saltn00b
Active Member
this is the second time i have done this, and it seems it benefits everything in the tank. fish go crazy when they see me with the turkey baster, and their colors are very vibrant. a bunch of you have done this and have your own versions of the classic recipe, but here is how i did it. feel free to improvise or add to this.you will need a dedicated cheap $10 food processor as found in wally world.
you will need a large mixing bowl.
you will need several sandwich size ziplock baggies
you will need a dedicated measuring cup
you will need a dedicated turkey baster
you may also use a 1-2 pint plastic container (i used one from chinese take out)
you may also use rubber gloves.
step 1 : gather ingredients
you may have to go to several different stores to get everything you need.
here are the two main categories: (amount i used)
LFS / online:
frozen mysid (1/2 large sheet)
frozen daphnia cubes (1 sheet of cubes)
frozen brine w/ spirulina (1 sheet of cubes)
frozen silversides (1/2 bag)
cyclopeeze (1/2 bar)
ZoPlan (several scoops)
PhytoPlan (several scoops)
Zoecon (not pictured, a good squirt)
Selcon (not pictured, a good squirt)
Local Grocery
shredded carrots (1/2 cup)
broccoli florette (1/2 cup, not pictured or used this time)
fresh garlic (1 whole garlic, not pictured)
Nori sheets (1-2 sheets) maybe you will need to go to a specialty store for this
fresh seafood section:
i de-shelled them, but have read recently to leave the shells on for all food
raw shrimp. (~1/8 lbs)
raw squid bodies (~1/8 lbs)
raw scallops (~1/8 lbs)
(you can add to this, as long as it is not an oily fish like salmon)
step 2: combine ingredients
The processor has problems blending things evenly as they have different consistencies. try to freeze everything first and work with them fast here. i broke up / cut up the ingredients into manageable (for the food processor) sizes, and combined into a mixing bowl.
step 3: blend ingredients
dont under estimate this step, and the time it will take.
it can get frustrating working with all of the ingredients. cheap processor's are cheap for a reason. i do a little at a time, and with a spoon empty the finely ground stuff into the pint sized container. any big pieces that did not get processed i put back into the bowl of indredients to get re-processed.
the more time in the processor, the more fine the meaty chunks will be. so it depends on the size of the fish you are feeding. there are always going to be very small parts of the mix because of the planktons , etc. so process according to fish size. the corals will take it all happily. too fine, and the fish wont eat alot of it. i go for a general gravity defying thick pasty consistency.
step 4: bag ingredients
with your pint of fish paste, scoop some into a ziplock baggy. close the baggy and compress the mixture to all corners of the baggy. you may need to open it and add or remove some of the mix, but you want about 1/4" evenly spread throughout the baggy. repeat process until you are out of the mix.
Note: some people freeze with different methods , such as using egg crate to make cubed portions. my method is easy to take portions out because of how thin the sheets freeze.
step 5: freeze bags
pretty simple, put the bags stacked in a freezer.
come back in 12 hours and you are ready to go!
how to feed it -
i take a (dedicated) measuring cup half filled warm tank water, and break off a small chip of the frozen sheet. if it is too thick, you will need to use scissors to scrape off portions. stir it with a turkey baster for a minute or so and then feed as you see fit. general squirts in the water column or directed blasts at coral colonies.
you will need a large mixing bowl.
you will need several sandwich size ziplock baggies
you will need a dedicated measuring cup
you will need a dedicated turkey baster
you may also use a 1-2 pint plastic container (i used one from chinese take out)
you may also use rubber gloves.
step 1 : gather ingredients
you may have to go to several different stores to get everything you need.
here are the two main categories: (amount i used)
LFS / online:
frozen mysid (1/2 large sheet)
frozen daphnia cubes (1 sheet of cubes)
frozen brine w/ spirulina (1 sheet of cubes)
frozen silversides (1/2 bag)
cyclopeeze (1/2 bar)
ZoPlan (several scoops)
PhytoPlan (several scoops)
Zoecon (not pictured, a good squirt)
Selcon (not pictured, a good squirt)
Local Grocery
shredded carrots (1/2 cup)
broccoli florette (1/2 cup, not pictured or used this time)
fresh garlic (1 whole garlic, not pictured)
Nori sheets (1-2 sheets) maybe you will need to go to a specialty store for this
fresh seafood section:
i de-shelled them, but have read recently to leave the shells on for all food
raw shrimp. (~1/8 lbs)
raw squid bodies (~1/8 lbs)
raw scallops (~1/8 lbs)
(you can add to this, as long as it is not an oily fish like salmon)
step 2: combine ingredients
The processor has problems blending things evenly as they have different consistencies. try to freeze everything first and work with them fast here. i broke up / cut up the ingredients into manageable (for the food processor) sizes, and combined into a mixing bowl.
step 3: blend ingredients
dont under estimate this step, and the time it will take.
it can get frustrating working with all of the ingredients. cheap processor's are cheap for a reason. i do a little at a time, and with a spoon empty the finely ground stuff into the pint sized container. any big pieces that did not get processed i put back into the bowl of indredients to get re-processed.
the more time in the processor, the more fine the meaty chunks will be. so it depends on the size of the fish you are feeding. there are always going to be very small parts of the mix because of the planktons , etc. so process according to fish size. the corals will take it all happily. too fine, and the fish wont eat alot of it. i go for a general gravity defying thick pasty consistency.
step 4: bag ingredients
with your pint of fish paste, scoop some into a ziplock baggy. close the baggy and compress the mixture to all corners of the baggy. you may need to open it and add or remove some of the mix, but you want about 1/4" evenly spread throughout the baggy. repeat process until you are out of the mix.
Note: some people freeze with different methods , such as using egg crate to make cubed portions. my method is easy to take portions out because of how thin the sheets freeze.
step 5: freeze bags
pretty simple, put the bags stacked in a freezer.
come back in 12 hours and you are ready to go!
how to feed it -
i take a (dedicated) measuring cup half filled warm tank water, and break off a small chip of the frozen sheet. if it is too thick, you will need to use scissors to scrape off portions. stir it with a turkey baster for a minute or so and then feed as you see fit. general squirts in the water column or directed blasts at coral colonies.
