Let's Talk About ~Foods~

[Woodstock]

I feed only a homemade mush.. changing the recipe every batch for variety. However, frozen cyclopeeze, nori, shrimp and vitamins are always in every batch. I use only fresh seafood from the local market and soak it in ro/di water before blending to help reduce the po4. I make small amounts at a time to ensure its freshness... only making 3 ziplock bags per production. The bags are frozen and small pieces are thawed in ro/di water just before feeding time which is 2-3 times per day. I know i overfeed but i make up for it with waterchanges. When i used to use flake food, I stored it in a dark, cool area (not the refrigerator) and i would write the date purchased on the bottom and throw it away after 3 months.

 

[reedman]

So what is the prefered method of thawing to ensure the least amount of bacteria growth and most nutrient retention? Until this thread I just took a small cup of RO water and thawed the food in there at room temp. I am gathering I should be putting this in the fridge the night before to allow it to thaw like my foods.

 

[Forestal]

i think our fish/inverts may benefit, although maybe subtley, by storing our food better.
I also tend to overfeed, but 10% weekly water changes and my seeded sand bed keep nutrients from building up.

this weekend i am gonna get some more fresh seafood, add phyto, cyclopeeze, blend it and freeze into a sheet.

 

[Woodstock]

So what is the prefered method of thawing to ensure the least amount of bacteria growth and most nutrient retention? Until this thread I just took a small cup of RO water and thawed the food in there at room temp. I am gathering I should be putting this in the fridge the night before to allow it to thaw like my foods.

I do not consider bacteria growth an issue when thawing small chunks. They thaw quickly within 5 min and are fed immediately.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Nikki,

My tap water is super clean. 35 - 50 ppm in dissolved solids. Measured by TDS so RO/DI is not cost effective in my case.

 

[NaH2O]

Thanks Craig. I will agree to disagree on this point....if my TDS showed 35-50 I would be replacing filters immediately. With a TDS that low you may have a longer filter life, if you ever wanted to go the RO/DI route. The stripped water (RO/DI) wants the phosphates, and that is how it would wash them away. Tap water would only make it wet - not take away the phosphates. Anyway, just some thoughts.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

I appreciate the thought, only so far so good and not worth the $200 plus the hassle of storing the necessary water. Just me.

 

[NaH2O]

Thought I would add this quote from a thread in Anthony's forum:

For the proper handling and feeding of frozen foods:

always thaw frozen food in COLD water (fresh or salt is fine) to preserve nutritional value. Just like people food. Never thaw in warm water or room temp... very bad for food quality and health (bacteria).

Then... strain the thawed meats/matter through a fine nylon net, strainer, cheesecloth... whatever <G>... to get rid of the pack juice. If you then wish to feed the matter as a slurry, simply add some clean new water (saltwater this time) to the mix and offer it to the system.

Advanced aquarists and some public aquariums (like Osaka, Japan) take this a step further and actually aerate their thawing foods in a bucket of cold water for several hours to strip away some proteins in the solution! The nutritive value of the meat/matter is hardly affected... and the nutrient rich moisture content is exported... rather than admitted to the tank... and it really helps to control nasty excess growths like diatoms on the viewing panes of glass.

 

[Craig Manoukian]

Thanks Nikki. I owe you a call!

 

[CarlaW]

I feed a blended mush off of a recipe I got from Kevin, formula one cubes, seaweed selects, freeze dried plankton, frozen shrimp and a little garlic mixed in to make it smell good.
As for the food storage ideas, thanx for the suggestions. I never thought about storing my freeze dried stuff in the freezer, but it is in there now!!!!!

 

[DonW]

My general rule of thumb is that if it affects my skimmer its either to much or should not get used. Just putting your hands in can effect your skimmer because of the oils (pollution). A pinch of flake makes my skimmer go nuts, on the other hand nori ground in a coffee grinder has no effect. Cycopeze is probably worse, makes the skimmer go nuts and drops orp 10mv quickly. If you rinse it real good in rodi it has no effect on either. I think using the skimmer to judge the pollution your adding is a great way to fine tune your feeding.

Don

 

[NaH2O]

Anyone feed macros from their fuge to fish in the tank?

