New to fish. freeze dried tubifex

[Dragutter]

Hi all I've got a tank with some glowlight tetras is and am feeding them on flakes at the monent. I've seen in the fish shop some freeze dried tubifex and was wondering of this was ok to feed them on.
The tanks been upand stocked for about 5 weeks.
Thanks.

 

[shellieca]

Hi all I've got a tank with some glowlight tetras is and am feeding them on flakes at the monent. I've seen in the fish shop some freeze dried tubifex and was wondering of this was ok to feed them on.
The tanks been upand stocked for about 5 weeks.
Thanks.

It's good to give variety. I don't have tetras so I am basing my opinion on my own experience & preference. IMO, freeze dried foods are not the way to go. The freeze dried process has removed all the good stuff & left pretty much nothing but the shell. Also, you will need to make sure to soak them before feeding them otherwise it could cause bloat once the food is wet in their tummy & swells. I prefer to feed frozen foods a couple days a week as a treat.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish Food

Hi all I've got a tank with some glowlight tetras is and am feeding them on flakes at the monent. I've seen in the fish shop some freeze dried tubifex and was wondering of this was ok to feed them on.
The tanks been upand stocked for about 5 weeks.
Thanks.

Hello Drag...

Frozen food is the healthiest for your fish. I feed the flakes very sparingly because most of it sold in the pet stores is processed. That typically means it has things in it that give it a long shelf life.

You can tell the best foods. Buy them and leave them out in the elements. If they spoil quickly, like frozen, then they have no additives. The freeze dried and flakes will last on the shelf forever, so be careful to check ingredients. If you see a long list of them, then when the fish eat the stuff, their body doesn't really know how to digest it.

Just a couple of thoughts.

B

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

clarification question...

so you both suggest NOT to feed freeze dried?? that makes me wonder if i should stop using my freezed dried worms my fish seem to love them but that doesn't really mean its healthy for them.

i have "Frozen" blood worms, Brine Shrimp & Veggie cubes from a pack i bought i my LFS that i use occasionally and i thaw it in a cup of tank water.

 

[shellieca]

so you both suggest NOT to feed freeze dried?? that makes me wonder if i should stop using my freezed dried worms my fish seem to love them but that doesn't really mean its healthy for them.

i have "Frozen" blood worms, Brine Shrimp & Veggie cubes from a pack i bought i my LFS that i use occasionally and i thaw it in a cup of tank water.

I would stay away from anything freeze dried but it is up to the individual.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

thank you, i'll stick with the frozen foods i have and my NLS and shrimp pellets.

i appreciate your assitance

 

[BBradbury]

Fish Food

so you both suggest NOT to feed freeze dried?? that makes me wonder if i should stop using my freezed dried worms my fish seem to love them but that doesn't really mean its healthy for them.

i have "Frozen" blood worms, Brine Shrimp & Veggie cubes from a pack i bought i my LFS that i use occasionally and i thaw it in a cup of tank water.

Hello Hopeful...

Yes, I suppose I am saying that. Check the ingredients. Freeze dried will have a long list of stuff. Then, check the frozen food. Probably the brine shrimp or whatever the crustacean is and water.

Fish have been eating the real animal just about forever, so their body knows exactly what to do with the food, no stress to the inerds. If you put a lot of processed chemicals into the mix, the fish's system works and works to pass them. This puts stress on the fish and shortens the life.

Surprise, surprise! This is like you and me eating a healthy meal versus something that contains stuff you can't pronounce at one of the fast food places.

If you stop and think about it. This really isn't "rocket science".

Just a couple of thoughts that occurred to me.

B

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Sorry about that... I was really trying to put words in your mouth or imply anything just wanted to get you opinion.

I do understand what you're saying, it makes perfect sense. I'll have to keep a better eye on the food I feed to my fish.

Thank you so much, and again, sorry if I offended you

 

[hpiguy]

It's good to give variety. I don't have tetras so I am basing my opinion on my own experience & preference. IMO, freeze dried foods are not the way to go. The freeze dried process has removed all the good stuff & left pretty much nothing but the shell....

