Thawed foods in the fridge?

[Amaroq]

So in a quest to make my hobby tasks and maintenance more streamlined and generally easier. I've been toying with the idea of picking up a small OXO plastic liquid bottle or two to keep a ready thawed mixed selection of frozen foods available for my reef at all times. So I can simply pull it from the fridge, give the tank a blast, and close it up and back in the fridge until tomorrow. Now I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with such an idea, but how long would you feel comfortable storing this in a fridge? Batches that you'll use up within a week? 3 days? Could/should I use some sort of natural preservative to make it last longer?

 

[Dom]

So in a quest to make my hobby tasks and maintenance more streamlined and generally easier. I've been toying with the idea of picking up a small OXO plastic liquid bottle or two to keep a ready thawed mixed selection of frozen foods available for my reef at all times. So I can simply pull it from the fridge, give the tank a blast, and close it up and back in the fridge until tomorrow. Now I'm sure I'm not the first to come up with such an idea, but how long would you feel comfortable storing this in a fridge? Batches that you'll use up within a week? 3 days? Could/should I use some sort of natural preservative to make it last longer?

I would think it would last indefinitely as long as it is refrigerated.

 

[will25u]

I toss my mixtures out after 3-4 days. That’s just me being on the super safe side.

 

[Idoc]

I thaw frozen pieces and keep in the refrigerator for approximately 3 days before it starts to smell a little funky...anything left after that i throw away.

 

[Bgmrc]

I do the same as above...smell test...4 days about max. I have 2 small plastic jars from some frags i picked up. One has coral gumbo and baby brine and other has normal size frozen brine...mixed in my saltwater from the tank...

 

[ReefGeezer]

I mix gut loaded frozen brine, mysis, Rod's food, raw shrimp & clams if I have them, some chopped/shredded Nori, and a frozen herbivore food... and whatever else I have around... in RO water and keep it in the fridge for 5 days while I use it to feed the tank during the week. I do pour off some of the old water before stirring it up just prior to feeding. I add more RO water before putting it back in the fridge. I don't have a super scientific reason why I replace some of the water. I just do.

 

[Amaroq]

Interesting, so seems like small batches is the key. So what are all you guys throwing in your mixes then? I had PE Mysis, Calanus, Spirulina Brine, Reef Roids and Selcon in mind.

 

[ReefFrenzy]

We never recommend thawing more food than can be fed in 24 hours. Once thawed frozen foods begin to degrade and the lipids start to break down. This continues to increase exponentially after the first 24 hours. When people say the food is smelling "funky" after the third day, that's because it is beginning to spoil. You might get away with 1-2 days and not have a problem, but is definitely not a best practice.

 

[Bgmrc]

^^ thanx for that info!.... ill switch to every 2days then....

 

[Fishie1]

Our club wants to do a group buy of frozen reef/fish food. Many seller are wholesale only. Where can we get reasonable priced frozen reef/fish food at a discount to be dispersed within the club? Thanks!

 

[mike550]

I thaw as needed so I’m not much help. But I think a general rule of thumb would be how long would you let frozen food sit in your refrigerator If you had to eat it?

 

[YankeeTankee]

3 days is fine IMO.