Most nutritious fish for a frozen food

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 23 Jun 2004, 03:55

I've decided to make my own fish food for my fish (pims, doradid and freshwater stingrays) and have come to the point of choosing fish to go in the recipe. I'm planning equal parts shrimp, scallops, clams (if I can get them at a reasonable price) and 2 types of fish, as well as other ingredients to provide plant matter, vitamins, and roughage. If I see squid at a reasonable price I'd love to add it... but local sushi restraunts take $3 for 2 squares about the size of a post-it note, so that's unlikely. My question is, what fish is suggested? Keep in mind I live about as far from the ocean one can in the US, so can't run to the fish monger and grab stuff cheap. Catfish filet's(North american) run $4.99 or so per pound, farm raised salmon "color added" runs $3.99 a pound(color added bugs me), halibut at about $7.99 a pound, swordfish, tuna, and shark all seem to run reasonable prices, but real salmon, and other fish are pretty expensive. If it's all the same I'll just grab a pound of catfish and of the farm raised salmon, but if it matters, I want the best choice. I remember a mention of one marine fish that causes vitamin deficency in FW species(was it whiting?) and that's the last thing I need. Thanks.

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 23 Jun 2004, 18:08

I am sure you have Bluegill or Trout in Colorado, yes?
Why not go really cheap and have a pleasant afternoon catching your own?

I have used Lake trout, Steelhead,(both trimmed very lean), Bluegill Fillets(previously frozen), or frozen silversides.

As for the silversides being a marine fish; in such a broad-based mix I'd be less worried about thiaminase than in a strictly fish mix.

Post by **corybreed** » 23 Jun 2004, 22:30

I make paste food for my fish and use canned Salmon or Tuna. I combine with peas and Krill powder. I know others who use cat food. The cat food is infused with vitamins. you can experiment and have fun.

Mark

pturley · Post by **pturley** » 23 Jun 2004, 23:41

I would think the canned Salmon and the cat food ("Kat fud", for the Gary Larson fans out there) would both have too much fat and could make a mess of your tank. Unless you have a skimmer on the tank, this would be very hard to remove and would rapidly reduce the level of oxygen exchange in the tank.

Corybreed, I agree in principle with your post: Scott, don't worry about it too. Throw in what looks good and try it.

My last recipe (a High Protien Mix) was:
Lake Trout Fillets (Fine Ground)
Ground earthworms (bought by the pound live at the local bait shop)
Ground Blaberus roaches (very high in protien)
Freeze Dried Krill
Sweet Potato
Several handfulls of outdated Earthworm Flake (to dry out the mix)
Since I ran out of flake food, some Wardley's Pond sticks (I won at a raffle)
Gelatin

For Meats I've used:
Crickets, Mealworms, Zoophobios Mealworms, Shrimp, Prawns, Krill, Crayfish, Oysters, Clams, Lake Trout, Bluegill, Silversides, Freezer burnt Frozen Brine shrimp
Even lean chicken or beefheart works, but I haven't tried these two yet.

For Vegitables:
Canned Peas or Beans, Frozen of either, Sweet Pototo, Zuchinni and varoius other squashes, Asparagus stalks (the tough parts, skinned), Broccoli Stalks (the tough parts, skinned), Kale, Swiss Chard, Potatoes, Algae Disks, Flakes, whatever...

So Chef Scott, what's on the Menu?

Oh, one last thing. Try to limit the number of items in the mix though. By the time you add and half pound of this, and a pound of that, you end up with one hell of a lot more food than you expect when first setting out!

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 24 Jun 2004, 01:15

heh, you would be amazed at how fast a pound of shrimp disappears around here ;) I just need lots of ice cube trays and lots of freezer space.

as to catching my own... eastern slope in colorado is not the side for fishing... good fishing's a few hours away. There is, however, a local pond next to a dairy farm that yields some bluegill or some other similar species pretty regularly, and a manmade lake about 3 blocks away that's stocked with something... perhaps I'll get a license and see what can be done, but I've never cared much for fishing, other than catch and release(I dislike killing, I feel bad even feeding worms and MTS)... of course when someone will actually be eating the fish, I suppose maybe I'll do it.

I've heard of folks feeding dry dog food to red tail cats and such, it may work, and even dry cat food might work for smaller fish, but there's normally a lot of fat (in many cases running your hand through a few pounds of it leaves a nice greasy coat), and a lot of either rice or corn in those foods. I dunno how moist cat food would work, but I'd rather fresh stuff. I may eat Easy Mac for the bulk of my meals, but I like my pets to eat well.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 30 Jun 2004, 01:37

The mixture ended up as about 0.5 pound salmon, 0.5 pound shrimp, 0.5 pound snapper, 0.5 pound cod, 1.5 pounds mussels, as well as some other non-meat ingredients. It's a hit with all the fish, but I went a little heavy on the spirulina and it looks awful, smell's not too pleasant either, but it seems to have been acceptable to the fish, should be fairly nutritious too, I hope.

S. Allen · Post by **S. Allen** » 30 Jun 2004, 03:06

Ahh, and better yet, the small juruense takes it happily. I've been having problems getting him off of pellets.