[RML] Re: ethoxyquin

H. Hoekstra (hugo at pondlibrary.org)
Sun, 22 Aug 1999 18:58:49 +0100

On 22-Aug-99, Gary Lange wrote:
>What was the reason for asking about whether the flake food contained
>Ethoxyquin? Wardley and OSI brand flake foods both contain this product.
>As far as I can tell Aquarian does not. I'm rather surprised that anyone
>can obtain that wonderful food anymore though. All of the large mail order
>catalog places have stopped carrying it in the US and most of the pet stores
>too. It is a perfect example of a big company (Kal Kan) ruining a perfectly
>good product. IMO it was the best flake food that could be obtained in
>bulk.

>Gary Lange

Hello Gary,

Ethoxyquin is really a rubber preservative made by Monsanto (infamous for
Agent Orange and genetically altered crops) and it is illegal to use in food
for human consumption. It causes tumors and deformaties in fish, dogs,
guinee pigs, rabbits, etc. Vitamin C is a natural and safe preservative, but
fish food companies like Ethoxyquin because it's cheaper. I wouldn't use
any product that contains it!

The effects are cumulative, but when you stop feeding it fish seem to be able
to get rid of the toxic stuff - that's why I asked, because the fish got
better with less flake food, but it seems it was unrelated.

Best regards,

Hugo Hoekstra
Sturgeon expert
The Pond Library