My DIY Frozen Fish Food Recipe!

Good evening fishlore,

Inspired by the King of DIY, I've decided my next project is to make some homemade frozen fish food as a treat for my fish instead of frozen brine, mysis, etc.

So far I have

• Frozen raw sole fish
• frozen raw scallops
• frozen raw shrimp
• frozen mysis shrimp
• frozen brine shrimp
• Peas (do they need to be de-shelled if I'm throwing all this in a blender?!)

I was thinking of buying a bottle of Seachem Nourish, and a bottle of Seachem GarlicGuard to add to the mix.

Any other suggestions?

I'm thinking of maybe adding green or red seaweed to it as well.

 

The seaweed would work, maybe some spirulina powder as well?

 

The seaweed would work, maybe some spirulina powder as well?

Seachem nourish is liquid spirulina with vitamins!

 

Seachem nourish is liquid spirulina with vitamins!

Ah, was unaware.

Sounds like you have a healthy comprehensive food, I can't think of anything else to add to it.

 

The peas should be deshelled.

Are you going to bind the ingredients using gelatin?

 

The peas should be deshelled.

Are you going to bind the ingredients using gelatin?

Dang. That'll take a while then.

No, wasn't planning on it. Going to stick it in a blender, strain it, and then put into an ice cube tray to freeze.

Sound like a good plan?

 

I wouldn't bother with GarlicGuard. Your fish should eat it, but if they don't, you can add plain garlic water (water with garlic previously soaked in it).

I would use gelatin to bind it. Otherwise I think it'll just cloud your tank with the tiny particles as it melts - make a real mess that the fish can't eat to clean up because the particles are too small.

 

I wouldn't bother with GarlicGuard. Your fish should eat it, but if they don't, you can add plain garlic water (water with garlic previously soaked in it).

I would use gelatin to bind it. Otherwise I think it'll just cloud your tank with the tiny particles as it melts - make a real mess that the fish can't eat to clean up because the particles are too small.

Just any old normal gelatin that I could pick up at the Doller store?

As for the garlic, I think I will just add two cloves to the blender

 

Yep! Plain and unflavored.

 

Yep! Plain and unflavored.

Great. And two cloves of garlic should be good, right?

 

I'm not sure I'd add actual garlic. You really shouldn't need it - it should be very appetizing to the fish on it's own!

 

I'm not sure I'd add actual garlic. You really shouldn't need it - it should be very appetizing to the fish on it's own!

Well I just figure it can't hurt to add it, and isn't garlic very healthy for fish?

 

It's used to encourage eating, but as to health benefits, I'm not sure that has been proven.

If you are going to add it, maybe just try one clove at first? You don't want to use too much.

 

It's used to encourage eating, but as to health benefits, I'm not sure that has been proven.

If you are going to add it, maybe just try one clove at first? You don't want to use too much.

Sounds like a deal!

I was hoping to use salmon instead of sole, but the sole was only $2.46 and the $8-$9 of salmon didn't quite fit in the budget

 

I don't blame you for the switch!

 

I don't blame you for the switch!

I frequently speak with the owner of a local fish store near where I'm from - Fish Mike's Aquatics. Great guy, knowledgeable, and he's got a great store.

I showed him my recipe and he said I should skip the gelatin. I explained why it may be a good idea and I'm awaiting a response as to why not.

 

Mention to him that you're planning to blend it. I'm just imagining that as it thaws, it's going to pollute the water and the fish won't be able to eat it easily.

makes his own fish food, too, but I don't think he blends it.

 

Mention to him that you're planning to blend it. I'm just imagining that as it thaws, it's going to pollute the water and the fish won't be able to eat it easily.

makes his own fish food, too, but I don't think he blends it.

I mentioned that to him

With my current frozen treats, I thaw about a quarter cube in tank water in a cup and then use a pipet to shoot it down towards them. So perhaps gelatin will not be necessary!

If I don't blend it, how else would I get it into pieces edible for fish?

 

The current frozen treats (if you're talking about brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, etc.) aren't blended though - they don't pollute the water the same way (ideally, you should rinse mysis shrimp though). You can make the chunks small and the fish can eat them. If you use gelatin, the fish will eat chunks out of the cubes. If you want to use a blender, using gelatin is the only way I can think of that your water won't turn into a fish food mess.

 

The current frozen treats (if you're talking about brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, bloodworms, etc.) aren't blended though - they don't pollute the water the same way (ideally, you should rinse mysis shrimp though). You can make the chunks small and the fish can eat them. If you use gelatin, the fish will eat chunks out of the cubes. If you want to use a blender, using gelatin is the only way I can think of that your water won't turn into a fish food mess.

