 0.77 ounces (22 grams), 1.58 ounces (45 grams), and 2.2 lbs (1.0 kilograms).

Performance of Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets Fish Food:

I have had excellent performance from this fish food. We are using this to feed small fish in our Fluval Spec V aquarium.  It is a small tank and we therefore have very small fish.  The grain size is very good even for nano fish that are young.  I have grown out two sets of fish from small fry to adult using this food.  We have used it to feed our Danio Tinwini and our Green Neon fish.  Even when very small, the fish can eat this food no problem. The fry quickly acclimated to this food after being introduced into our tank.  In a matter of weeks, they were transformed from tiny and dull looking to large and healthy adults with vibrant colors.

The green neon fish have very small mouths even as adults.  I drop a small quantity of food in right away, and then I usually take a few other pieces and grind them in my fingers to make even smaller pieces.  One runt fish has trouble with the full size pieces but can easily eat the bits that I grind up.

The food is clean and does not cloud the water.  I normally feed by hand once a day and carefully drop in just what they can finish.  On the rare occasion that some of the food is uneaten, I don’t worry about it as the red cherry shrimp notice it and quickly eat it.

Hikari Micro Pellets Fish Food packaging

When we are away on vacation, I use this food in our Eheim automatic fish feeder.  It’s uniform size is very good in an automatic feeder as it helps to deliver a consistent quantity of food. It would probably be a little more controllable with a slightly larger grain size food, but this is the best food for our fish so I have adjusted the feeder to deliver the smallest amount possible.

The food might be a bit more expensive than other brands, but I think it’s worth it.  The fish are always interested in it, they are healthy with great coloration, and this food is easy to dispense just the right amount with none wasted or left over. The original small size 0.77 ounce (22 gram) bag that I originally purchased is still unused after a year.  I can’t imagine how long the 1 kg package would last us – an eternity!

I have high praise for Hikari fish food products, including their shrimp cuisine that I also use to feed our red cherry shrimp.  It’s worth keeping this company in mind for whatever fish food needs you have.

9 thoughts on “Hikari Tropical Micro Pellets Fish Food Review

  1. I bought two tiny baby bettas from petco and they said this food would be perfect for how small they are. They highly recommended it. Is this food okay for a betta? It doesn’t say anywhere i can feed to a baby betta..or do they need a pellet food specifically for a betta? Thank you. Is there a betta pellet this small? I like this size

    1. I’m no expert to the specific needs of Beta fish, but I think the Hikari Tripical Micro food would work and be worth a shot. I say go for it.

      I know most advise that you should vary the diet of any fish, so you can get this food to start and for sure add other types of food (possibly beta specific) in the future.

  2. I have hikari bio gold for my bigger bettas and is larger than the micro pellet

  3. When choosing a prepared food for my glowlight tetra, I would recommend Hikari Micro Pellets. I have always had success with this food in the past and it is known for its high-quality ingredients.

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