Do you have any actual research to back up your claims about freeze dried foods completely lacking in nutrients?

I've been keeping fish for decades and have not come across that information aside from some magazine ads touting their expensive frozen foods. And I like frozen foods, have used them from time to time.

From what I know of, freeze dried is just dehydrated. Just lacking the water, that is all. Same as astronaut food and some MREs. Remove the water, it lasts longer and is cheaper to store and transport.

I'd be happy to read some reliable non-biased sources if you have them. I'm always interested in learning about new things.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish Food

Sorry about that... I was really trying to put words in your mouth or imply anything just wanted to get you opinion.

I do understand what you're saying, it makes perfect sense. I'll have to keep a better eye on the food I feed to my fish.

Thank you so much, and again, sorry if I offended you

Hello Hope...

No offense taken. Someone else said to check the contents and that's a very smart thing. There are some good things in most fish foods. My take is this: Food that's natural will have few ingredients and will be better for your fish. Processing adds chemicals to food so it lasts a long time. Those chemicals made by humans aren't going to be as nutritious.

B

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

That's a very good point, just have to do some research on foods lol

 

[hpiguy]

Hi all I've got a tank with some glowlight tetras is and am feeding them on flakes at the monent. I've seen in the fish shop some freeze dried tubifex and was wondering of this was ok to feed them on.
The tanks been upand stocked for about 5 weeks.
Thanks.

Go ahead and get them some tubifex worms. They will enjoy the variety and the freeze drying process doesn't hurt a thing, that's why it is used for human food as well. It dehydrates the food and makes it last longer before it decomposes. The nutrition stays the same.

They will also enjoy some canned bloodworms as well.

You can either take a half cube and push it against the glass and let the fish peck at it as it rehydrates or you can soak it in a cup of tank water until it rehydrates and feed it that way. It's up to you.

 

[hpiguy]

so you both suggest NOT to feed freeze dried?? that makes me wonder if i should stop using my freezed dried worms my fish seem to love them but that doesn't really mean its healthy for them.

i have "Frozen" blood worms, Brine Shrimp & Veggie cubes from a pack i bought i my LFS that i use occasionally and i thaw it in a cup of tank water.

Your freeze dried fish foods are perfectly safe and healthy.

Please don't let the non-proven comments on here dissuade you from using them.

 

[hpiguy]

Hello Hopeful...

Yes, I suppose I am saying that. Check the ingredients. Freeze dried will have a long list of stuff. Then, check the frozen food. Probably the brine shrimp or whatever the crustacean is and water.

B

I have numerous containers of freeze dried food. My preferred brands are AZOO and Omega One. The list of ingredients is not long.

It's two ingredients, the food item (brine shrimp, bloodworms, tubifex and mysis) and a Vitamin E supplement which is what the Omega One company chooses to add to many foods as fish benefit by it.

Do people actually know how freeze drying is done? Maybe some research would be appropriate before grand claims of unhealthyness or numerous bad ingredients are made.

Please show me the long lists of "bad" ingredients in these common aquarist freeze dried foods: Click the more info link on the screen for ingredients.

Aquarium Fish Food: San Francisco Bay Brand Freeze-Dried Food

Carnivore Fish Foods: Hikari Bio-Pure Freeze-Dried Foods


Claims are cool and all when people want to make them out of the blue. I'm just asking for REAL proof of how freeze dried foods are bad for fish or are lacking in nutrition. So far, no claims made by you or the other poster have been backed up with facts.

BTW, the list of ingredients gets much longer on the frozen foods I looked up. Exactly opposite of your claim.

Aquarium Fish Frozen Foods: San Francisco Bay Brand Freshwater Multi-Pack

Aquarium Frozen Fish Foods: Hikari Frozen Daphnia

 

[shellieca]

Do you have any actual research to back up your claims about freeze dried foods completely lacking in nutrients?

I've been keeping fish for decades and have not come across that information aside from some magazine ads touting their expensive frozen foods. And I like frozen foods, have used them from time to time.

From what I know of, freeze dried is just dehydrated. Just lacking the water, that is all. Same as astronaut food and some MREs. Remove the water, it lasts longer and is cheaper to store and transport.

