Rods-Food Review Two Thumbs Up

[leebca]

Scooter,

If you're interested in some historical trivia. . .Tropical (freshwater) fish foods were foods given to food fishes raised on aquaculture farms in the USA. In the early 1900's the food fishes were being fed remnants from meat packing houses. Then in the mid-1900's someone got an idea on how to make money.

In North America, the part of the cow we don't eat is the heart. From the meat packing houses, beef hearts were waste. It could be bought for about $0.05 per pound. The rest is marketing. It was a matter just to convince unknowing (and gullible) tropical fish owners that beef heart was the right food to feed their pets. A demand had to be created. The beef heart sold to tropical fish hobbyists for about $1.50 per pound, processed. This is the mid-1900's remember. Today you can buy flats of it for about $9./pound.

Everything went wrong when the meat packing houses figured out that their remnants were in demand. Not in demand from the tropical fish hobby, but up came Americans after WWII and their 2.2 children and a dog and cat. It all went to pet food manufacturers who paid a good price for the remnants. But what stuck was the demand for beef heart.

Still today, when beef heart is put into fish foods, manufacturers are riding on the old marketing that created the demand for it. It increases the protein content, but no one mentions that it contains proteins and fats that fish can't fully use.

 

[Jan]

Lee,

What are those couple of prepared/frozen foods that meet your standards? Are they widely available?


Curt,

How does a person maximize the export of phosphorus from the aquarium? Is it possible for people who don't have a refugium?

 

[leebca]

Jan,

You have to read a lot of labels. A couple of the frozen foods are a good blend. Then there are frozen foods of just a particular product. For instance, there are flats/cubes of Krill; flats/cubes of Plankton; flats/cubes chopped Clam; squid; etc.; etc. Check the ingredients of other marine fish foods and you'll find some with little or no land or freshwater products.

I think Scooter just came across one. Maybe he'll share his find.

All fish need phosphorous. Feeding it to fish is necessary. But if the phosphorus compound is going into the aquarium that isn't being consumed by the fish, it is a 'waste' and just feeds the bacteria and algae. When the food is so small that the fish can't see it or eat it, it just adds to the phosphorous waste. Another main source is the 'juice' of frozen foods. The cells have ruptured and the nutrients are in the liquid part of the food. These kinds of foods need to be rinsed, since the juice just adds to the phosphorous level without getting into the fish.

The primary export of phosphorous is done by:
chemical
absorbents
macro algae
micro algae (& microbes that utilize photosynthesis)
skimmer
water changes

Cheers!

 

[Jan]

thankyou, Lee

 

[spongebob lover]

just to let everyone know .....Barrier Reef is gonna be selling Rod's food ....just in case you haven't checked their forum .

 

[Curtswearing]

Still today, when beef heart is put into fish foods, manufacturers are riding on the old marketing that created the demand for it. It increases the protein content, but no one mentions that it contains proteins and fats that fish can't fully use.

There's a coral food on the market made with dessicated heart and other livestock tissue. I won't use it but some people like it. It's a Marc Weiss product.

Jan,

On the export.....what Lee said.

 

[jedimike]

This has finally made it to my LFS. Are those of you who started using this back in June still using it? I actually went down to the beach yesterday and grabbed a few clams, some very small hermits, very small snails, and an oyster to feed my red coris wrasse.

 

[krisfal]

I bought some of this in June. I still use it because I have it, but I am not very impressed. Like Lee mentioned this food has a lot of particles that are too small for fish. I believe this is intended to feed the corals but I cannot say that I have seen any change in the growth rate of my coral. I also have not observed any feeding reaction from the coral either. I feel I am adding a lot of unused food to my tank when I feed this, I am only using it 1 - 2 times a week at this point. Once I use up the package I have I will not be buying more.

 

[sihaya]

It's a Marc Weiss product.

These products were actually pulled off the shelves in Illinois. You should see the memo from the FDA to the Illinois department of agriculture on this stuff...

