algae gel food mix reviews & discussion

[James0816]

To provide a quick update, here's a couple observations from last night to this morning.

I placed one covered tile in the tank with my O. Cocama first. About 45 minutes later, I went to add a "button" to the same tank in a different location. What I found was that the "painted" on gel came off of the tile. Just slid right off of it. But..kept it's form. So now there's a thin slice of gel leaning up against the driftwood.

This morning when I go to check on things, oddly enough, it doesn't appear that they have even touched it yet. Still working on the zucchini's and veggie flakes. Very interesting. Even more surprising was that the pond snails in there weren't even on it. Hmmmmmm. Will of course check again this afternoon.

Also will place the other tile in the big Oto tank and will lay it down flat.

Could be that it was double cooked and may be having an impact.

But, I'm willing to try it all over again with a fresh batch if this one doesn't pan out.

 

[tyler79durdan]

Whew! Way too complicated for me to handle. : Do let us know how it goes! Will it be difficult to boil such small quantities on the stove? Do you have a tiny sauce pan or something?

Ok, very easy...

1. took 1 TBSP water and added to mix in bowl. This made a paste.

2. Added paste to 3 TBSP boiling water...

3. carefully simmered the concoction for a minute or two...

4. poured into a 8x8 pan with wax paper in it.

5. set in freezer for 10 minutes...

Last night I broke off a small 1x1 piece and put it in my W/D where a great concentration of my snails live.

Melanoides tuberculata

and

Planorbis sp.

after only minutes, a few snails had found thier way to the small section of Megan's Algae Mix #2. The piece remains in the W/D this morning with a few diners still enjoying themselves.

The piece is still in tact and is not showing signs of dissolving or dissolution.

I will update further with more information.

-Aaron

 

[cellodaisy]

One question that my newbie brain is trying to understand: You chose calcium citrate for your recipe; does it have benefits over calcium carbonate or the reptile calcium supplements?

Mostly, I chose calcium citrate because it was available from bulkfoods.com, where I got everything else. Calcium citrate is considered by some to be more digestible than calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate requires acid to break down and calcium citrate does not. In the presence of acid, however, the absorption of the two is pretty much identical.

The advantage over a packaged reptile supplement is that it's cheaper. It is also lacking any additional vitamin D, which can be seen as a negative or a positive. Vitamin D helps with calcium absorption, but in the presence of extra vitamin D it is possible to overdose on calcium. It's much harder to do that without the extra vitamin D, because the excess calcium just gets flushed out of the system.

(DISCLAIMER: I'm not a scientist, just a nerdy hobbyist. I've done quite a bit of research to assure myself that this is safe and beneficial for my own animals, but I can't make any promises as to the safety of these mixes for anyone else.)

What I found was that the "painted" on gel came off of the tile. Just slid right off of it. But..kept it's form. So now there's a thin slice of gel leaning up against the driftwood.

Yep, that's what I meant about the stuff "peeling" off the slate. It usually takes a day for me, but I'm guessing your tile is a lot smoother than slate.

This morning when I go to check on things, oddly enough, it doesn't appear that they have even touched it yet. Still working on the zucchini's and veggie flakes. Very interesting.

It took my otos about 24 hours to warm up to it the first time, and if I give it to them in a new form (in a lid instead of on a slate), it can take a bit for them to figure it out. If I give it to them in a form they recognize, they're usually on it within minutes.

Even more surprising was that the pond snails in there weren't even on it. Hmmmmmm. Will of course check again this afternoon.

That is very strange. The pond snails are usually the first on the scene in my tanks. I don't know how they move so fast---they're supersonic teleporting snails, I guess. The fact that your snails haven't gone for it yet does make me think that something is off.

But, I'm willing to try it all over again with a fresh batch if this one doesn't pan out.

Thanks for giving this a try! I really appreciate everyone's willingness to experiment.

after only minutes, a few snails had found thier way to the small section of Megan's Algae Mix #2. The piece remains in the W/D this morning with a few diners still enjoying themselves.

The piece is still in tact and is not showing signs of dissolving or dissolution.

I will update further with more information.

-Aaron

Thanks for the great update and pics!

 

[tomany]

My review, I used a mason jar with a handle. My microwave has a smoked colored door which makes it hard to see what is going on inside. So,I didn't let the first batch boil long enough. It never really got that rubbery feel, so I was afraid to put it in the tanks. The next batch, I let it boil up close to the top of the jar a couple of times. Took it out of the mic and you could tell it was thick. I poured it on 2 pieces of rough flat rock. It set up perfect. I put one in a tank with oto, red sherry shimp and snails. The RCS were drawn to it, like it was a magnet. In about 15 minutes everything was on it. The next morning I took the rock out and wiped off a ton of unwanted snails. What great snail remover it is. The second rock I put in a tank with endlers, plecos( longfin albino) and more snails. The endlers went after it with gusto, the plecos were a little slower, but I think that is because they don't like the endlers. The snails were right in there to. The next morning I didn't get any of the snails out of that tank, the rock was wiped clean of the mix. I love this stuff, will be ordering more

 

[James0816]

Well....it did take a while but I found them on the feed when I got home. Two were on the slice and one on the button.

Here's a nice litte diddy:

 

[cellodaisy]

My review, I used a mason jar with a handle.

What a fantastic idea! I'm totally stealing that. P

I love this stuff, will be ordering more

Great!

Well....it did take a while but I found them on the feed when I got home. Two were on the slice and one on the button.

Oh good! I'm glad they took to it. Is that one of your Cocamas? It's beautiful!

 

[bayst]

Thanks for the great info on the calcium! Very interesting!

 

[deeleywoman]

so i made up a batch of it CORRECTLY last night... mixed up 1/2 a teaspoon on the powder, got a nice puck of food out of it... i boiled it real good in the microwave, then popped it into the freezer for a few minutes. it held together beautifully, and the snails are totally pigging out. ^_^ funny thing, though... the fish gobbled it the first time, when it broke up as it hit the water, but they don't seem to be paying the least bit of attention to this batch.

 

[cellodaisy]

the fish gobbled it the first time, when it broke up as it hit the water, but they don't seem to be paying the least bit of attention to this batch.

That is interesting. Do you suppose they just aren't used to that form---a solid piece on the bottom of the tank? At first, my endlers didn't pay much attention unless it was in a jar lid stuck to the glass near the top of the tank, and they still go after it more if I do that, but now they eat it wherever I put it.

 

[conbrio]

well I got a better batch the 2nd time around. Put it in and they ignored it. I still have a little left to try again. Will update again after the next feeding