Fish feasts from scratch: Have you ever made DIY fish food?

[Portugal breeder]

Hello everybody.
Why use white fish instead of blue fish?

 

[JoshO]

This is a hugely underestimated part of the hobby which I fully believe can be the difference between success with or failure with many fish.
I've recently lost a few fish in my system to unknown causes. The most noticeable was a silver belly wrasse I'd had for a number of years that developed tail rot and subsequently died within a few weeks. I then went and bought another (a favourite fish for me), fully QTd the fish and added to the aquarium...within 2 weeks the same issue had started to occur, however I managed to capture him and successfully get him back to full strength in the QT tank thanks to a few meds and feeding much higher fat content food. I was feeding only Hikari Marine S pellets soaked in selcon.
I then added the fish back to the system after roughly 2 months in QT when I was confident he was fighting fit. Roll on 2 more weeks and guess what? Tail issues developing again.
I had originally suspected my gramma of bullying as he'd been harassing other fish, but I'd caught and sold him on before the wrasse went back into the system.
So I started feeding the pellets soaked in selcon again...and the tail started to heal!!
It then got me thinking about something Paul Baldassano mentioned on Reefbums live stream around a year ago. He said he never QTd fish but fed them incredibly high fat content food, similar to that found in fish themselves and on the reef...and he rarely lost fish.
After noticing the improved health after feeding selcon soaked food, I can't help but think there is some strong logic behind this.
I already make a frozen mix consisting of a number of different foods (mysis, brine etc) but that simply isn't doing the job. I'm going to try finely chopped salmon and other fatty fish to see if it replicates the selcon effect.
I've also ordered the Fauna Marin Soft Protect pellets as they're the highest fat content out of any I've found!

 

[cjtabares]

This is a hugely underestimated part of the hobby which I fully believe can be the difference between success with or failure with many fish.
I've recently lost a few fish in my system to unknown causes. The most noticeable was a silver belly wrasse I'd had for a number of years that developed tail rot and subsequently died within a few weeks. I then went and bought another (a favourite fish for me), fully QTd the fish and added to the aquarium...within 2 weeks the same issue had started to occur, however I managed to capture him and successfully get him back to full strength in the QT tank thanks to a few meds and feeding much higher fat content food. I was feeding only Hikari Marine S pellets soaked in selcon.
I then added the fish back to the system after roughly 2 months in QT when I was confident he was fighting fit. Roll on 2 more weeks and guess what? Tail issues developing again.
I had originally suspected my gramma of bullying as he'd been harassing other fish, but I'd caught and sold him on before the wrasse went back into the system.
So I started feeding the pellets soaked in selcon again...and the tail started to heal!!
It then got me thinking about something Paul Baldassano mentioned on Reefbums live stream around a year ago. He said he never QTd fish but fed them incredibly high fat content food, similar to that found in fish themselves and on the reef...and he rarely lost fish.
After noticing the improved health after feeding selcon soaked food, I can't help but think there is some strong logic behind this.
I already make a frozen mix consisting of a number of different foods (mysis, brine etc) but that simply isn't doing the job. I'm going to try finely chopped salmon and other fatty fish to see if it replicates the selcon effect.
I've also ordered the Fauna Marin Soft Protect pellets as they're the highest fat content out of any I've found!

I plan on mixing in a bottle of selcon into my homemade food. Think that will help keep the fat up?

 

[dstockwell]

That's what I did, added selcon to the mix, every fish healthy and big.

 

[JoshO]

I plan on mixing in a bottle of selcon into my homemade food. Think that will help keep the fat up?

I'm assuming it will. I'm unsure on absorption though. Foods that are already wet won't absorb anywhere near as well as something that's dried

 

[Portugal breeder]

This is a hugely underestimated part of the hobby which I fully believe can be the difference between success with or failure with many fish.
I've recently lost a few fish in my system to unknown causes. The most noticeable was a silver belly wrasse I'd had for a number of years that developed tail rot and subsequently died within a few weeks. I then went and bought another (a favourite fish for me), fully QTd the fish and added to the aquarium...within 2 weeks the same issue had started to occur, however I managed to capture him and successfully get him back to full strength in the QT tank thanks to a few meds and feeding much higher fat content food. I was feeding only Hikari Marine S pellets soaked in selcon.
I then added the fish back to the system after roughly 2 months in QT when I was confident he was fighting fit. Roll on 2 more weeks and guess what? Tail issues developing again.
I had originally suspected my gramma of bullying as he'd been harassing other fish, but I'd caught and sold him on before the wrasse went back into the system.
So I started feeding the pellets soaked in selcon again...and the tail started to heal!!
It then got me thinking about something Paul Baldassano mentioned on Reefbums live stream around a year ago. He said he never QTd fish but fed them incredibly high fat content food, similar to that found in fish themselves and on the reef...and he rarely lost fish.
After noticing the improved health after feeding selcon soaked food, I can't help but think there is some strong logic behind this.
I already make a frozen mix consisting of a number of different foods (mysis, brine etc) but that simply isn't doing the job. I'm going to try finely chopped salmon and other fatty fish to see if it replicates the selcon effect.
I've also ordered the Fauna Marin Soft Protect pellets as they're the highest fat content out of any I've found!

Here in Portugal, there is no selcon for sale, but replacing "white fish" with "blue fish" can greatly help to obtain a more balanced nutritional profile (EPA/DHA).

 

[Dburr1014]

I put all types of different food in. Shrimp, mussels, squid, clam, Nori, vitamins, mufa, pellets, flake, blood worms, krill, tank water, mix it in my bullet blender and spread it out in a mini square ice tray. They come out the size of frozen food squares at the lfs.

