Home Made Fish Food

[KcMopar]

I have a Home Made Food mix for my freshwater and saltwater fish. I use a can of peas with the liquid (heated), about a 1/2 pound of medium shrimp (after I peel them of course), and about 20 oz of filtered hot water (I have added some flake food at times and have done half carrots/peas). Put all this into your blender for about 30-60 seconds then add about 2 table spoons of gelatin ( 2 packets) and blend for about 30-60 more seconds. You can pour this into any convenient container with a lid. Put into the refrigerator for about 3-4 hours. When you are ready to feed just spoon out the portion/size you wish to drop into the tank. I spoon in several marble sized portions until they all have had their fill. The anemones seem to like it as well when missed portions drift their way. MY OSCARS GO NUTS FOR THIS STUFF!!!!!!
You can even mix it up some, like more shrimp, less veggie Or none at all, or whatever your pet likes that can be blended. You could even use prepared frozen cocktail shrimp as well but I find the raw shrimp from the meat-market is much cheaper and its fresh. I usually buy about two pounds at a time and freeze it inside a freezer bag until I need it. When needed I pull the freezer bag out and drop it on the counter to break apart the pieces, set out desired amount to thaw, then peel. This recipe can be adjusted to suit your needs. Let us know your tweaks on this concoction or other types you make, we all want healthy fresh foods for our pets and would love to hear about more Home Made Fish Foods.

 

[T.Shaw]

mmm,mmmm sounds good to me *thumbsup2 HAHA. Very simple to make sounds like. I will definatly give this a try and let you know what exact foods I use in the mix and if they like it for future recipes.

 

[KcMopar]

I think when I used the carrots and peas that my Oscars red/orange colors looked better so this next batch I am going to try carrots and peas again. I know the shrimp makes their colors better to, so I have done these last two batches without carrots. So when they are done with this batch I will do it with carrots again to see for sure. For future use I have thought about boiling yellow squash or similar to make it soft enough to blend. It is very easy to make and very affordable but most of all its the thrill of watching the Oscars devour it and its a great way for them to vitamins and minerals to keep them healthy. I also do every batch with peas because this keeps fish from having intestinal issues. This is very important with some of my Africans as they can get locked bowels from eating to much meat in their diet.

 

[T.Shaw]

I currently have my Oscars on Blood Worms, Brine Shrimp, and Hikari Cichlid Gold, but all that's so expensive. This stuff is definatly a better idea.

 

[KcMopar]

You seen my list of Africans, NW cichlids and other fish tanks. It just like yours, HUGE and expensive. I buy the krill in 3oz packages and its over $20 bucks and only lasts about two weeks and not to mention the stuff you mentioned as well that I buy which is $8-$12 per container. Now this commercial stuff lasts for months and not weeks. I still switch the food up so they do not get to finicky but their main diet has been my prepared food. I am glad you mentioned the cost savings as I had forgotten to. I hope others will post about foods they make for their fish to.

 

[KcMopar]

I just made a new batch that my fish seem to enjoy the best so far.
Just last night I used a can each of peas, carrots, and about 3/4 pound of shrimp. I heated the veggies in the microwave for a few minutes while I peeled the shrimp. When done heating and peeling I added this to my blender and blended until smooth then I added the 2 small envelopes of gelatin (comes 4 to a box) and blended for a couple more minutes. Then I poured into three flat/shallow containers with lids and then put in the fridge over night to let the gelatin set-up. The other two containers I put into the freezer after they set-up to use later.
I fed this batch to my fish this morning and I think they liked this mix the best of what I have ever made.

 

[KcMopar]

Just an update on this last mix of food. I was watching my dotty back (Pseudochromis porphyreus) eat this mix and was observing my mandarin (Synchiropus splendidus) also eating this. This is the only mandarin I have ever had that has not eaten anything but copods and the like. I was truly amazed by this act.
Also this mix could use a little less liquid or a little more gelatin if its being used for FW as it separates very easily which is great for my SW/reef tanks but not the best in the FW cichlid tanks.

 

[KcMopar]

Update. This last batch of food I made with prepared frozen type shrimp. It didn't seem to be as big and chunky (it blends into mush very quick) in the mix as the fresh shrimp from the meat market. Not sure why, the only difference is these where being de-shelled, de-veined and had preservatives. So do not blend to much if using frozen prepared shrimp.
Also note that the extra food which is frozen needs to be reheated after it thaws and then refrigerated to reset the gelatin as it seems to separate some from being frozen.