homemade frozen food

[morganatlanta]

Who makes their own, and what do you put in it?

 

[mapleredta]

I know Tim makes his own. I never got the chance to use it, but I've always wanted to make my own food.

 

[texhorns98]

I made my own last weekend using this:

http://www.melevsreef.com/food.html">http://www.melevsreef.com/food.html</a>

My total cost was around $60 and that's enough to make 10 bags the size of Rod's Food (largest bag). That doesn't even count the fact that the pellets and spirulina will last me through another 10-12 batches. It took me 25 minutes from start to finish.

 

[mapleredta]

Tex, how are your fish & corals liking it?

 

[texhorns98]

So far so good. They go after it just as much as they did with the Rods. I've only been using it for a week, so no report on long term results.

 

[bruce 1]

I make my own and my fish love it. I even make mine into little cubes.

 

[acroholic]

bruce 1;645807 wrote: I make my own and my fish love it. I even make mine into little cubes.

Lots sof folks use eggcrate pieces, push the food mix into these, then freeze. instant cubes.

 

[morganatlanta]

Recipes (besides melevs)?

 

[enderg60]

Im actually gathering stuff for my next batch now.

I usually use some regular frozen foods like Mysis shrimp, enriched brine, blood worms, cyclopeeze and such, along with smaller items like coral foods, baby brine, rotifers and such.

Then hit up the asian market for whatever is cheap like, whiting fillets, scallops, shrimp, squid, fish eggs(used in sushi)

I take it all and thaw it out, blend it up and mix it all together. Throw in some pellet foods, and ground nori and refreeze it in 1gal bags filled to be about 1/4" thick.

There is no real science to it, just whatever I can find when Im making the stuff. Just be sure to blend the fresh foods to a good size and leave shell and skin on. I usually blend it all to be small enough for all the fish to eat, then remove 3/4 of it and blend the rest to a paste.

I dont use any fillers or add any water to it so smaller bits of food actually have more food in them.

Been doing this for years and never had any problems at all except for much fatter fish and happy corals.

EDIT : oh and adding stuff like garlic extract and vitamins is doable as well, but I usually dont bother.

Edit:

Acroholic;645835 wrote: Lots sof folks use eggcrate pieces, push the food mix into these, then freeze. instant cubes.

I tried this and its a serious PITA to get the cubes out of the egg crate without letting it melt a bit and then its a huge PITA to clean up and alot of food gets wasted.

Freezer bag and a hammer work just fine

 

[acroholic]

EnderG60;645843 wrote:
I tried this and its a serious PITA to get the cubes out of the egg crate without letting it melt a bit and then its a huge PITA to clean up and alot of food gets wasted.

Freezer bag and a hammer work just fine

I see how that could happen. I haven't used them. Folks also use small size ice cube trays to make the cubes. That would probably be easier to get out than using eggcrate. I grind up 3-4 lbs. beef heart a a time for my FW Discus fish and use a vacuum sealer system.

 

[dr_ fish]

I have heard of people buying the "seafood mix" from grocery stores then blending it up and freezing it. It has all kinds of met in it.

 

[db366]

My dog was on the raw diet for over a year I used to make it all myself from stuff at the international market in duluth. If my wife heard/saw that I was even reading this thread my fish tank would be gone.

 

[bruce 1]

Acroholic;645835 wrote: Lots sof folks use eggcrate pieces, push the food mix into these, then freeze. instant cubes.

That is what I use works great! Take it out of freezer let it thaw for about 5 minutes and all the little cubes slide right out. I stack them 5 deep on a cookie sheet (when I freeze them) with aluminum foil in between them so it is not just one big chunk.

I get the mixed frozen seafood, It is like $4.00/lb at a local Asian market. I put Norri sheets in with it, (several) I put garlic guard and some vitamins in the mix also. My fish go crazy over it.

 

[holabird]

My concern is that I would blend it too much and only have mush left. It would be more like a juice and not chunks that the fish can eat. Doesnt a lot of it just liquify and thus it cant be eaten?

 

[crewdawg1981]

You can make it as mushy or as chunky as you like... just keep pressing the mix button until its the consistency you want.

It really is pretty easy to do. My dad did a presentation on making the stuff for NFMAS a few years back and I watched. Besides, the mush is good for feeding your corals.

 

[mapleredta]

I think I am going to make up some this weekend.

 

[morganatlanta]

How important do you think the various aquarium-specific expensive bits (misys, blood worms, cyclopeeze, etc) are versus the cheap stuff ($4/lb mixed seafood and sushi nori). If you don't have a fish that really needs the expensive stuff, does it matter if it is left out, or is the seafood mix somehow "incomplete"?

 

[mapleredta]

Ingredient list for Rods food: Ingredients include:
Shrimp, Scallop, Oyster, Clam, Squid, Octopus, Perch, Green Nori (porphyra sp), Red unroasted nori (porphyra sp) Mysis, Krill, Pacific plankton (Euphausia sp.) Brine shrimp, Frozen red cyclops, Fish eggs, Oyster eggs, Golden pearls (all sizes), Broccoli, carrot, Garlic, Selco, Astaxanthin (Haematococcus pluvialis), Beta-meal (Dunalliella Salina), Freshly harvested rotifers, freshly hatched baby brine shrimp.