 

[ArtisticReef]

I have been making my own fish/coral food now for over 2yrs. Fresh seafood with no preservatives added. A lot of frozen seafood has a preservative that is high in phosphates ( Sodium Tripolyphosphate ) which is one of the most common preservative used. The frozen seafood in the photos is package onsite at the market I go to from fresh fish/shellfish they receive daily. Yes even the scallops from China are received daily or every other day I was told. ( NO PRESERVATIVES ). A whole octopus minus the head and a whole squid are in the brown paper wrap. Also add a bunch of dry goods and liquids to the mix.
Also harvest my own Live Phyto and dose nightly for pods, filter feeders and corals.

You are amazing with the fish food. Can we see your tank?

 

[Steve2020]

You are amazing with the fish food. Can we see your tank?

Tank is a little bare with corals. I gave away my SPS a couple months ago. Going strictly LPS and Softies.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

I have been making my own fish/coral food now for over 2yrs. Fresh seafood with no preservatives added. A lot of frozen seafood has a preservative that is high in phosphates ( Sodium Tripolyphosphate ) which is one of the most common preservative used. The frozen seafood in the photos is package onsite at the market I go to from fresh fish/shellfish they receive daily. Yes even the scallops from China are received daily or every other day I was told. ( NO PRESERVATIVES ). A whole octopus minus the head and a whole squid are in the brown paper wrap. Also add a bunch of dry goods and liquids to the mix.
Also harvest my own Live Phyto and dose nightly for pods, filter feeders and corals.

very impressive. I do much the same but you add lot's more to your seafood blend. If the market (Whole Foods for me) is selling fresh seafood that is fit for human consumption, then how could it not be good for our fish. NO Preservatives at all, just what they eat in the ocean, other sea dwelling creatures. I use a lot of clams and mussels, which I shuck, so they are live, as they have stomachs included, which adds to the fish in my aquariums gut biome naturally. Then shrimp, squid, non-oily fish (cod mostly) and whatever else looks good at the fish counter. I also soak nori (organic, but who knows if it's any different as it all comes from the sea, right) in my own cultured phytoplankton, along with Calanus, which sticks to the nori then (my achilles tang will then get a bit of animal protein, because otherwise he only eats nori). All the fish gobble this up, including the carnivores. I do soak the nori and a tiny bit of pellets (separate from the nori) with Amino Omega, Selcon, Lipo Garlic from TM, Super Eggs. The pellets soak up all the good stuff better than the frozen I make, so just a tiny bit of wheat gets into the system, but it's a trade off. Overall it takes maybe 30 minutes once a month to make up my fresh seafood mix, in a little food processor, so to me all who say it's a lot of work, jeez, don't we already put luges amount of time into our aquariums....hahaha....

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Tank is a little bare with corals. I gave away my SPS a couple months ago. Going strictly LPS and Softies.

Oh, by the way, what fish are in your tank? Can't see any in the pic.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

I have made my own foods for a while now. I have to get a variety of seafood for my predators so I take the same mixture and and a food processor and add some spirulina. Been feeding this way for I think at least a year. I get all of the seafood now from an oriental market 2 1/2 hours away. I think it is a lot better than when I purchased it all from local grocery stores. Funny as I am making some right now.

This, the live foods we produce and sell, and phyto are the only things we use with the exception of I buy a marine angel food as it has some sponge etc that is a must for the angels.

Looks like you have what might be an oily fish, what is it? I learnt the hard way to stay away from oily fish (salmon is on the border, but a great add to DIY), as I used mackerel once (I was using for myself to make fermented fish, yucky but good for yer belly) and wondered why the skimmer was periodically getting super frothy and overflowing....finally struck me it was doing it's job, as the oils really activate the bubbles. No more oily fish in the food.

 

[Rocky Mountain Reef]

Hello everybody.
Why use white fish instead of blue fish?

Bluefish are very oily, will blow up your skimmer

 

[Steve2020]

Oh, by the way, what fish are in your tank? Can't see any in the pic.

Chocolate Tang, Magnificent Foxface both 7+ inches, 3 Clowns, 4 Zebra Barred Dartfish, Diamond Goby, Orchid Dottyback, Kamohara Blenny.
Dartfish are cave dwellers and usually only come out when it is feeding time or when they see me near the tank thinking it is time to eat. They eat a lot for their size. When out of their caves they will dart back in when Tang gets close even though he leaves them alone. They are my only fish that will eat any food that is on the water surface. They are extremely fast and will dart back into their caves when startled hence the name Dartfish lol.

 

[naterealbig]

I currently am refining my diy fish and coral food recipe. The beef i have with many (most, maybe all) prepared foods is the fillers they contain - and i consider muscle meat from shellfish and fish a filler, along with wheat, etc. Aside from providing protein, there is relatively little nutritional content in muscle meat from fish or shellfish.

In order to provide the most nutritionally dense matrix, Whole Foods, i believe are key. Whole shellfish (mussels, clams, shrimp, etc) whole plankton and the like (both plant and animal based), and ocean-based algaes are absolutely key. I add raw amino acids, omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamins to fill nutritional gaps i may be missing.

I save money and provide superior nutrition to my fish and corals with this method.

Those using prepared foods ( especially using dry/flake/pellet) as ingredients for their DIY mix are getting the worst of both worlds lol.

I am curious to get folks thoughts on the best dry pellet food, for automatic feedings while I'm on vacation. I'm currently using NLS.

 

[steve 1965]

 

[steve 1965]

 

[sfin52]

Just finished making my food.