Feeding

[kathywithbirds]

Yeah, I thought I read somewhere that crystlas that form on frozen water (fish/shrimp insides, whatever...) can harm the fish if they ingest it. Dunno if it's sharp, or the crystals damage something or what.

 

[vdituri]

A freshwater rinse would dissolve any water crystals.
My fear has always been that frozen food put directly into the tank would be too cold or drop the fishes' body temp too low.

 

[Dentoid]

I always thaw my frozen foods in a bit of tank water or RO/DI water. If I just dropped a frozen cube in my tank, it would float straight to the overflow.

 

[BigAl07]

Mine melts very quickly. That's part of the beauty of the "Frozen Puck" is it's like a time release for the food. I literally turn off the power heads (AquaController Jr.) with one button push, tip the puck cup and it's a done deal. My new saying for feeding is, "I PUCKET and go!"

 

[vdituri]

It's not quite "Set it and forget it" , but if it works. lol

Mine melts very quickly. That's part of the beauty of the "Frozen Puck" is it's like a time release for the food. I literally turn off the power heads (AquaController Jr.) with one button push, tip the puck cup and it's a done deal. My new saying for feeding is, "I PUCKET and go!"

 

[kathywithbirds]

oh yeah, lemme clarify: I mean putting the food in STILL FROZEN was a no no. right?

I do rinse... most of the time...

 

[BigAl07]

It's not quite "Set it and forget it" , but if it works. lol

Hey I'm a nerd. I like automation. If I could get the Freezer to "Auto Drop Off" the puck that much better.

And yes I am dropping a totally hard frozen ice puck directly into the tank. In a matter of 2-3 minutes it's totally frozen and everything is just mush. You have to remember we're putting something that's nearly AT freezing temp (maybe 30' F) into tank water that's nearly 80'F. It's a very quick process. Maybe tomorrow when I feed again I'll time and video the whole thing. Well not VIDEO the whole thing but in segments.

 

[kathywithbirds]

oh cool! I like visual aids.

 

[vdituri]

I understand that it melts quickly. I was just worried that fish that come up and nip at the cube might have issues and that there may be things in the frozen liquid we may not want in our tanks.

But if it works man, it works. Can't argue with success. lol

Hey I'm a nerd. I like automation. If I could get the Freezer to "Auto Drop Off" the puck that much better.

And yes I am dropping a totally hard frozen ice puck directly into the tank. In a matter of 2-3 minutes it's totally frozen and everything is just mush. You have to remember we're putting something that's nearly AT freezing temp (maybe 30' F) into tank water that's nearly 80'F. It's a very quick process. Maybe tomorrow when I feed again I'll time and video the whole thing. Well not VIDEO the whole thing but in segments.

 

[kathywithbirds]

Bad Al! Bad!!

 

[vdituri]

Judge not lest yea be judged!

Also, make sure to hit him on the nose with a newspaper so he doesn't equate you with being reprimanded. lol

Bad Al! Bad!!

 

[BigAl07]

I understand that it melts quickly. I was just worried that fish that come up and nip at the cube might have issues and that there may be things in the frozen liquid we may not want in our tanks.

But if it works man, it works. Can't argue with success. lol

My apologies. I am clearly not doing a very good job here. The ONLY liquids in my "Frozen Puck" is RO/DI water. I thaw the Mysis in RO/DI, strain all the off using a Tea Strainer, then add fresh RO/DI into my sauce cups and add the Mysis/Cyclopeeze mix. I have thoroughly at least REDUCED the amount of Algae Rocket Fuel being added. I hope this clears it up. I am not trying to be complicated but sometimes what I think and what I type aren't the same thing.


Good Al.. VERY good Al :LOL:

 

[vdituri]

Alright sir. We'll let you off with just a warning this time.
:wit:

You are correct in your assumption that what you think and what you type are two different things. At least we hope that is the reason....

My apologies. I am clearly not doing a very good job here. The ONLY liquids in my "Frozen Puck" is RO/DI water. I thaw the Mysis in RO/DI, strain all the off using a Tea Strainer, then add fresh RO/DI into my sauce cups and add the Mysis/Cyclopeeze mix. I have thoroughly at least REDUCED the amount of Algae Rocket Fuel being added. I hope this clears it up. I am not trying to be complicated but sometimes what I think and what I type aren't the same thing.


