Pros vs Cons: Frozen Fish Food vs Dry Fish Food

[revhtree]

Pros vs Cons: Frozen Fish Food vs Dry Fish Food

Let's discuss the pros and cons of both of these types of foods. What's good and what's not good? Why is it best to feed one and not the other? What do you feed and why?

 

[Alkamist]

with frozen i noticed a lot more waste and higher nitrate and phosphate levels, dry food on the other hand my fish love and eat it like pigs.

 

[revhtree]

with frozen i noticed a lot more waste and higher nitrate and phosphate levels, dry food on the other hand my fish love and eat it like pigs.

See now I have always heard the opposite.

 

[BarbH]

With my fish I have been feeding frozen food that I have made myself. I have tried dried food with my fish pellets, ocean nutrition formula 1 and 2 along with Spectrum and my fish pretty much ignore it the will pick at the pellets a little but that is about it. With my frozen food my fish will go crazy over it as soon as it hits the water.

 

[jerky48183]

I do both but with my frozen seems like more waste but my hermits and cleaner shrimp seem to take care of it. My fish seem to like the frozen more.

 

[Dowtish]

I use 6 different types of frozen foods to keep all the fish happy. I have a tea leaf strainer that I let all my frozen foods completely thaw in and then I rinse it, before it goes into the tank. I have heard arguments on both sides as to whether the amount of phosphates in frozen food makes a difference or not. But either way, I have gotten used to the routine, and it works for me. Although I do feed less frozen than pellets. I do throw some flakes in their too, just to mix it up, but never more than the fish can gobble up.

 

[SteezySPS]

my fish will devour dry food because i never feed frozen. Dont like draining the juices out.

 

[Chameleon]

my fish like pellets and my nutrients are low so I will stick with it for now

 

[wysiwyg]

i use my own frozen foods and have tried dry foods my tang loves the dry food but none of my other fish touch dry so frozen is the way i went

 

[frugner]

i use frozen and i always rinse it first. the fish wont touch dried.

 

[hllywd]

I use a combination of both, and never rinse, or even thaw the frozen food before feeding. I always break off a chunk of frozen and feed it by hand, a method I've used since the old days when about all you could get was brine shrimp commercially. A lot of frozen foods have additives like Selcon, garlic juice, and other ingredients to fortify the mix, IMO rinsing removes nutrients I've paid for and want my fish and corals to consume.

 

[Aquaph8]

I love to spoil them, if I'm gonna take them from the ocean it might as well be like a resort with a buffet.

 

[STL]

Frozen vs dry - I don't take sides, I use both. Frozen has thawing time and (sometimes, depends on what is is) rinsing to be done, but in my experience fish respond better to it and it seems more nutritious.

Frozen spirulina brine shrimp saved my orangeline goby's life. When I first got him, he wouldn't eat anything - he'd sift sand, but ignore pellets and flakes and gel foods. He was wasting away and was so weak he was getting stuck on a pump intake! Then I tried the frozen spirulina brine shrimp... the whole tank loved it, the Kole tang's health visibly improved (I thought he looked good before, after a few days of this stuff he looked amazing), and that goby is now fat, happy and eats everything including dry food.

I feed my gang a wide variety of frozen and dry foods, and admittedly quickly cave to the trigger begging for a snack.

Oh, and the tangs get extra special treatment - a regular supply of nori (random selection of red, green and whatever else I find for them) on a veggie clip.

I figure I've got that massive skimmer, may as well use it.

 

[ritter6788]

I feed frozen. All my fish eat frozen but many won't eat pellets or flakes. Why make half the tank watch while the others feast?

 

[Steelerfan747]

I think both my fish and I prefer live food. Oh that wasn't the question? Sorry (lol)

 

[k2parkstar]

It would be interesting to do a study on this. Maybe someone could put a little bit of frozen food in cup of new saltwater, and a little dry food in another cup, let them sit for a day or so and then take readings on PO4, see if there is any noticable difference. That being said, I feed a little bit of everything. Everything in my tank eats PE mysis like its pizza. So mysis is fed daily and for a little bit of variety I add either cyclo-peeze, pellets, or nori on occasion. I believe PE mysis has the highest crude protein amount with the lowest moisture percent of anything i've seen. Also PE mysis doesnt use any binding agents, so I believe its "cleaner." <--Just my opinion of course.

 

[Rockadile]

Rods food is all I feed. Not only does it feed my fish but it feeds my entire tank.

 

[Young Frankenstein]

Frozen food for me, its just better and cheaper

 

[Ace25]

I feed both. In just a week I got my pair of Orangespotted Filefish eating spectrum pellets which I was very happy about. My normal daily feeding per tank consists of:

2 cubes Mysis
2 "cubes" worth of Rod's Food
1 "cube" of Nutramar Ova
1 cube of Spirulina brine
1 cube of bloodworms
1 cube of cyclops
1 cube of Red Plankton

And throughout the day I toss in Spectrum Pellets when I walk past the tank.