They arrived! Here is my review:
First, the company. This is a very professional, well run operation. The product shipped the same day I bought it, I was able to track it with a number online, and it arrived in excellent condition and exactly as I ordered. I would definitely recommend Ken's Premium Golden Pearls to people looking for a defined size fish food granule.
Next, the product.
50-100 microns: Now that I can see it in person, I think I'm going to skip buying the 50-100 micron size granule again. It's just like super finely ground fish flakes. I own a mortar and pestle that I picked up for $4 at World Market one time, so it's cheaper for me to grind my own fish flakes than to buy them preground. This is the same reason that I have yet to buy Hikari First Bites. It mostly sits on the surface of the water and is ignored by the fish (except the guppy, which gulps at the surface 'cause he's just so easy to please).
100-200 microns: I can see how this would be a good fry food. It's basicaly like a rotifer, except you can buy it instead of having to breed it. I like it but again, probably wouldn't buy it a second time because my fry are bottom feeders so I use microworms. But this would be super super useful for water column fry because it stays suspended for a long time without sinking.
200-300 microns: At this range you can actually see the tiny little balls. I think that this and the 300-500 are the best for Elassoma. It's got a pretty good staying power in the water column. I think that has to do with the surface area to volume ratio. There are still some particles suspended after half an hour. You'll need some nonzero filter flow to keep them moving around.
300-500 microns: This is the size, if any, that adult Elassoma would eat. It sinks a little bit more than the 200-300 micron size, but it's closer to the size of an adult Elassoma gilberti mouth. The best I can think to describe it is like a quarter or a third of a betta pellet. It still stays suspended in the water column for a good few minutes.
The fish response: I haven't seen any of the Elassoma eat one of the golden pearls, but I have seen them look at them. That's a huge step in feeding fish; the longer they stare at it and the more they track its movement the more likely they are to eat it. These Elassoma are definitely watching this food. I also have one 'canary in the coal mine' type guppy, who is in the tank to show symptoms of illness should a pathogen be present (Elassoma won't itch themselves against tank decorations like other fish will). This guppy is loving all the food on the surface, for example the 50-100 micron size granules. It's not really what I would call a picky eater, though.
Here are some photos.
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