Rinsing Food

[jfitzg14]

I have heard several people talking about "rinsing food". I do notice that when I feed Mysis or other cubes there seems to be a lot of oils added to my tank. How do you rinse the food?

 

[DocJim]

I bought a cheap hand held strainer from Wal-Mart and use it exclusively for my tank.

 

[jfitzg14]

Is it important to rinse with any type of water?

 

[DocJim]

I use tap water without any problems but I let it drip dry for awhile before dumping into tank. I know some people use salt water to rinse but I don't see any need.

 

[jfitzg14]

How about chopping the food? Is it needed and what is the best approach?

 

[kfisc]

Rinsing various foods is a great idea; frozen seafoods (silversides, shrimp) especially can be loaded with phosphates. I tend to think it's a big deal to rinse it only with tank water or RO/DI water, why risk adding anything? A turkey baster and fine mesh strainer works great- little bits of finely minced/chopped food, rinsed through the strainer with the baster, and the water thrown out and the food hand-fed with the baster to anemones, fish etc.

The more finely chopped/minced, the easier to digest.

 

[jfitzg14]

Thanks for all the information.

 

[gogregerson]

I second the cheap small handheld strainer form Wal-Mart. You'll notice a dramatic difference in the amount of waste your adding to your tank.