Hi Everyone,
I would just like to clarify a few things since I personally developed the formulas......
First, as far as nutritional analysis, with, or without water. The water content is irrelevant. All scientific comparisons are made using DMB "Dry Matter Basis" Products that are sold premixed with water are required for labeling purposes to report the moisture content of the product. Dry products must report on their labels the nutrient levels "As sold" Mazuri provides both levels in their secondary publications for convenience so that it can be compared to hydrated meat products.
Most living organisms are 80-85% water.
Saying that water reduces the level of protein in a food is silly. That is like saying if you have a glass of water with your meal, that you are reducing your protein intake. The water level is irrelevant. it does not effect digestion of nutrients and is actually a lot more natural than feeding something that is dehydrated because it has to pull water from whatever is eating it saturate it before it can be digested. A naturally hydrated product is much easier to digest for this reason.
A dried flake food, a second or two after it hits the water, is saturated to the same level as the gel. A pellet is slower to absorb water, but quickly will also be 2/3 water. The fact that pellets do not absorb water quickly is one of the negative things about pellets. Consuming dry food is not natural for fish, reptiles or even us.
Secondly, I do not use gelatin in my formulas. Gelatin is primarily collagen, a poorly digestible protein. Gelatin also has to be refrigerated to "set" the gel. My formula uses a combination of soluble plant fiber gums and I have come up with a combination that is less than 5% of the formula. This allows me to use no glutens, starches, or any other poorly digestible ingredients in my formulas.
Thirdly, the formulas posted in this thread are one of my beta testing formulas and there have been some minor but important changes since then.
I am actually finishing up my press release tomorrow, as well as updating my website, so a lot more information about the products will be available very soon. The official release of the line is February 1st, so Ted jumped the gun as far as me having much information online, or having the final formulas and analysis on my site. I worked with quite a few breeders and hobbyists developing the line and using their useful feedback to fine tune the formulas and it was a big help. Those of you who might know me from the reptile hobby will already know how important real world breeder and keeper feedback is to me. I spent a lot of time working on this new line, and think that if you guys give it a try, you will find it has a lot to offer. I do not claim that it will replace flake or pellet foods, but I do believe that in many situations, it is better than either.
It really is easy to make, and am quite interested in hearing feedback of all kinds, from anyone who tries it. I wouldn't have moved forward on this project if it wasn't for the encouragement of the people who tested it. I never rest, and consider my products under constant development, I have spent considerable time researching and sourcing my ingredients and have a no expense spared philosophy when it comes to selection.
Thanks for listening! Allen Repashy