Homemade fish food... Share your RECIPES!

[ScottR]

I prefer making my own fish (and coral) food. Still perfecting it. But I have tons of fresh seafood available at my fingertips. Wondering what your recipes are. I typically use clam as the base and have added nori. I’m thinking about using different shellfish mixed together: clams and mussels. Maybe some mantis shrimp. More of the meaty types.

What’s your recipe and your method?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I make my own food and it feeds corals and fish.

All fresh from our local Asian market.

Oysters
Little white clams (don’t know the name)
Scallops (small ones usually)
Raw shell on shrimp (I remove the shell)
Mussels
Tilapia (small portion of a filet)
Real crab meat.
Reef Roids
SeaChem Reef Complete
Nori and graciliria.

Green and Gold Phyto (added when I thaw the food.)

I blend all of it up (minus the phyto), place the mix in a zip lock, flatten it out, and then freeze. I de-thaw a chunk with a little tank water and the phyto and then feed away. Nothing misses a mouth lol.

Not sure if this is ideal, but I feel it hits all food types for the fish and the corals are doing well.

The fish also have a constant supply of nori or graciliria on clips.

 

[ScottR]

I make my own food and it feeds corals and fish.

All fresh from our local Asian market.

Oysters
Little white clams (don’t know the name)
Scallops (small ones usually)
Raw shell on shrimp (I remove the shell)
Mussels
Tilapia (small portion of a filet)
Real crab meat.
Reef Roids
SeaChem Reef Complete
Nori and graciliria.

Green and Gold Phyto (added when I thaw the food.)

I blend all of it up (minus the phyto), place the mix in a zip lock, flatten it out, and then freeze. I de-thaw a chunk with a little tank water and the phyto and then feed away. Nothing misses a mouth lol.

Not sure if this is ideal, but I feel it hits all food types for the fish and the corals are doing well.

The fish also have a constant supply of nori or graciliria on clips.

Nice method. Do you toss the shrimp shells? They contain chitin which is anti-parasitic. When my shrimps molt and crabs molt, I leave the molts in the tank. They also contain calcium and other minerals. Them seemingly disappear after a couple of days. And I’ve seen corals eat them even. I see them as a great addition. I’m not suggesting throwing all the shells in at once. But wondering if crushing them up a bit and sumping them will have a positive effect.

 

[csb123]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-diy-reef-food-with-prices-and-recipe.553355/#post-5693694

Here is mine...

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Nice method. Do you toss the shrimp shells? They contain chitin which is anti-parasitic. When my shrimps molt and crabs molt, I leave the molts in the tank. They also contain calcium and other minerals. Them seemingly disappear after a couple of days. And I’ve seen corals eat them even. I see them as a great addition. I’m not suggesting throwing all the shells in at once. But wondering if crushing them up a bit and sumping them will have a positive effect.

Nope. They get get blended in also. I just peel them prior to make the process go quicker. I do not like to blend for a long time, so there are still large sized chunks for the fat ones in the tanks.

 

[ScottR]

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/my-diy-reef-food-with-prices-and-recipe.553355/#post-5693694

Here is mine...

What eats the broccoli? Tangs? Curious as I’ve never seen that in fish food before.

 

[csb123]

LRS has broccoli in its recipe. Lots of antioxidants.

 

[ScottR]

I actually use LRS reef frenzy and overlooked that. My fish love LRS. Corals maybe more so.

 

[PYRU]

Nice thread. Perfect timing as well.

The amount of ingredients helps.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/homemade-fish-food-ideas-diy.88099/

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/feeding-fish-and-corals.313266/

 

[ysper20]

The

I actually use LRS reef frenzy and overlooked that. My fish love LRS. Corals maybe more so.

I love LRS food!! When I attempted to make fish food, I made the mistake of using my blender, a food processor would be ideal!

 

[mattfish]

check HPD , American Reef.com

 

[Nick Rose]

I just went to our local Asian Market and picked up some shrimp($7.9/lb), scallops($16.99/lb) and flying fish roe(21.99/lb, I only got .37lb so $8.14 but forgot the nori. So for 2.37lb it was $33.21 with taxes. I think next time I will get some squid and possibly clams. Normally I'm feeding 2 cubes of brine shrimp in morning and 2 cubes of Spirulina Brine Shrimp and some Formula 1 pellets. I have two questions. How much nori and flying fish roe should I add to the 2lbs of meat? Since this DIY fish food will be more nutritious then the stuff I already feed, should I feed less of the DIY?