I'd be happy to read some reliable non-biased sources if you have them. I'm always interested in learning about new things.

My sincere apology to have offended you or given misinformation. As I stated it was my opinion & whether to feed or not to feed was up to the individual. And no I have not done all of the research as you have done, my mistake for saying anything without offering the backup.

 

[BBradbury]

Fish Food

Hello again...

Not saying the dry foods are unhealthy. I feed a little flake food and some wafers and pellets. It's in our best interest if we want to take good care of our fish, to take time to check ingredients. The natural foods will have few ingredients and be better for our fish.

I feed mostly frozen, because you typically have two things in it and costs are really minimal if you feed just a little a couple of times a week. Fish in general don't need much. Anyway, the contents in the frozen food is brine, mysis shrimp or whatever the frozen animal is in the package and water. The others are processed and when food goes through a process, ingredients can be added, so the product will last a long time sitting on a shelf.

Just reminding everyone to be careful when selecting food for your fish.

B

 

[hpiguy]

I feed mostly frozen, because you typically have two things in it and costs are really minimal if you feed just a little a couple of times a week. Fish in general don't need much. Anyway, the contents in the frozen food is brine, mysis shrimp or whatever the frozen animal is in the package and water. The others are processed and when food goes through a process, ingredients can be added, so the product will last a long time sitting on a shelf.

Just reminding everyone to be careful when selecting food for your fish.

B

Again, your statement isn't being based in the real facts when ingredients are checked.

Ingredients of San Francisco Bay Brand Frozen Bloodworms taken from their own website:
Bloodworms, Brine Shrimp, Water, Cyclops, Daphnia, Watercress, Sodium Alginate, Spirulina Algae, Astaxanthin, Yucca, Vitamin Premix: (Wheat Flour, Vitamin A Acetate, Cholecalciferol (source of Vitamin D3), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Riboflavin, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Folic Acid, Menadione Sodium Bisulfate Complex, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Biotin, Inositol, L-Ascorbyl-2-Polyphosphate, Betaine, D-Alpha Mixed Tocopherols (source of Vitamin E)), Garlic and Paprika.

Ingredients of their freeze dried bloodworms taken from the site as well:

Freeze-Dried Bloodworms
Ingredients 100% Freeze-Dried Bloodworms





When compared by ingredients and facts, which food is more "natural"?

 

[hpiguy]

My sincere apology to have offended you or given misinformation. As I stated it was my opinion & whether to feed or not to feed was up to the individual. And no I have not done all of the research as you have done, my mistake for saying anything without offering the backup.

Thank you. My intent wasn't to be confrontational and I hope that I did not offend you. I just wanted to point out the facts of these foods and what is in them when a new aquarist was being told they are unsafe or unhealthy.

I didn't know the exact levels myself so I started looking and reported everything I found which seems to say freeze dried is much less processed with chemical additives than frozen foods are.

I use flakes, pellets, frozen foods and freeze dried and the occasional live foods as well and my fish seem to thrive at the variety in diet.

 

[librarygirl]

I give freeze dried on occasion, maybe once every week or two if I don't give frozen. I usually thaw out the freeze-dried foods in a cup of tank water for 5-10 minutes before I feed them to the fish though. Freeze-dried foods expand when in water and sometimes can cause digestion issues in the fish as they expand in their digestive tracts, so it's good to soak them first to be safe. Just my opinion though.

 

[ram_g0p]

Very good discussion and info indeed. I'll share 2 cents: freeze dried foods, as hpiguy would say, are just dehydrated foods - only water is removed by freezing the foodstuff to very cold temps (eg -40 C which happens to be -40 F as well!) and slowly remove the water under vacuum. So all the other ingredients are maintained as such.. When put it water these freeze dried foods will rehydrate. If bloating is concern (may be legit) one can crush these foods as you drop them into the tank - may minimize bloating.......
I feed flakes, dried shrimp pellets and freeze dried blood worms. Only frozen food I give my fish is green peas about once a week. My fish are doing well... I have not dried other frozen foods or live food - will spare the details....
Hope this helps...