algae gel food mix reviews & discussion

cellodaisy

cellodaisy

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Jan 11, 2009
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Cincinnati OH 45219
meganstrickland.com
James0816 said:
....approximately how long would it stay in the that form before dissolving in the water column?
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Like I said, it has always been eaten before dissolving in my tanks. I recently put a rather large quantity (medium jar lid full) in my endler/oto tank. It took them about 4 days to eat it all and it did not visibly dissolve or cause any problems with water clarity in that time. It does lead to some detritus on the bottom of the tank, but it looks like fish poop to me, so I think that's just because they eat so much of it!

The closest it has come to "dissolving" is when I put a rather large piece of algae-painted slate in with the otos when they were in QT. The sheet of gel peeled off the slate (which I have already mentioned) and the way the otos graze on the stuff, it just gets thinner and thinner. Eventually (2-3 days I think), the stuff was paper thin and tended to break up when it got disturbed. Still wouldn't exactly call that "dissolving," I just learned not to put in large portions when feeding it as a thin coating on slate.

pongo said:
my ac's absolutely love the stuff!!!!! it's a great big fish pile as they all try to get in and get some. It holds up well in the tank and is certainly a less expensive route than the premade ( and who knows how old?) algae wafers. I have found that it doesn't seem to break up and enter the water column at least visibly, The kiddo's guppies and snailies also love the stuff.

recommend it very much!!!!
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You are awesome. I should make you my Director of Marketing. :)
 
Here's an idea. Since many fish foods already contain Spirulina, what about trying a different kind of algae, such as Chlorella - just for variety's sake?

I checked on the cost of the powder at bulkfoods.com and it looks like it's about $31 vs. $23 for the Spirulina, plus you also get a bit less, so it's considerably costlier. I'm not sure how different these algaes are from each other, but I know some people feed their invert tanks Chlorella tablets. Just a thought!

Also, any thoughts on making a food for carnivores too? You can find bulk ingredients like krill powder and Astaxanthin at places like: http://www.jehmco.com/html/powders__spirulina___plankton.html

Who knows, if your algae gel mix takes off (and it seems like it might!) you may decide to start making all sorts of formulations :)

And who knows, you may decide to eventually get a food dehydrator and start making your own bulk ingredients? ;)
 
platytudes said:
Here's an idea. Since many fish foods already contain Spirulina, what about trying a different kind of algae, such as Chlorella - just for variety's sake?

I checked on the cost of the powder at bulkfoods.com and it looks like it's about $31 vs. $23 for the Spirulina, plus you also get a bit less, so it's considerably costlier. I'm not sure how different these algaes are from each other, but I know some people feed their invert tanks Chlorella tablets. Just a thought!
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I did think about chlorella, but because of the expense I decided against it for now. I couldn't see anything in the nutrition information to suggest that it was worth the extra cost. If there were demand for it, though, I'd certainly be willing to make a mix with chlorella.


platytudes said:
Also, any thoughts on making a food for carnivores too? You can find bulk ingredients like krill powder and Astaxanthin at places like: http://www.jehmco.com/html/powders__spirulina___plankton.html
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Yep, I've been looking into different sources and suppliers of animal protein to make it more appealing to omnis and if there is enough interest I'll probably offer an omnivore formulation in the future. In the mean time, folks can add meaty foods to it when they mix it up.

platytudes said:
Who knows, if your algae gel mix takes off (and it seems like it might!) you may decide to start making all sorts of formulations :)
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Indeed! If this first round of testing goes well and I have a decent number of orders for the mixes I already have, I'll probably post some polls to find out what other ingredients people are interested in.

I am having so much fun with this. It's really great to feel like I might have stumbled onto something that is helpful for my fellow hobbyists. And ever since I was a little kid, I have loved stuff like this---my mom used to keep a collection of cheap soaps, body washes, and shampoos on the side of the tub so I could make "potions" when I took baths. :p:
 
cellodaisy said:
And ever since I was a little kid, I have loved stuff like this---my mom used to keep a collection of cheap soaps, body washes, and shampoos on the side of the tub so I could make "potions" when I took baths. :p:
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Heh, I know what you mean! After I ruined my mother's dutch oven trying to make candles out of crayons (with wicks made out of pieces of rope) my mother decided to give me some dedicated materials to play with ;) I'm sure she would have been much happier if I would have made my concoctions at bath time!

