Homemade fish food?
- Thread starter Sunny
- Start date
Originally posted by Sunny
Thanks, guys! Great information!
In your experience, did freshly prepared food cloud or mess up your tank?
I have and still use the 'European Shrimp Mix' for the last 6 months and have not had any problems with cloudiness. Just be careful with these high protein foods though, some fish can't tolerate it and can have digestion problems.
Quite an art
It is quite and art to make a fish food that does not cloud the water, IMO. Proteins are often bloody and small bits that have been pureed tend to get messy in water.
Some folks make gelatine based cubes. You have to know something about the protein/vegetable/vitamin content your fish needs. Or just suppliment as a treat and hope you don't skew the nutrients too badly.
I think that for big fish that can swallow food in a gulp, it is easier. Small-mouthed fish are much more difficult.
My young discus cannot manage beefheart+shrimp even after it is grated once. I grate it again when frozen to make small enough bits for them to suck down. In a barebottom tank, they eventually pick up all the bits, but some gets into the filter and in a few days the kitchen where the tank is smells like beef fat.
I surely would not bother for any fish smaller than the palm of my hand, which is how big the babies are now. They are growing at about 1/2 inch per month due to the heavy feeding and by Christmas I'll be able to cut down the food some.
Were I using just frozen cubes of stuff from the store I'd be going though a $4 package every other day, just for the 2x/day protein meal. They get pellets the other 2x/day.
I am considering culturing red worms, that might be worth the effort. they will be too big for most of my fish, but the discus and cichlids will enjoy them. I'm not sure I have enough fish to make it worthwhile though.
It is quite and art to make a fish food that does not cloud the water, IMO. Proteins are often bloody and small bits that have been pureed tend to get messy in water.
Some folks make gelatine based cubes. You have to know something about the protein/vegetable/vitamin content your fish needs. Or just suppliment as a treat and hope you don't skew the nutrients too badly.
I think that for big fish that can swallow food in a gulp, it is easier. Small-mouthed fish are much more difficult.
My young discus cannot manage beefheart+shrimp even after it is grated once. I grate it again when frozen to make small enough bits for them to suck down. In a barebottom tank, they eventually pick up all the bits, but some gets into the filter and in a few days the kitchen where the tank is smells like beef fat.
I surely would not bother for any fish smaller than the palm of my hand, which is how big the babies are now. They are growing at about 1/2 inch per month due to the heavy feeding and by Christmas I'll be able to cut down the food some.
Were I using just frozen cubes of stuff from the store I'd be going though a $4 package every other day, just for the 2x/day protein meal. They get pellets the other 2x/day.
I am considering culturing red worms, that might be worth the effort. they will be too big for most of my fish, but the discus and cichlids will enjoy them. I'm not sure I have enough fish to make it worthwhile though.
Cultivating live food is another interesting idea. Are there any sites that give you details about this? Our pet stores don't sell it, and I haven't yet been able to locate a fish club in the area. Where do you get the right culture to grow some of these live foods?
