DIY Fish/Coral Food

[jcpatella]

I'm looking for a way to save money (if possible) and time while providing my fish with a variety of foods. Does anyone make their own fish food or purchase mixed seafood from a market?

I'm looking to make a batch of food (preferably blended) and freeze it in ice trays and pop one out at each feeding. If anyone has any methods, please let me know!

[alphonse]

http://www.melevsreef.com/food.html - That will do you

[jcpatella]

I saw this page - very informative. I just wanted to also see others' varieties/methods. Thanks for the link.

[alphonse]

My version of home made food.

1 lb Asian fish mix (shelled shrimp, shelled clams, octopus, cuttle fish)
2 large scallops
1 tablespoon Cyclop-eeze (dry)
1/4 cup frozen peas
1/4 cup carrots
4 sheets of Nori
approx 1 tablespoon Selcon
2 tablespoon NLS marine pellets

Using a food processor I mixed the peas, carrots, nori, selcon and NLS pellets - I stopped chopping when the peas and carrots were about 2 mm chunks and set aside

I ground the fish mix, scallops once again to about 2 mm chunk size.

I added the ground vegies, Cyclop-eeze to the ground fish and ground till everything was a consistant color. the chunks are 1mm and smaller.

The peas and carrots are an experiment for coloration.

The mix is frozen in freezer bags that have been filled and flattened to 1/8".

I feed a quarter size chunk 3 times a week, along with a nickel size chunk to my anemone once a week.

[jcpatella]

With such a varied mix of food, how do you determine how much to feed without over-doing it? If you feed your fish 3 times a week, do you supplement with something else on the off-days, or is 3 days a week sufficient? Lastly, how long does this supply usually last? Thanks in advance (sorry for all the questions...).

[alphonse]

I feed twice a day, typically 8 am and 5 pm.

Mornings I feed NLS 1mm marine pelets. The ammont is hard to quantify, but it is typically consumed within 45 seconds.

Evenings

3 x a week home made food, thawed in tankwater and chopped up. Takes about 90 seconds for a quarter size peice to be consumed.

4 x a week Nori, About a 1" x 3" inch strip, lasts about 10 minutes.

I used observation, gut feeling and nitrate readings to determine how much to feed.

I have never fed an entire batch to the tank. I throw out what is left once freezer burn starts to attack the mix.

[jcpatella]

Greatly appreciated! My wife just picked up a mix from the asian market - I'll be using your (and melev's) recipe tonight. This will be a good way to save money while knowing exactly what's going into my tank.

[alphonse]

Feeding time for the anemone... About dime size chunk of food

[jcpatella]

That picture is awesome! How do you keep the food from breaking up when you feed it to the anemone?