What I love about your mix, and what makes it unique, is that it's in powdered form (convenient) and it's made out of simple, pure ingredients (safe). Recipes that called for liver, banana, etc. were certainly...interesting...to make, but I found myself making a lot more food when the ingredients were shelf stable.

Just for kicks, you should read this article:
http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=32
It just goes to show...don't mix in too many things at once!
 
platytudes said:
What I love about your mix, and what makes it unique, is that it's in powdered form (convenient) and it's made out of simple, pure ingredients (safe). Recipes that called for liver, banana, etc. were certainly...interesting...to make, but I found myself making a lot more food when the ingredients were shelf stable.
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Wow. Pongo is my Director of Marketing, but you must be my Assistant Director of Marketing---and you haven't even tried it yet! :)

Variety is good for pretty much all critters. My idea with this is that it works on its own, but is easy to mix with other things at the time of preparation. So you can just mush up a small amount of whatever veggies or proteins you have on hand at the time and throw it in. No fuss, no muss.

platytudes said:
Just for kicks, you should read this article:
http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=32
It just goes to show...don't mix in too many things at once!
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Oh my goodness, that was disgusting! :yuck: I've blended up some veggies and canned salmon for my turtle, but I don't think I could EVER put a living creature in the blender. Not even worms.

I think that guy's problem was the lack of a binding agent. Unless I missed something, he didn't add anything to make it hold together. He essentially made meat slurry. He froze it, yes, but unless the fish are actually going to eat it all frozen (which seems like it wouldn't be pleasant, but I'm not a fish), it's going to melt and make a huge mess. Even gelatin would help, though I use agar because it stays gelled at room (and tank) temperature.
 
Oh, I would love to take the job once I actually buy your food ;) And I will be buying lots of it soon, of this I am certain!

Gelatin does work well, although if you feed homemade food very often (like once a day) I can imagine it will bind up the fish. I doubt agar would have that problem since it is basically a kind of algae.
 
Interesting recipe. I am big into DIY foods because I feel it truly helps me control what is going into my fish food. Now was the choice of agar just because it stays gelled at room temp better, or were there any other reasons? I know we use it at school for growing colonies so i was shocked to hear about using as a gelatin substitute. Did you figure out the concentrations of powders by trial and error? Do you have a base amount of agar to amount of powders? I ask because I wish to use Astaxanthinin this recipe as a way to increase the color of my red cherry shrimp ^_^. Any info you could tell me well be greatley appreciated!
 
xVitox said:
Interesting recipe. I am big into DIY foods because I feel it truly helps me control what is going into my fish food. Now was the choice of agar just because it stays gelled at room temp better, or were there any other reasons?
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It was mostly because of the gel temperature, but also because it is plant-derived and it seemed to me that it would be more digestible for herbivorous fish, like otos (but that's just sort of a gut feeling, not based on any scientific evidence).

xVitox said:
I know we use it at school for growing colonies so i was shocked to hear about using as a gelatin substitute.
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Yep, most of us think "petri dish" when we hear "agar" (which is why it has to be refrigerated and used quickly once it has been prepared into gel!) but it has been used for people food for a long time.

xVitox said:
Did you figure out the concentrations of powders by trial and error?
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Nope, I just followed the directions on the container. :p: It's pretty tolerant though. Less agar makes a softer gel, more agar makes a stiffer gel. There isn't a "magic" amount.

xVitox said:
Do you have a base amount of agar to amount of powders?
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Yes, both mixes are 1 part agar to 12 parts other stuff (by volume).

xVitox said:
I ask because I wish to use Astaxanthinin this recipe as a way to increase the color of my red cherry shrimp ^_^.
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The mix makes a pretty firm gel at 1 part mix to 4 parts water. You should be able to add quite a bit of other ingredients without a problem---that was one of the main reasons for making the mix in the first place. You'll just have to use trial and error to figure out the right amounts, but if you make a batch that doesn't work, you can melt it and add more stuff and let it reset until you are happy with it. If you find you need a mix with more agar to accommodate the volume of other ingredients you want, let me know and we'll work something out.

xVitox said:
Any info you could tell me well be greatley appreciated!
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Hope that helps! :)
 
I tried the gel tonight and the fish really seem to like it. Cories, Platys and Otos all seem to eat it with gusto. The poor oto doesn't get a lot as the platys are pigs. I didn't have any slate or jar lids handy so I boiled it and poured it onto wax paper laid on a paper plate. Once it cooled I cut it into about 1/2 inch squares and stuck in a jar in the fridge. The food sinks quite well. Looks a lot more appetising than a dry algae wafer.
 
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