Homemade fish food... Share your RECIPES!

[ScottR]

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?

I’ve read that pellets are more nutrient dense than fresh from frozen food. I like that frozen allows us to offer more meaty foods that they’d eat in the wild. I’d never feed pellets to an anemone or coral ever.

 

[ScottR]

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?

The Chinese written on those price tags is spot on. Expect only the freshest.

 

[Leadfooted]

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.

Can you elaborate on why you use Reef Complete? I use that to raise my calcium from time to time, never considered using it as a food additive.
Also have you ever uses something like Reefsnow or Selcon as binder?

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Can you elaborate on why you use Reef Complete? I use that to raise my calcium from time to time, never considered using it as a food additive.
Also have you ever uses something like Reefsnow or Selcon as binder?

The reef complete is a very small amount (maybe 4ml for 5 qt. bags of food. It was used on accident one time and the consistency of the mix ended up being a little better due to it, so I just stuck with it. It seemed to make the reef roids not "clump" into chunks. Where before it did clump and I always had little chunks of stuff with reef roids and some of the mysis. Previously I was using SeaChem Reef Plus and that is when I grabbed the wrong bottle lol. I dose reef plus now as my doser had a spare slot, so it got removed from the mix and the reef complete mixed in.

Worst case, the fish have strong bones, right? lol

As for selcon or reefsnow, I do not use it in that mix. Selcon is used if I have to mix up food that has medicine in for QT and hospital tanks.

 

[ScottR]

The reef complete is a very small amount (maybe 4ml for 5 qt. bags of food. It was used on accident one time and the consistency of the mix ended up being a little better due to it, so I just stuck with it. It seemed to make the reef roids not "clump" into chunks. Where before it did clump and I always had little chunks of stuff with reef roids and some of the mysis. Previously I was using SeaChem Reef Plus and that is when I grabbed the wrong bottle lol. I dose reef plus now as my doser had a spare slot, so it got removed from the mix and the reef complete mixed in.

Worst case, the fish have strong bones, right? lol

As for selcon or reefsnow, I do not use it in that mix. Selcon is used if I have to mix up food that has medicine in for QT and hospital tanks.

You’ve got me rethinking fish food completely. Always great to hear how others do it differently.

 

[Leadfooted]

The reef complete is a very small amount (maybe 4ml for 5 qt. bags of food. It was used on accident one time and the consistency of the mix ended up being a little better due to it, so I just stuck with it. It seemed to make the reef roids not "clump" into chunks. Where before it did clump and I always had little chunks of stuff with reef roids and some of the mysis. Previously I was using SeaChem Reef Plus and that is when I grabbed the wrong bottle lol. I dose reef plus now as my doser had a spare slot, so it got removed from the mix and the reef complete mixed in.

Worst case, the fish have strong bones, right? lol

As for selcon or reefsnow, I do not use it in that mix. Selcon is used if I have to mix up food that has medicine in for QT and hospital tanks.

Thank you, the complete is pretty thick in consistency and yes, strong bones lol! Interesting how it prevents the RR from binding up, I'll have keep this in mind.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

You’ve got me rethinking fish food completely. Always great to hear how others do it differently.

I also have swapped the tilapia for flounder. My local grocery store had a huge sale on fillets. I have not noticed a difference in the fish, but it sure does chop up easier than tilapia lol.

 

[Eagle_Steve]

Thank you, the complete is pretty thick in consistency and yes, strong bones lol! Interesting how it prevents the RR from binding up, I'll have keep this in mind.

I tried one batch without it in there and it clumped up again, added it to the next batch and it did not. Being as it is the only change and the reef roids came from the same tub, I can only assume it is what keeps it from clumping. Either way, my fish eat it up quick and seem to be doing well.

 

[ScottR]

I also have swapped the tilapia for flounder. My local grocery store had a huge sale on fillets. I have not noticed a difference in the fish, but it sure does chop up easier than tilapia lol.

I guess tilapia is mushy? I use it for frying in place of cod nowadays. For ppl food

 

[Eagle_Steve]

I guess tilapia is mushy? I use it for frying in place of cod nowadays. For ppl food

mine is not mushy. It is very firm and once blended it is just weird lol. Flounder actually stays in little bits after blending.

 

[ScottR]

mine is not mushy. It is very firm and once blended it is just weird lol. Flounder actually stays in little bits after blending.

I only cut tilapia when it’s partially frozen.

 

[dedragon]

OK time for a thread revival, my local fishmarket guy is actually a family friend and when i told him i had a fish tank and was thinking of making food he literally just took my arm and brought be too the back with all the fresh scraps of the day, salmon, cod, shrimp heads, clam guts, etc so now im gonna make a diy formula. Wish me luck please

 

[dedragon]

anyone have any luck adding easy reefs masstick to diy frozen foods, could be a good supplement

 

[dedragon]

No one? @ScottR @Eagle_Steve

 

[dedragon]

thinking of using the cod head, salmon, shrimp heads, clam and oyster bits, some can o cyclops i have lying in the freezer, seaweed mixed, and easy reef masstick. Was thinking of adding supplements like selcon and/or vitachem too but not sure, does anyone have an opinion?

 

[dedragon]

and leftover squid tentacles as well

 

[J.chemicals]

Anybody here tried feeding monkfish? I got a free monkfish from work, but not so sure if I should mix it to my homemade blend. I have a mixed reef tank with 4 clownfish, 2 six line wrasse, and 2 diamond goby

 

[dedragon]

yep monkfish is a good, healthy fish to feed. I actually fish a lot but i wouldnt really put striped bass or bluefish because of mercury levels but monkfish should be better off being a smaller bottom dweller.

 

[J.chemicals]

yep monkfish is a good, healthy fish to feed. I actually fish a lot but i wouldnt really put striped bass or bluefish because of mercury levels but monkfish should be better off being a smaller bottom dweller.

Ever tried a chillean sea bass? I also snagged some scraps from work. Will I be able to mix it to my homemade fish food as well?