 

[3dvice]

I make my own food and it feeds corals and fish.

All fresh from our local Asian market.

Oysters
Little white clams (don’t know the name)
Scallops (small ones usually)
Raw shell on shrimp (I remove the shell)
Mussels
Tilapia (small portion of a filet)
Real crab meat.
Reef Roids
SeaChem Reef Complete
Nori and graciliria.

Green and Gold Phyto (added when I thaw the food.)

I blend all of it up (minus the phyto), place the mix in a zip lock, flatten it out, and then freeze. I de-thaw a chunk with a little tank water and the phyto and then feed away. Nothing misses a mouth lol.

Not sure if this is ideal, but I feel it hits all food types for the fish and the corals are doing well.

The fish also have a constant supply of nori or graciliria on clips.

This recipe seems pretty spot on to me, good mix of crustaceans, bivalves, fish (although I might use something other than freshwater tilapia), seaweed and the reef complete is a great idea!

 

[sfin52]

24 clams 14$
Oysters 1/2 pt 9.99
Flounder 4.98 used half
Shrimp 5$ used half
Nori 2.99 forgot to use it
Fish egg 6.95 used 1/6 30 cube used 5 cubes
I also add fuel about a table spoon.
I also now add freeze dried plankton
I put it all in a blender.
One note I'll make is that I used cookie sheet with plastic wrap. It was hard to get the wrap off. I suggest wax paper on cookie sheet.

 

[sfin52]

This recipe seems pretty spot on to me, good mix of crustaceans, bivalves, fish (although I might use something other than freshwater tilapia), seaweed and the reef complete is a great idea!

i agree flounder works well

 

[Eagle_Steve]

i agree flounder works well

I am gonna try that. I raise tilapia so I know where it comes from lol.

 

[sfin52]

I am gonna try that. I raise tilapia so I know where it comes from lol.

its not the location of tapia. Its the fact its a fresh water fish and fresh water fish have different nutritional values. If I remember right fresh water fish has higher fat content.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

its not the location of tapia. Its the fact its a fresh water fish and fresh water fish have different nutritional values. If I remember right fresh water fish has higher fat content.

You are correct in that. So far though it seems to have worked well for me. All my tanks are super high flow, excluding the wife’s zoa tank, so they get to exercise it off lol.

But on a serious note, tilapia was a fill the void for the food and was not used when I lived in Florida. I chose it, as I raised them in my pond and they are a warm water fish. If it was not for the 5 heaters I have they wouldn’t live through the winter. They have less fat than a lot of other options. Previously I used greenbacks and grunts for the food mix. Skimmer didn’t like the oil from that, but the fish sure did lol. Nothing like watching a fresh greenback hit the tank and a harlequin tusk nailing it. Or the scales glisten through the tank with metal halides.

 

[Michigan Reefer]

Are all these recipes made mostly for better fish nutrition and to feed fresher ingredients then store bought pellet or flake food? I tend to feed flakes and pellets still most of the week with frozen LRS and frozen mysis or brine a few times a week. I assume the homemade or some frozen foods are better for the entire reef then just for better fish nutrition. Should I stop feeding flakes and pellets to make sure the entire reef is getting nutrients daily then just feeding my fish everyday?

 

[jd371]

The base of my fish food is Cherrystone clams. As fillers I'll add all or some of these depending on whats on hand.
Shrimp
Mussels
Fish ( I'll use a small piece of whatever fillet I have in the fridge)
Sand Worms
Reef Frenzy

It all gets pureed in the food processor and then goes into a ziplock bag and into the freezer. My fish are fed twice a day and it gets split between two tanks. In the morning they get a cube of Brine Shrimp and Spirulina Brine Shrimp. After I feed them I prepare the second feeding by breaking off a piece of the frozen food, adding a cube of Mysis and a few drops of vitamins and letting it thaw in the fridge. The evening feeding starts with live Black worms which is followed by the food that was thawing in the fridge.