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I made my own fishfood today. the fish and coral LOVE it!!

Jan

By Jan,
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Jan

Jan

(edited)

I went to the Asian market in Merrifield and purchased the following. OMG, was the seafood fresh. Amazing!med_gallery_2631914_787_182493.jpg

 

I added foods and vitamins I already had; vibrance, 2 cloves fresh garlic, Formula one pellets, formula II flakes, large sheets of green and red Nori (I soaked them in the juices from the seafood before I chopped them), phytofeast and freeze dried krill. You should see what I can do with left overs. :tongue:

 

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Nori sheets soaking in seafood juice.

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med_gallery_2631914_787_104195.jpg

 

It was the consistency of pudding. I tried some on my fish before I froze it and everything in my tank went nuts. I was thinking how I could make cubes and decided to try making a tray out or egg crate.

med_gallery_2631914_787_229800.jpg

 

 

So I took one of my cookie trays and covered it with aluminum foil. then I took a large piece of egg crate and cut it to fit in the tray. Looked good. then I poured and spread the mixture onto the tray and popped it in the freezer. I'll let you know if it worked. I had half a batch left over so I filled 1 qt freezer bags with the mixture, let the air out of the bags and flattend them.

 

I got 3 bags out the rest.

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If the cubes work out I'll give away some samples.

 

So far this is the way to go. I love to cook and this was fun!

Edited by Jan
Chad

Chad

That egg crate idea is great!

Jan

Jan

  • Author

Thanks, Chad. that's my "adapt and overcome" mentality, LOL. We'll see if it works.

 

That egg crate idea is great!

tightline

tightline

egg crate great idea ..i try to get dt's cheep at close to date and freez it and use old frozen containers they work good also

onux20

onux20

(edited)

That egg crate idea is great!

+1

Very cool. But are the items and quatities on the tray?

Edited by onux20
Jan

Jan

  • Author

Items for the seafood I purchased today are on the tray. I then listed additional items I had on hand that I threw into the mix. I did not list quantites.

 

+1

Very cool. But are the items and quatities on the tray?

RicSG

RicSG

Awesome egg crate idea. I am going to try one day. I am getting food made by forrealb50 this time but net time I will get it done myself. Will pick your brains then for ingredients.

Origami Neptune Reefer

Origami

Nice job, Jan! Am I the only one that noticed that the nori package said, "Dinner is Served!" I find that hilarious! :biggrin:

Jan

Jan

  • Author

The egg crate worked! Fish food in cube form.....

 

med_gallery_2631914_787_1013816.jpg

It took a little work. I had to work fast (melting) but they all came out very nice. I placed them into a gallon size feezer bag and spread them out. This food is really concentrated so I'll use only 1/2 a cube for my 75 gallon tank.

 

Jan

Jan

  • Author
(edited)

TY! LOL. No, you're the only one that noticed. It's a plate, not the nori package. The nori is soaking in the seafood juices. Waste not...

 

Nice job, Jan! Am I the only one that noticed that the nori package said, "Dinner is Served!" I find that hilarious! :biggrin:

Edited by Jan
Jan

Jan

  • Author
(edited)

I want to wait a week to make sure I don't kill everything before I share. I will definately let you know. Promise!:)

 

Wow! looks like a great recipe! Could I get some? Are you selling them?

Edited by Jan
onux20

onux20

Items for the seafood I purchased today are on the tray. I then listed additional items I had on hand that I threw into the mix. I did not list quantites.

I guess I was hoping you would share what you bought and how much in case someone wanted to follow your lead.

Jan

Jan

  • Author

I listed what I purchased and what I put in this batch.

 

I've been writing a cookbook for almost 3 years now because I'm like a mad scientist in the kitchen...it's my lab...a little of this, a shake of that, etc.. is how I work. The fun is in the experimenting. :) Guaranteed the next batch will be different, probably much better.....always is.

 

 

I guess I was hoping you would share what you bought and how much in case someone wanted to follow your lead.

Chad

Chad

^With a couple of threads since the article, I wonder if it inspired a few folks!

 

Glad to see that egg crate worked out, That is awesome!

hypertech

hypertech

How did the food processor fare? I've heard you should buy a cheap special fish food one or face the wrath of the chef for making it forever stink of fish.

Jan

Jan

  • Author

Smooth, Chad :cool: .

