Marine fish food thread

[mr_X]

I make my own food, as I've mentioned in various threads, and just made a small batch last night, so I thought I would document it to show folks how easy it is.
Feel free to add your own recipes and ideas.

I usually stick to the same recipe, but sometimes I will slightly change it depending on what's available at the store when I get there. I also tend to stay away from the real fatty fish. I think this just dirties up the tank.

So, first, I am fortunate enough to have this food processor to be able to mix this up. Some of you will have to beg the wife, as most women who aren't in the hobby and see me doing this are quite repulsed for some reason. This particular food processor was donated to "the cause" by my ex after she saw me using it for this purpose....lol.

So, the recipe this time was shrimp, smelts, Squid, Ocean perch, whitefish, and cyclo-peeze. I did not use any vitamin supplements as I find these assorted fresh mixtures to be plenty nutritious for fish and corals without it.
Just a small amount of each. As you can see by the prices on the containers, the most expensive thing was the cyclo-peeze.

Make sure everything is thawed, and shelled, and toss it all in the processor-

Grind it up nicely- now this is a bit tricky, because I want my mix to be small enough to fit through my feeding syringe, but not so small that it just dissolves in the tank water, so you might have to do this a few times to get it right.
This mix here seems perfect-

Now I take it out with a rubber spatula and put it in gallon ziplocks, and roll it out with a rolling pin (another thing you might have to beg the wife to use )

And just freeze them.
You can make a fresh mixture for about a tenth of what the LFS sells you that smelly garbage they call premium food for, and you can be sure what's in it, and how old it is.
If I didn't offer nori on a clip on a regular basis, I would have probably added it.

I have cured multiple tangs from the disease "HLLE" which is brought on by poor nutrition, with this food, so I am sure it's quite nutritious.
Happy Reefing!
.

 

[mr_X]

Oh...this is the syringe I use. Just google "feeding syringe" and you can find many websites that sell them. Very cool for feeding corals.

 

[Darylb]

how long would a single bag last you? also i know this off topic but coukd u post a FTS i havent seen it and i cant find the thread with it in it

 

[Oscarr19]

I too am curious on how long one bag lasts. I think I'm going to try this out when my mysis runs out or I'll just include it in the mixture.

 

[mr_X]

It depends on the person. I like feeding my anemones and LPS corals, and I feed my fish heavily, so one bag lasts me about 3 months I guess. FTS?....hmm...check this thread-
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f71/dougs-250-now-300-in-wall-build-168709.html

 

[Darylb]

aw okay i only have 5 blue/green chromis a occ clown and a yellow belly damsel in my tank so feeding would be light

 

[mr_X]

One of those bags I made would probably last you a year...lol.

 

[Darylb]

yea haha i want to start feeding my corals i have duncans a hairy mushroom and zoas would they benifit much from feeding

 

[mr_X]

The duncan would. The hairy mushroom would probably take some too, but not the zoas.

 

[huma-huma]

i guess it helps if i pay attention to the new threads lol. so glad you made this!! my only question is do you think i can toss my remaining "premium" lfs bought frozen into this mix? i have emerald entree, pe mysis, formula 1, and brine.

 

[mr_X]

Sure. The only thing is it would not be as clean as a fresh mix, but you are adding that stuff to the tank anyway, so it makes sense to not waste it.

 

[huma-huma]

yeah i wasnt honestly trying to toss out like $50 worth of frozen food. now heres to hoping the misses doesnt notice the food processor missing....

 

[tonedogz]

Hey Doug do you cook it and then grind it or is it all raw then frozen.

 

[huma-huma]

i applied the food processor idea to my frozen food last night. let it sit out for 30-45 min. then plced in processor, ground it up real good, then aded the selcon to it. i also tossed in 2-3 silversides i will be the first to admit that 1 it looks like spoiled baby food, and 2) it stinks something fierce.

 

[mr_X]

It would not stink at all if you didn't use that LFS junk. Nothing but fresh, and you won't smell anything.
The food is raw tonedogz

 

[tonedogz]

ok Doug, thanks. going to give it a try

 

[huma-huma]

2 questions i have is
1) when you thaw the food out and add to the tank, does it disperse into tiny particles or usually stay together in a decently size edible pieces?
2) would adding lettuce to this mix help at all or just stick directly to the mix you use?

 

[tonedogz]

Hey Huma I tried it but if you keep it in the processor to long which I did it comes out like baby food and gets all over the place as tiny particals I think you need to pulse it and check it out every now and then so it stays a little bit chunky.

 

[huma-huma]

Hey Huma I tried it but if you keep it in the processor to long which I did it comes out like baby food and gets all over the place as tiny particals I think you need to pulse it and check it out every now and then so it stays a little bit chunky.

makes perfect sense. thank you. guess i ruined the remaingin frozen food i had.....whoops. ill use it until i can get the fresh food concoction up and running

 

[mr_X]

Exactly. This is why I said "Grind it up nicely- now this is a bit tricky, because I want my mix to be small enough to fit through my feeding syringe, but not so small that it just dissolves in the tank water, so you might have to do this a few times to get it right." On the initial instructions on the first page

I wouldn't add lettuce to mine. Too much water IMO. Nori would be better if anything.
...and no-you don't have to stick to my recipe exactly. I don't add the exact ingredients each time. It all depends on what's at the supermarket.