Food for thought...

[Blk_Gto]

Hi guys,

I've decided to take the next step and start feeding my fish a variety of foods. It's time to spice up their lives

. In the past, I've just stuck w/ frozen/live brine shrimp and flakes. What would you recommend for a new chef? And where would I buy these items?

Thanks!

 

[CLAY CRUDEN]

ALL FISH? OR CORALS TOO? ERIC BORNEMAN, AUTHOR OF "AQUARIUM CORALS" HAS AN AWSOME RECIPE ON P. 64 THAT I USE AS A "STARTER FOOD". I ADD A LARGER VARIETY OF INGREDIENTS. BUT THE BASE RECIPE IS VERY SOUND. I FEED MY FISH AND CORALS WITH THIS. I ALSO ADD MY VITIMIN SUPPLEMENTS, MARINE SNOW ETC. BY MIXING IT WITH THE FOODS. HOMEMADE FROZEN FOODS ARE MUCH CHEAPER AND BETTER FOR THE INHABITANTS IN THE LONG RUN.
BASICALLY ITS A RATION OF
LIQUID VITIMINS, MARINE SMOW(TLF)PRAWN,MUSSELS,CLAMS ,

OYSTERS,FRESH FISH,URCHIN,FISH ROE,DECAP ARTEMIADRIED SEAWEED,QUALITY FLAKE FOODS,DRIED PHYTOPLANKTON,ETC ARE GROUND AND MIXED (CORAL) OR CHOPPED (FISHY SIZE)AND FROZEN IN FREEZER BAGS. PINCH OFF WHAT YOU NEED. KEEPS FOR A COUPLE OF MONTHS. FRESH FOODS ARE ALWAYS NICE, BUT THIS SAVES TIME. HOPE THIS HELPS.

 

[Blk_Gto]

WZRD,

So you never feed them frozen brine? I don't know if I read this right but you feed them YOUR supplements? As in human supplements? The rest of your list I am figuring you can get at the local supermarket. Where do you purchase Marine Snow and phytoplankton? And what type of fish do you add?

 

[JohnD]

If you are looking for convenience, consider Ocean Nutrition's frozen foods. I like the cubes (for even more ease). I get them at either the LFS or Petco.

I also soak them in either vita-chem or selcon. Both of these suppliments are available by MO.

If you have tangs, you should also consider nori, Seaweed Selects (from Ocean Nurtition) or Sea veggies.

On occassion, I also feed by tangs blanched green beans and blanched broccolli.

 

[kervina]

I second JohnD's suggestion. I made my own food for quite some time, and while it was kind of cool to do, I didn't see any change when I switched to Ocean Nutrition stuff instead.

Well, maybe a bit of a change: My wife quit complaining about me spilling fish food in the freezer....

 

[CLAY CRUDEN]

WELL YEAH! ALL COMES FROM THE OCEAN. I GET EXCELLENT RESULTS BECAUSE THE FOOD I MAKE DOESN'T HAVE THE WATER CONTENT. IF YOU LOOK AT THE INDREDIENTS IN EVEN THE BEST PRODUCTS YOUR STILL PAYING FOR WHOLE LOT OF WATER. SOME INGREDIENTS I CAN GET ARE AT THE LOCAL HEALTHFOOD STORE LIKE SEAWEED IS HALF WHAT IT COST EVEN IF YOU GO TO THE CHEAPEST SOURCE AROUND. MARINE SNOW MADE BY TWO LITTLE FISHES, D.T.'S LIQUID PHYTO(THOUGH I WOULDN'T FREEZE IT BECAUSE THEN YOU KILL EVERYTHING)ESV MAKES HIGH QUALITY FREEZE DRIED PHYTO FOR CHEAP. BRINE SHRIMP ARE O.K. BUT THEY ALSO AREN'T BALANCED EVEN IF YOU USE SELCON. IT'S A GREAT ADDATIVE BUT IMAGINE IF YOU ATE ONLY SAUSAGE PIZZA FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE(SELCON DIPPED BRINE SHRIMP PIZZA)? I'D LIKE TO SEE YOU IN A YEAR IF YOU DIDN'T DIE FIRST. LIQUID VIT'S LIKE SELCON, REEFSOLUTION, KENT VITAL ETC. AND THE LIKE CAN BE ADDED AND DOSED THROUGH FEEDING. TRUST ME ONCE EVERY TWO OR THREE MONTHS IS NOT VERY OFTEN TO MAKE FOOD AND IF YOU PUT IT IN FREEZER BAGS WITH JUST A LITTLE BIT THEN IT SQUASHES THIN AND IT'S EASY TO BREAK OFF. I'VE USED THE BEST PRODUCTS OUT THERE AND STILL COULDN'T GET THE HEALTH I SEE NOW. NO DISEASE NO WASTE(PROTEIN ENRICHED WATER,A.K.A SKIIMER FODDER) AND IT IS CHEAPER.

 

[Anonymous]

A real easy option if you are looking to get more variety in your fish's rations is to buy raw frozen cocktail or tiger shrimp from the seafood counter at the grocery store.

If you keep it frozen you can easily shave off thin slices with a sharp knife. Just about every fish loves that.

Myself, I get a variety of seafood from the grocery store,Shrimp,fish, squid,ect. and run it through the food processor, and freeze it into little ziplock baggies.

 

[dug5921]

i checked at my local grocery, and their "fresh" shrimp comes in frozen 20# bags. it is also treated with sodium-something to preserve freshness. i stick with frozen krill, brine shrimp, and silversides for my lion, and frozen herbivore blend, spirilina flakes, and something called 'marine complete' (dry pellets0 for my tang, rabbit and damsels. i usually give them a bit of each every day.

 

[Anonymous]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

it is also treated with sodium-something to preserve freshness

Wow, Thanks for the heads up. I knew that fresh shrimp was really thawed frozen, but I had no idea they were treated wuth chemicals!