Rod's food or Rogger's food?
- Thread starter Crease123
- Start date
block head
New member
rod's is really a pkged diy food. many clown breeders make their own conditioning formula. rogger's is bit more involved than rod's ,and the company and owner have more integrity than rod. a quick search on diy food, should give you plenty of options for making your own food. nothing wrong with buying it premade, but you can save some cash and control the quailty w/diy
I wasn't thinking of that at first, but I just had the thought today. I recall there used to be an excellent video on youtube by limpet's reef that showed how he makes his diy reef food. For some reason, he took that down.
Anyone knows where I can buy fresh seafood in Syracuse?
Wegmans or any other good supermarket. My recipe includes the following. Buy raw fresh when possible, but you may have to use frozen
saltwater fish flesh (and guts if you can)
shrimp
scallop
clam
squid
cyclopeeze
baby brine shrimp
Vitamin supplement (selcon, selco, vita chem, etc)
If you have herbivores, you can throw in small pieces of nori or other vegetables. Just make sure everything is good quality. Include the guts of the seafood wherever possible (clams and fish).
Chop everything up into little tiny pieces (half the size of a pencil eraser or smaller) and freeze in plastic baggies 1/4" or so thick. When you want to feed, break off a chunk of food and thaw it in tank water. When it thaws, you can pour off the water so you don't put wasted food into your aquarium, or you can squirt it at your corals to open them up more and feed them larger chunks (mainly LPS). Use a turkey baster to feed your fish and corals.
saltwater fish flesh (and guts if you can)
shrimp
scallop
clam
squid
cyclopeeze
baby brine shrimp
Vitamin supplement (selcon, selco, vita chem, etc)
If you have herbivores, you can throw in small pieces of nori or other vegetables. Just make sure everything is good quality. Include the guts of the seafood wherever possible (clams and fish).
Chop everything up into little tiny pieces (half the size of a pencil eraser or smaller) and freeze in plastic baggies 1/4" or so thick. When you want to feed, break off a chunk of food and thaw it in tank water. When it thaws, you can pour off the water so you don't put wasted food into your aquarium, or you can squirt it at your corals to open them up more and feed them larger chunks (mainly LPS). Use a turkey baster to feed your fish and corals.
This is great info, thank you for this!
I'm looking to feed my corals too.....any idea where can I get oyster eggs? Also, what exactly is cyclopeeze? Is it like a bottle of liquid that I can just add it to the mix?
cyclopeeze are tiny crustaceans about the size of baby brine shrimp that have color enhancing qualities. They come frozen. Try your LFS for them and Oyster Eggs.
I just add some too it. I think it was a healthy squirt of Vita-Chem and some phytoplankton last time. Let it sit for a few minutes for the enrichment to soak in, stir well again, then freeze.
reefboarder
Intelligent Donkey
This particular recipe is great, fish love it and my corals show feeding responses as well. I switch up foods from time to time to vary diet but this is hands down the biggest part of their diet and all are healthy active and beautiful.
What do you think caused the cyano?
Capt_Cully
Active member
I had a similar experience with Rod's. I didn't test for phosphates or anything so it could have been coincidental/anecdotal.
Any concerns with phosphates with the home brew? Do local fish mongers use flat tap or anything else that would warrant caution?
FWIW loving this thread. Strongly considering making my own food. Looks cost effective and beneficial. These days I get to The Wegs more often than ABC Reefs.
I'm currently gathering alot of research and info from the internet. Will be making a home brew by next week. Considering I have a nano tank, I probably will have alot of food left over. Will document my food-making process and see whether there is any interest from here to purchase some of the food
block head
New member
i'd steer towards a reef friendly mix. clown breeders are motivated to feed high fat food to promote breeding . they run systems that handle less than ideal water conditions. just like pregnant women and athlete's have different needs than couch potatoes. a breeder food might not be ideal for a reef. a little high quality seafood can go a long way. i tend to buy a little extra seafood when planning meals and use it to suppliment my normal feedings
I have never tested for phosphates. I wouldn't think they would be a problem especially if you didn't load the food with algae. By rinsing the food off like you do any frozen food, you should limit the amount of very tiny particles that nothing eats that just pollute the tank. With a skimmer and avoiding overfeeding, you shouldn't have a problem with DIY food.
If you're worried about the fat, you can use less squid. I believe that has the highest fat content. I use fairly equal amounts of squid, shrimp, and clam.
Check out http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1471874 and Randy's data in particular. It seems that Formula 1 and prime reef have the lowest phosphates to the highest protein.
If you're worried about the fat, you can use less squid. I believe that has the highest fat content. I use fairly equal amounts of squid, shrimp, and clam.
Check out http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1471874 and Randy's data in particular. It seems that Formula 1 and prime reef have the lowest phosphates to the highest protein.
Paradiddle7
New member
I also think that Rods led to my phosphates going higher and eventually cyano. I now only feed Rods 1-2 times a week because I'm too lazy to mix my own. I use Spectrum pellets which almost everything loves, except my Anthia and feed mysis or ocean plankton daily as well. I soak the mysis/plankton in vita chem and selcon and I often add cyclopeeze (dried or frozen) into the mix.
One tip I have to share too is that when I buy Rods ($20 a bag for the large bag), I break it up into 4 pieces and put the in separate bags. That way if I accidentally leave it out, I don't ruin all of the food. Believe it or not, I wasted 2 bags of food before I started doing that.
I think the most important thing is to feed a large variety of foods in all different sizes. Don't over feed if you want to keep phosphates down too. Make sure all the food you put into the tank is consumed within 2-3 minutes.
One tip I have to share too is that when I buy Rods ($20 a bag for the large bag), I break it up into 4 pieces and put the in separate bags. That way if I accidentally leave it out, I don't ruin all of the food. Believe it or not, I wasted 2 bags of food before I started doing that.
I think the most important thing is to feed a large variety of foods in all different sizes. Don't over feed if you want to keep phosphates down too. Make sure all the food you put into the tank is consumed within 2-3 minutes.
From what I gathered, alot of the commercially-available seafood you see in the supermarkets are sprayed with phosphates to keep it looking fresh longer. Consider giving the food a good soaking and rinsing before blending into the mix.
On a side note, I got all my seafood sources scouted out, as well as purchased several items that I will need to create the blend. I should be able to make my first batch this weekend!
On a side note, I got all my seafood sources scouted out, as well as purchased several items that I will need to create the blend. I should be able to make my first batch this weekend!
Similar threads