 

[Scooterman]

http://www.hikariusa.com/mega-marine.htm

Guaranteed Analysis:
Crude Protein 13.2% Min.
Crude Fat 1.9% Min.
Crude Fiber 8.0% Max.
Moisture 72.0% Max.

Ingredients: ocean plankton, krill, shrimp, sea urchin, sea worms, clam, mussel, squid, sea algae, spirulina, algae extract, cod liver oil, vitamins and minerals

They make several foods depending on what fish your feeding.

 

[Planet Reef]

This has finally made it to my LFS. Are those of you who started using this back in June still using it? I actually went down to the beach yesterday and grabbed a few clams, some very small hermits, very small snails, and an oyster to feed my red coris wrasse.

I'm in a different situation. Many of the fish shipments I get in were maricultured or were held in a wholesalers warehouse. However, for some fish that I bring in, they are wild caught and shipped to us. It's very important for a fish store to get all wild caught fish eating as soon as possible and Rod's Food works excellent in that regard.

I believe this is intended to feed the corals but I cannot say that I have seen any change in the growth rate of my coral. I also have not observed any feeding reaction from the coral either.

I have had opposite results. There have been some Euphyllia and bubble corals that were near death's door that recovered very nicely and I attribute some of that to my feeding regiment.

These products were actually pulled off the shelves in Illinois. You should see the memo from the FDA to the Illinois department of agriculture on this stuff...

Sara, if you still have a copy, please email it to me. That's hilarious. You might give your cowfish mad cow disease.

 

[krisfal]

I have had opposite results. There have been some Euphyllia and bubble corals that were near death's door that recovered very nicely and I attribute some of that to my feeding regiment.

It was your recomendation which inspired me to buy this product But it did not impress me enough to decide not to continue making my own food. With my blender mush (Actually food processor mush) I feel I can control the size of the food particles in a manner that results in a higher consumption of the food, resulting in less waste.

My fish seemed to like the Rods food fine and I can see how the presentation with different size particles is likely attractive to a wide variety of fish. In your situation where the livelyhood of your store and the satisfaction of the customer depends on getting the fish you recieve eating and remaining/becoming healthy this product would have its attributes. Lee recommends feeding whatever necessary to get the newly arrived fish eating and then work on training the fish to eat the food that provides the best nutrition. I would not hesitate to use this to get a newly aquired fish to eat. I just feel that if the food is used as a significant part of the feeding regimine, over time it will lead to water quality issues resulting in the need for a more aggresive maintenance regime for the tank to combat the unused nutrients I observed when using this food. Being just a year into this hobby algea is still my sworn enemy :badgrin: If nothing else RF has taught me excess nutrients/waste=fuel for algea growth.

 

[Planet Reef]

It was your recomendation which inspired me to buy this product But it did not impress me enough to decide not to continue making my own food. With my blender mush (Actually food processor mush) I feel I can control the size of the food particles in a manner that results in a higher consumption of the food, resulting in less waste.

Hey....more power to ya. I'm working such unGodly hours that having something pre-mixed for me is a HUGE blessing.

Lee recommends feeding whatever necessary to get the newly arrived fish eating and then work on training the fish to eat the food that provides the best nutrition.

If you saw all of the different foods that I feed in a week, you would be aghast. I'm constantly mixing things up. There's only a couple of consistent things....all tangs have an algae clip with Romaine or Nori in addition to what I feed them. All puffers, triggers, sharks, skates and rays get enriched frozen krill everyday in addition to what I choose to feed them that day.

I HIGHLY agree with Lee's recommendation.

I would not hesitate to use this to get a newly aquired fish to eat. I just feel that if the food is used as a significant part of the feeding regimine, over time it will lead to water quality issues resulting in the need for a more aggresive maintenance regime for the tank to combat the unused nutrients I observed when using this food. Being just a year into this hobby algea is still my sworn enemy :badgrin: If nothing else RF has taught me excess nutrients/waste=fuel for algea growth.

You haven't seen my skimmers. I do just like I do at home. When I eat, I throw my leftovers in the trash. If a nutrient goes unused in my system, I skim it out and throw it away.