thoughts of encapsulated foods??? and gelatin, included in a fishes diet...

[Magnum Man]

I've been taking a long look at algae as a food for the fish, and reading ingredient labels, etc.
a fish meal of some sort is often the 1st ingredient in most algae based foods...
I found a human supplement, that is in a capsule form, that may actually be an awesome food for fish... I've not held it in hand yet, but assuming it's in a gelatin based capsule...

I see a few possibilities... that either they can be pulled apart, and just the contents fed, or if they are somehow stuck together, they could be cut apart, and contents fed, or they could be just added as a capsule to the tank... to dissolve in the tank, or get eaten... Repashi, and others use gelatin in their foods, so it must not be harmful to the fish... albeit probably not naturally in their diet...

thoughts???

 

[Magnum Man]

this is one of the supplements I've been looking at...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01EIB9XJA/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=A2YD2H3KGK1F4L&psc=1

 

[Magnum Man]

looks like these are non gelatin... vegan capsules...

"Capsules are made up of gelatin (hard or soft) and nongelatin shells generally derived from hydrolysis of collagen (acid, alkaline, enzymatic, or thermal hydrolysis) from animal origin or cellulose based."

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Well lets do some math here. Tis is what it says re the capsules on Amazon:

3000mg Per Serving, 180 Capsules Per Bottle For 30 Servings

So 3000 x 30 - 90,000 mg. Using a mg to oz online calculator that waorks out to 3.17 ounces for $13.50 which you need to remove from the capsules to feed. Pr you can pop over to kensfish.com and get Pure Spirulina Powder priced as follows:
2 oz. for $3.50
4 oz. for $5.50
8 oz. for $9.50
1 lb. for $17.50

I would suggest that either the Repashy Soilent Green or Super Green would make more sense as it is easier to feed and you can mix up a batch and freeze a lot of it as it should be good for 6 months in the freezer I believe?

Or, go back to Amazon and do a search for "Pure Spirulina Powder." You will have less work using it and much less costly options.

​

 

[Magnum Man]

I do use repashi... thanks for the cost comparison

my question here is the capsule material ( like the gelatin in Repashi wouldn't likely be a natural product the fish eat???

also been looking at ingredient lists like...

Amazon.com

 

[Magnum Man]

must be the caffine, but next my mind wandered into nuts... I remember from my Pacu days, that those fish ate a lot of roots and nuts in the flooded forest...

I got my "Buddy" to start eating whole baby carrots, by chopping them to the size of his pellets, and it didn't take long, and he was munching carrots like Bugs Bunny...

but that brings up nuts... obviously a Peanut, would not be natural, but other jungle nuts, like a Brazil nut, or similar, may be a part of the natural diet of a Silver Dollar, for example, and possibly many other fish???

 

[Magnum Man]

I have bought some of Ken's stuff, though not direct...

went to their site, and was unable to fine pure spirulina...

https://kensfish.com/search?q=spirulina&_pos=1&_psq=spirulina&_ss=e&_v=1.0

 

[GaryE]

Never trust possibly. You can use the Latin name of the fish and look up stomach content analyses of wild caught fish. Sometimes you can find them in papers. It's all evolution - most habitats with fruit around will have fruit eaters like a pacu, but also insectivores that can't digest nuts and would probably die of a blockage. You'll have biofilm and algae eaters, generalists, plant eaters, fry eaters, adult fish carnivores, poop eaters etc. Each needs proper food for its teeth, gut evolution, etc.

Humans hang around with cows, but we can't digest the same foods.

The old aquarist trick is to get spinach and blanch it, or peeled zucchini. Buy veggie baby food, spirulina at a health food store. Add shrimp or white fleshed fish. Blend it into a gooey paste and set it in sheets with undigestible gelatin. You have yourself an old school frozen food recipe there - use different baby foods to taste. Peas and carrots were my fave.

 

[gwand]

I have bought some of Ken's stuff, though not direct...

went to their site, and was unable to fine pure spirulina...

https://kensfish.com/search?q=spirulina&_pos=1&_psq=spirulina&_ss=e&_v=1.0

See this product.

Amazon.com

 

[TwoTankAmin]

@Magnum Man

https://kensfish.com/products/pure-spirulina-powder

What is gelatin?

