I'm a noob to salt water but I thaw my frozen cubes in a container and then add the food with a disposable dropper with the end cut off. This gives me the control of how much I add plus my fish will eat it right out of the dropper, fun to watch, and I can direct some large chunks to by serpent star. I use the frozen that is in 4 different cubes and add 4 cubes of brine shrimp and this will last about 3-4 days kept in the fridge.