I know some hobbyists do this, and I don't understand the concept, so if you do, please explain why. IMO, the macros are there to use the excess nutrients, so by feeding the macros back to the tank, you are simply putting what you removed back in. The fish will only utilize a small portion, and the rest gets put out in waste.....the cycle continues. For me, I would want to remove the macro instead of put it back...that way it serves as an export.

 

[DonW]

I made that mistake, now I'll be getting rid of a few rocks when I change over my tank. Once it takes root there no stopping it.

Don

 

[cronicreef]

I thought I would share that I look at the ingredients that are in the food that I'm feeding, there is copper sulfate in it! How could this be good for my reef? So I'm going to look for some new foods tomorrow. 1/4 of the foods I was feeding doesn't have copper in it. Can't really be a good thing!

So be careful what you put in your tank.

 

[Curtswearing]

I don't know that the quantities in the food are sufficient to cause problems or if there will be any problems at all. Nor do I know how Copper Sulphate affects inverts. In bonsai, I've used it to kill fungi, molds, moss, and weeds. I also know that copper in other forms is quite dangerous to inverts but I do NOT know if copper sulfate is dangerous.

I know what this particular form of copper does to land-based plant material and, therefore, it makes me nervous when it comes to animals that experience mutualism with a plant (Zooxanthellae). However, this may be one of those 2 + 2 = 5 situations.

Basically, I want to make it clear that I'm telling you my "hunch" based on my observations when it comes to land-based plants as opposed to highly researched "facts" regarding marine plants and inverts.

 

[NaH2O]

Does anyone use an automatic feeder when they are away? I've always thought the livestock could survive. I fear having someone else (non-reefer) feed the tank, as the fish may trick them into feeding more, with the begging .

Another question - has anyone tried the nori clip that is on a magnet instead of a suction cup? It looks awesome....using the cleaning magnet "technology" in a new way :idea: . I wondered how well they worked. If the clip is easily disloged or anything.

I lied...another question. Pumps - turn them off or keep them on when feeding??

 

[kevinpo]

Anyone feed macros from their fuge to fish in the tank?

Yes I do. It is better than feeding Dried types of seaweed is several ways. When feeding a dried type of any food many small particles are quickly lost into the system to be caught in areas of the tank/equipment that are unaccessible to the fish (I realize that microfauna may eat some of these particles). Uneaten macroalgae parts on the other hand, if uneaten are large enough and heavy enough to slowly float around (or be removed) and do not begin to decay and add nutrients into the water. Fresh vegetable matter is quite good for the digestive track for humans and fish alike (as compared to canned or freeze-dried). I do use Dried seaweed however as it is not practical to always feed macroalgae and some types (macroalgae) are not eaten very well by my fish.
Regarding adding the nutrients back into the water after the fish process the macroalgae. It shouldn't be anymore than if you fed the fish prepared foods.

On a side note, I never feed flake food for many of the same reasons.

My .02,
Kevin

 

[reedman]

Nikki,
I've used the automatic feeder while I was on vacation for 2 weeks. It works fine, but you have to use a flake food. IMHO, for a short period of time this is fine. Sure you are putting P into the system and the nutrient value is down, but it's just like people eating at McDonalds for dinner...once in a while isn't going to kill you. I just plan to do a couple of water changes when I get back from a trip.

I prefer this to trying to explain to someone that just because the fish keep coming to the surface looking hungry doesn't mean they need more food.

 

[Angelscrx]

Nikki,
I've used the automatic feeder while I was on vacation for 2 weeks. It works fine, but you have to use a flake food. IMHO, for a short period of time this is fine. Sure you are putting P into the system and the nutrient value is down, but it's just like people eating at McDonalds for dinner...once in a while isn't going to kill you. I just plan to do a couple of water changes when I get back from a trip.

I prefer this to trying to explain to someone that just because the fish keep coming to the surface looking hungry doesn't mean they need more food.

I went out of town for four days and used an automatic feeder it works ok. Just depends on the size of the flakes as to how much food is dropped in the tank. Also remember that not all fish are top feeders some are midwater feeders. If you don't have good water movement at the top of your tank most of the food can go down your overflow. If you have a large tank and lots of fish you may want to use two feeders. Good for temporary uses not for long term feeding.