Gelatin is a protein derived from collagen, a substance found in animal connective tissues like skin, bones, and cartilage. It's typically extracted by boiling these animal parts, often from cows or pigs. This process breaks down the collagen into gelatin, a flavorless, colorless, and jelly-like substance.

Here is the ingredient list for Soilent Green, is there any gelatin in it? Any scientists out there who can tell from the list below?

INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Krill Meal, Pea Protein Isolate, Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate, Fish Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Stabilized Rice Bran, Flax Seed Meal, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Citric Acid, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).


And then this is how Allen describes Super Green:

Super Green
Vegan Algae Gel Premix
Our Formula for Obligate Algae Eating Herbivorous Freshwater Fish and Invertebrates. Contains No Animal Products or Byproducts.

INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Pea Protein Isolate, Rice Protein Concentrate, Alfalfa Leaf Powder, Stabalized Rice Bran, Dandelion Powder, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Locust Bean Gum, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2- Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

Times change. As a young boy there wwa no such thing as a super market. There were grocery stores but they did not sell anything frozen. If you wanted ice cream you either went to a soda fountain place or else waited for the Goof Humor trrck. And I am sure the options in fish food back then were minimal.

 

[GaryE]

The problem with ingredients lists is percentages. It could be you could get to the main benefits of a commercial food without needing all ingredients. A number of those things would be available in health food stores, especially the ones with serve yourself bins. We have a couple in our sleepy little industrial town.

Repashy is good stuff, but expensive for larger fishrooms like mine. They've worked out their percentages and probably analyzed the things that just happen to be in their ingredients. They're respected pros.

But the long in use recipes are better than opening capsules or crushing nuts, unless you have nut eating fish.

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

@Magnum Man

https://kensfish.com/products/pure-spirulina-powder

What is gelatin?


Here is the ingredient list for Soilent Green, is there any gelatin in it? Any scientists out there who can tell from the list below?

INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Krill Meal, Pea Protein Isolate, Black Soldier Fly Larvae Meal, Rice Protein Concentrate, Fish Meal, Alfalfa Leaf Meal, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Stabilized Rice Bran, Flax Seed Meal, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Lecithin, Locust Bean Gum, Citric Acid, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Salt, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2-Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).


And then this is how Allen describes Super Green:

Super Green
Vegan Algae Gel Premix
Our Formula for Obligate Algae Eating Herbivorous Freshwater Fish and Invertebrates. Contains No Animal Products or Byproducts.

INGREDIENTS: Spirulina Algae, Algae Meal (Chlorella), Pea Protein Isolate, Rice Protein Concentrate, Alfalfa Leaf Powder, Stabalized Rice Bran, Dandelion Powder, Dried Brewer’s Yeast, Coconut Meal, Schizochytrium Algae, Dried Seaweed Meal, Locust Bean Gum, Lecithin, Citric Acid, Taurine, Stinging Nettle, Garlic, Dried Kelp, Dried Watermelon, RoseHips, Hibiscus Flower, Marigold Flower, Paprika, Turmeric, Calcium Propionate and Potassium Sorbate (as preservatives), Magnesium Amino Acid Chelate, Zinc Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Manganese Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate, Copper Methionine Hydroxy Analogue Chelate. Vitamins: (Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D Supplement, Calcium L-Ascorbyl-2- Monophosphate, Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, Beta Carotene, d-Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement, Menadione Sodium Bisulfite Complex).

Times change. As a young boy there wwa no such thing as a super market. There were grocery stores but they did not sell anything frozen. If you wanted ice cream you either went to a soda fountain place or else waited for the Goof Humor trrck. And I am sure the options in fish food back then were minimal.

Maybe the gelatin is vegan based. As others have said, and I've known for awhile gelatin is usually animal based. Like beef fat or something.
It's interesting that the capsules Magnum Man found are vegan based. I certainly wouldn't want to feed an animal based gelatin to a specialized herbivore such as Tropheus species. They have evolved an extremely long gut in order to process the diet of aufwuchs.

 

[Magnum Man]

of the loose powders... this one looks pretty good, and I could eat it too

Amazon.com

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Spirulina Ice Cream? Pass. They didn't list ingredients, but this one does.

Amazon.com