Good Al.. VERY good Al :LOL:

 

[kathywithbirds]

I was kidding Al. I get a little silly late at night.

I did get that about rinsing, the RO/DI and all. What I had read was not about algae fuel but what happens when frozen water crystals get ingested by a fish or invert or something. Crystals are sharp and if they're still intact when a fish gets it it can hurt... and this is only what I vaguely remember from reading SOMETHIGN on the subject. I forget details. it's like when I go to the LFS and I see a fish/invert/coral I really like but for some reason my brain goes, no, kathy, can't have that... but I cnat' remmeber WHY exactly. Then I go research whatever it was and I get an OH! moment.

Didn't mean to swat with a newspaper. Well, or, if you like that sort of thing...

 

[framerguy]

1 scribble face rabbitfish
1 pink spot goby
1

Not sure what happened here. I said a lot more in that post.
1 Scribble face rabbitfish
1 pink spot goby
1 oc. clown
1 mandarin
1 scooter dragonette
4 PJ cardinals
I feed twice/day
morning:1/2 cube of emeral entree or prime reef or homemade mush thawed out in tank water.
evening: (for the Fish)1/2 cube mush thawed out in garlic. (for the corals) 2 small capfulls DT's phyto with either mush or cyclopeeze or oystereggs mixed in.

 

[cracker]

I only have two fish at this time A Koran Angel & a Pacific Sailfin. They get nori every day & every other day I feed them some meaty stuff a couple times. Shrimp. krill, fish mush. Before when the tank was an HA garden I hardly fed them at all. Just a pinch several times a week. They were doing just fine. Now I cleaned the tank up & removed the HA chiapet rock, I have to feed them more often.

 

[kathywithbirds]

When food is frozen ice crystals form inside all of the cells of the food. The slower the food is frozen the larger the ice crystals. These ice crystals damage and puncture the walls of the cells in the food to an extent that when the food is defrosted some of the contents of the cells leak out.

I dunno, maybe this is what I was thinking when my brain went, dduuhh, unthawed = bad

 

[Jason25]

Sorry I totally missed the question buddy. My PM's are always open

How much is in a puck? That's tough because the Mysis is in one large sheet. I'll try and describe the best I can...

If I am "lazy" and haven't pre-made the puck I break off a portion of the sheet slightly smaller than a dime. This I soak in RO/DI water to thaw and then strain it through a Tea Strainer. Then I add more RO/DI and dump in just a pea size spot of Cyclopeeze. All of this is then fed to the tank. So when I make my "Pucks" I thaw what "looks & feels" like a weeks worth of these. I'm trying to keep everything as consistent as possible. I have experimented and this seems to be about right for my current 12g and 10g tank (each). This is about the right amount of food to keep everyone eating aggressively for approximately 5-7 minutes with a minimal amount getting to the tank floor. I do allow some to get there for the crabs to much on but I try to limit that for obvious reasons.

I hope this helps at least some. I guess it's like a chef... a pinch here and a dash there.. the only difference is it's not sugar and spice but shrimp and critters.

Thanks, Al.

 

[bluespotjawfish]

4 clowns
shrimp goby
watchman
flasher wrasse
Mr. Palani
2 anthias
5 chromis
midas blenny
2 Pyle wrasses
six line wrasse
Bluespot
Yellow Tang
3 large cleaner shrimp
Tons of Hungry Crabs

I feed fish in 4 different tanks a total of 5-8 cubes of mysis, krill, plankton soaked in zoecon and vitachem. I add in fresh garlic, Seaweed Select, or another frozen food for variety. A few times a week shrimp and silverside chunks for the Palani and anemone, and a smaller food like cyclopeeze for the little ones. When I think about it, the clowns and anthias get an afternoon snack (usually pellets, or a sprinkle of mysis). I also target feed this to my corals when I feed my fish, at least a few times a week. I used to feed frozen cubes all the time, but I have had a few sink into my corals and injure them. Sometimes I feed before a few of the cubes are totally thawed to give Mr. Palani something real to chew on.

 

[jrf1175]

2 Oc. Clows
Sailfin Tang
3 Green Chromis
Yellow Tang

I am struggling with my feeding frequency now. I have some frozen cubes that I feed about 1/2 every other day; sometimes so Cyclopeeze. I am a bit scared or overfeeding as I just got a handle on cyano a few months back. Some Nori for the Tangs as well. I am soaking all the feed in garlic, selcon and zoe.