 

Yes, the article was a nudge. So was Melevs recipe. It was Forreals post that got me moving. I thought about what everything in my tank responds to the most. It's mysis, cyclopeeze, oysterfeast and phytofeast. They eat pellets too, but pellets don't do anything for the corals. Then I thought, "vitamins". I have vibrance and selcon. I purchased the fresh seafood, the majority of it being oysters. I have so much fish food and anted to use what I had laying around too. I added a lot of nori because it does not increase nitrates when it breaks down, asmuch as flakes and pellets do and it thickens nicely. The major ingredients are oysters, nori, squid and freeze dried krill (1 small can). I didn't add too many pellets and flakes. I wanted to keep it as natural as possible with no preservatives. I plan on using everything I have until I get the perfect recipe. So I'll be making more. My only concern is how I can work in the brick of frozen mysis and cyclopeeze that I have. I'd have to defrost them, rinse the mysis, mix it up and then refreeze it. The refreezing is what I'm not sure about. Usually raw foods need to be cooked after they've been frozen for it to be safe for consumption when refreezing. I wonder if food poisoning is a concern for fish? Maybe not since they eat rotten whatever they can find in the ocean....hmm?

 

 

^With a couple of threads since the article, I wonder if it inspired a few folks!

 

Glad to see that egg crate worked out, That is awesome!

Chad

Chad

A little shameless plug :tongue:

Jan

Jan

  • Author
(edited)

Just fine. I think because the seafood was so fresh. I've purchased seafood from the supermarket and hate it because it stinks. Fresh seafood isn't supposed to smell bad. I find that really fresh seafood smells a little sweet, salty (like the ocean) and fresh. When I mixed the seafood it didn't stink. When I added the pellets and flake food it started smelling not so fresh. Very fishy. I think the garlic and nori neutralized it a little. I put it in the dishwasher and it has no odor. I also didn't use any oily fish;macrel, silverside, etc. The next batch will have silverside in it, which may create some stink. I have to think about maybe purchasing a used food processor just for this. We'll see.

 

A little trick/hint from the chef here (me) is to chop garlic first. The oil coats the processor before chopping the seafood. I also use fresh lemons to get rid of fishy smells from counters, cookware, etc. Just chop fresh lemons, rind and all, in the processor. Rinse it first to get the fish out. Dump the lemons in the disposal (helps with smells there too). Don't rinse the lemon out of the processor. Let it sit a while and then place it in the dishwasher and run it whenever. This will help eliminate any odors.

 

How did the food processor fare? I've heard you should buy a cheap special fish food one or face the wrath of the chef for making it forever stink of fish.

Edited by Jan
Jan

Jan

  • Author

As I mentioned I had two types of supplements I could have used for this food. I chose "Vibrance" by Ocean Rider. I got this from Chad months ago. I always add it to my mysis when I feed. I think a supplement like this is a must have in home made foods. Read about it.

 

http://www.seahorse.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=7

 

"It contains high levels of natural color enhancing carotenoids that most marine organisms cannot synthesize and therefore must obtain through their diets. These natural carotenoids are essential for the maintenance of rich and vibrant colors. Vibrance also contains high levels of HUFAs (highly unsaturated fatty acids) including the DHA omega 6 and omega 3 series which are the extra long chain fatty acids that most marine organisms cannot synthesize and are absent in virtually all live and frozen feeds. DHA has been proven to be essential to high survivability, nerve development, stress management, and proper reproduction. This is a natural dry-based product, rather than oil-based, and therefore does not destroy oxygen levels and water quality like some bottled products. With proper use, you will be amazed at the coloration of your seahorses and other fish too.Vibrance 1 also inlcudes vitamin C and a multi-vitamin for marine fish.

 

This is a very unique product that is very high in fat made from very unique and expensive ingredients."

 

 

 

 

Chad

Chad

On that vibrance, the #1 reason that I use is because it contains beta glucan which helps boost the immune system (especially important for certain sensitive fish, like seahorses). I had a stock pile of it since they would always send me a package of it when I ordered seahorses over the years (and a package of it easily lasts 3+ years). There are other things out there and beta glucan can be purchased from local sources (like GNC). An advanced aquarist article on beta glucan: http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/9/aafeature

jyi2101

jyi2101

I want to wait a week to make sure I don't kill everything before I share. I will definately let you know. Promise!:)

 

 

 

thanks :) let me know how it's received by your livestock.

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