Feeding Frozen Foods

[fry_lover]

i picked up a tip recently about defrosting frozen food (i use Bloodworm, Krill, Mysis, Brine Shrimp and a few others)

apparently by defrosting it in a cup of hot water and then netting the actual "food" out the cup and draining the water, you aid your nitrate level, as the frozen block of food contains various bits that will make the filter have to work harder.

HOWEVER.....

i must say, i use "Dutch Select Food" and no matter what i defrost, be it Blood Worm or anything else, once the frozen food has seperated and thawed, the water it leaves behind is virtually crytal clear, which makes me wonder what the point of defrosting it is, i am thinking of just chucking i the frozen cubes like i used to..... i have been defrosting for over 1-month now

i mean, if i put the frozen cubes in hot water, and then after 5 minutes (including a stir) i am draining away clear water, the frozen block cant contain too much crap surely?

Views?

 

[rowdyburns21]

I use the same brand of food i dont bother draining it, as you say crystal clear and it doesnt seem to do any damage

 

[fry_lover]

I use the same brand of food i dont bother draining it, as you say crystal clear and it doesnt seem to do any damage

exactly mate

i cant be bothered anymore, i mean what am i draining for if the water is clear LOL ?

thats a big-up to the company, as i have heard other peeps on other forums moan about their frozen food and needing to "defrost it" first

 

[WILDER]

I defrost mine by leaving them out an hour before I add them to the tank.
Or a defrost them in a very small med cap added to a small jug of hot water.
I never get rid of the liquid I forget.
Fish can get tummy problems if you feed them frozen.

 

[fry_lover]

I defrost mine by leaving them out an hour before I add them to the tank.
Or a defrost them in a very small med cap added to a small jug of hot water.
I never get rid of the liquid I forget.
Fish can get tummy problems if you feed them frozen.

Is that true Wilder? perhaps? is there any research, evidence or links to confirm that?

 

[WILDER]

No have nothing on not thawing food.
Just read it on forums that it like us can cause tummy ache.

 

[dthoffsett]

I defrost my frozen food by adding some tankwater to a shot glass, plop in the cube, wait about 15 minutes and I'm ready to feed. I prefer to suck up the brine shrimp/daphina etc. with a medicine dropper and target feed the fish, that way I know everyone got some and there isn't any falling to the bottom and rotting.

 

[fry_lover]

I defrost my frozen food by adding some tankwater to a shot glass, plop in the cube, wait about 15 minutes and I'm ready to feed. I prefer to suck up the brine shrimp/daphina etc. with a medicine dropper and target feed the fish, that way I know everyone got some and there isn't any falling to the bottom and rotting.

target feed the fish?

your fish must be quite orderly, i dont think i have any tanks where i could do that. Once there is food in the tank (anywhere) its every fish for itself really.

i mean even if i target fish on the left side, within a few secs fish from the right side be over the left side LOL

fair play to you, but thankfully i dont need to target feed, i guess thats if there is fish missing out right?

 

[Musho3210]

defrosting food lowers vitamins and nutrient levels, but not defrosting may cause other damage since it is cold. So i put it in a cup with some warm tank water, wait about a minute, crush it all up until its all separated, then feed, takes about 1-2 minutes.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Sometimes i just chuck the whole cube in there without defrosting when i dont have time. I dont see how it could hurt the fish that much though. It might do some damage to fish that can eat it whole, but for fish that can only eat them 1 or 2 at a time, i think it should be fine. If they manage to get a worm off the frozen block, that one worm should be defrosted already or else it wouldnt come off the block right?

 

[Tolak]

Sometimes i just chuck the whole cube in there without defrosting when i dont have time. I dont see how it could hurt the fish that much though. It might do some damage to fish that can eat it whole, but for fish that can only eat them 1 or 2 at a time, i think it should be fine. If they manage to get a worm off the frozen block, that one worm should be defrosted already or else it wouldnt come off the block right?

The problem with this is when the more aggressive or larger fish in a group crowd the floating block, preventing the smaller or less aggressive fish from getting any.

I thaw in a small glass of room temperature water for about 10 minutes, then go around to all the tanks with a large dropper. One larger squirt, the aggressive fish go for that. I then put a smaller squirt behind the aggressive eaters for the smaller less aggressive fish.

 

[Daveyg1969]

I just put mine in a net at the top of the aquarium, wait a couple of mins until it has defrosted, then waft the net around until all the food has been released into the aquarium.

 

[cardinal sinner]

Interesting thread!!!!!!!!!!. I just usually "chuck" mine in. I'll thaw em from now on. Thanx guys!!!!!!!!!

 

[Straydum]

i feed my eels by letting them nibble on a cube of bloodworms. its easier this way for me. and i dont think they'd get tummy aches as they're not eating the whole block directly and instead nibbling and the ones which are melting away

 

[DevUK]

I was advised by my LFS to chuck the cube into a net, run it under the cold tap untill its defrosted and then feed from the net (gradually). The idea being it gets rid of any brine or other junk and gives them a bit of a wash.

I've also put the cube in a net and then sat the net+cube in a small plastic container of luke warm water. Once defrosted I've draind off the water and replaced it with tank water, then using a plastic syringe, sucked up the daphnia and then been able to control how much is released into the water. I also find my goldfish likes to eat directly from the tip of the syringe