How would I be able to cut chunks of sole and shrimp and scallop small enough for Bolivian, Ember tetra and cory consumption though? I figured a blender would grind it up alright

 

How would I be able to cut chunks of sole and shrimp and scallop small enough for Bolivian, Ember tetra and cory consumption though? I figured a blender would grind it up alright

I think a blender miiiiight make it over kill. I would use one of those ahhh.. I can't think of the word. Like one of these:

.... or you could finely dice it.

 

I think a blender miiiiight make it over kill. I would use one of those ahhh.. I can't think of the word. Like one of these:

.... or you could finely dice it.

I want a slap chop.

 

I want a slap chop.

I want his enthusiasm for life.

 

A fine chop would work, but I still think that if you're going to blend it (which is a totally fine way to do it!), use gelatin. You can cut the cubes up small enough that they won't be too scary for the tiny ember tetras to bite from

 

A fine chop would work, but I still think that if you're going to blend it (which is a totally fine way to do it!), use gelatin. You can cut the cubes up small enough that they won't be too scary for the tiny ember tetras to bite from

Alright well so far that sounds like a plan cause the Slap Chop seems to be discontinued in Canada LOL.

Fish Mike's response was "is gelatin safe for fish?"

I did some research and found I should go with "Knox Gelatin"?

 

Alright well so far that sounds like a plan cause the Slap Chop seems to be discontinued in Canada LOL.

Fish Mike's response was "is gelatin safe for fish?"

I did some research and found I should go with "Knox Gelatin"?

Gelatin is safe for fish. I use Knox and it works perfectly fine.

Quick tip, I would pour the gelatin mix into an ice cube tray after everythings all blended. That way you can just pop the food out and it will make feeding a lot easier.

 

Gelatin is safe for fish. I use Knox and it works perfectly fine.

Quick tip, I would pour the gelatin mix into an ice cube tray after everythings all blended. That way you can just pop the food out and it will make feeding a lot easier.

Do you think Knox will be available at my local Dollorama?

I was planning on blending everything but the gelatin up, and then AFTER, adding the gelatin to the mix and hand-mixing it in. Or is there a difference if I put the gelatin in the blender?

I'll be freezing it in an ice cube tray to make cubes

 

I don't recall which brand I use, but I can check later when I get home. Plain and unflavored gelatin should be fine, regardless of brand. I bought it from my local grocery store. No idea what a Dollorama is, store-wise.

I'm not sure it makes a difference when you add the gelatin, as long as it gets mixed in well. You can play around with it to see if it would be more helpful/easier to add a little bit of water with the gelatin first before adding it to the fish mix, or not.

 

I don't recall which brand I use, but I can check later when I get home. Plain and unflavored gelatin should be fine, regardless of brand. I bought it from my local grocery store. No idea what a Dollorama is, store-wise.

I'm not sure it makes a difference when you add the gelatin, as long as it gets mixed in well. You can play around with it to see if it would be more helpful/easier to add a little bit of water with the gelatin first before adding it to the fish mix, or not.

Dollorama is just a doller store with everything you can think of including packaged food. Just nothing fresh! Fits in my budget

 

You could use a food processor. I'm sure they have those in Canada hahah. I just used the SlapChop because I couldn't think of the word for it.

 

Well, I figure that should work.

 

I think a blender miiiiight make it over kill. I would use one of those ahhh.. I can't think of the word. Like one of these:

.... or you could finely dice it.

Look up Dustin fish tanks...

 

I'm not sure I'd add actual garlic. You really shouldn't need it - it should be very appetizing to the fish on it's own!

garlic by itself is very good for fish and it is an appetite stimulant

I think a blender miiiiight make it over kill. I would use one of those ahhh.. I can't think of the word. Like one of these:

.... or you could finely dice it.

you mean food procesor

Well, I figure that should work.

I use a Glucomannan Powder made from konjac root, it is commonly sold as a weight loss powder, it is very good 1 teaspoon will gel one cup of liquid and the fish eat it. It requires no heating or cooling to gel.

Good evening fishlore,

Inspired by the King of DIY, I've decided my next project is to make some homemade frozen fish food as a treat for my fish instead of frozen brine, mysis, etc.

So far I have

• Frozen raw sole fish
• frozen raw scallops
• frozen raw shrimp
• frozen mysis shrimp
• frozen brine shrimp
• Peas (do they need to be de-shelled if I'm throwing all this in a blender?!)

I was thinking of buying a bottle of Seachem Nourish, and a bottle of Seachem GarlicGuard to add to the mix.

Any other suggestions?

I'm thinking of maybe adding green or red seaweed to it as well.

definitely add the seaweed but also add green matter such as aquarium plants if you have any, algae you scrape off and you can also add spinach and green beans as those are commonly like and if you can find it spirulina, or moringa leaves.