Diy foods
- Thread starter Charney
- Start date
Well, I used to do this sort of thing a few years back but I gave up on it because I don't get the same results every time. Also it can be a bit messy at times especially if you're using gelatin as a binder. But here are some of my thoughts.
The mix that I liked using the most was 1:1 ratio of shrimps to tilapia fillet, add how ever you think you need of spinach leaves and some garlic, throw that in a food processor (not a blender! you want small pieces but not a mush). Scoop every thing out after mixing, put it in ziplock bags and thin it out to about 3-4mm, any more it would be hard to break once frozen. To achieve a specific thickness consistently place two rods (or something similar) of the desired thickness beside the filled ziplock and roll it with a rolling pin (starting from bottom to top). The beauty of this recipe is that: 1) it doesn't require a binder 2) don't smell awful 3) not too oily 4) surprisingly holds up well underwater.
I've tried many other recipes but I like the one above the most, I don't find gelatin nor eggs to hold up well in the water. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I haven't had remarkable success with them.
Instead what I do now is just chop up seafoods (either by hand or a processor) freeze them the same way in a ziplock and break some when I need. The pieces shouldn't be too small or too big for the fish. I found this way to be a lot cleaner (at least for me). The particles wont stick together but that's the point of it (think of how you feed frozen brineshrimp or mysis).
Also, beefheart is not worth it. And for plant based mixes I recommend you try to lower the water content as much as you can, because compared to meats, vegetables have a lot of water content in them and that can have a huge impact on your end results. Also pangasius (bassa) fillets have a lot of connective tissues that aren't digestable by many fish and could cause problems with your filtration.
It is definitely a trial and error procedure but it's a lot of fun to do and see if your fish enjoy the "dish" you made them. It's also a good way to control what gets into their guts (you can add medication for example, haven't done that but that's a possibility). But you got to have a tiny bit of patience because it's very likely you won't get it right the first try. Good luck on that and be sure to shoot us some feeding footage if you ever get into it ; )
The mix that I liked using the most was 1:1 ratio of shrimps to tilapia fillet, add how ever you think you need of spinach leaves and some garlic, throw that in a food processor (not a blender! you want small pieces but not a mush). Scoop every thing out after mixing, put it in ziplock bags and thin it out to about 3-4mm, any more it would be hard to break once frozen. To achieve a specific thickness consistently place two rods (or something similar) of the desired thickness beside the filled ziplock and roll it with a rolling pin (starting from bottom to top). The beauty of this recipe is that: 1) it doesn't require a binder 2) don't smell awful 3) not too oily 4) surprisingly holds up well underwater.
I've tried many other recipes but I like the one above the most, I don't find gelatin nor eggs to hold up well in the water. Maybe I'm doing something wrong but I haven't had remarkable success with them.
Instead what I do now is just chop up seafoods (either by hand or a processor) freeze them the same way in a ziplock and break some when I need. The pieces shouldn't be too small or too big for the fish. I found this way to be a lot cleaner (at least for me). The particles wont stick together but that's the point of it (think of how you feed frozen brineshrimp or mysis).
Also, beefheart is not worth it. And for plant based mixes I recommend you try to lower the water content as much as you can, because compared to meats, vegetables have a lot of water content in them and that can have a huge impact on your end results. Also pangasius (bassa) fillets have a lot of connective tissues that aren't digestable by many fish and could cause problems with your filtration.
It is definitely a trial and error procedure but it's a lot of fun to do and see if your fish enjoy the "dish" you made them. It's also a good way to control what gets into their guts (you can add medication for example, haven't done that but that's a possibility). But you got to have a tiny bit of patience because it's very likely you won't get it right the first try. Good luck on that and be sure to shoot us some feeding footage if you ever get into it ; )
I used to have a lot of feeding footage but unfortunately that card got corrupted. But here's what I managed to find on my drive.
Here's one of the mixes I've done, It was supposed to be a plant dominant mix. It was ok but not too special, it did work but wasn't too impressive.
Here's the ingredients (forgot the exact ratios)
Spirulina and paprika for good measure
After mixing
After portioning (before entering freezer)
You obviously need heat for gelatin to work, you can either heat the entire mix then add the gelatin. Or premix it in a glass of hot water and add it to the mix. That's one part for the trial and error. And there are more like the ratios, the water content, how much to cook stuff if at all, the amount of gelatin. It's a lot of work but it's worth it if you get it right, might even save you money.
Here's one of the mixes I've done, It was supposed to be a plant dominant mix. It was ok but not too special, it did work but wasn't too impressive.
Here's the ingredients (forgot the exact ratios)
Spirulina and paprika for good measure
After mixing
After portioning (before entering freezer)
You obviously need heat for gelatin to work, you can either heat the entire mix then add the gelatin. Or premix it in a glass of hot water and add it to the mix. That's one part for the trial and error. And there are more like the ratios, the water content, how much to cook stuff if at all, the amount of gelatin. It's a lot of work but it's worth it if you get it right, might even save you money.
All this is fantastic thank you. Any suggestions on determining amount of gelatin?
If I remember correctly I used something like a packet per 300g of food. It's been a while so I'm not exactly sure about that, plus I never really wrote down stuff.
You could try but I don't get the point of adding the pellets. I think in your case feeding those stuff individually is the better use. But if you wanna try it, start with a tiny batch so your loss isn't huge if it didn't turn out great. Good luck
Years ago I did a lot of gelatin-bound DIY mixes like
FESHMAN
describes above. Mine were intended for use with larger predators and I cut the mass of food into individual cubes or strips that were used in place of feeder fish or earthworms., fed to fish that quickly gulped down the whole chunk. Ingredients varied, but were mainly chopped small bait minnows (caught myself and then frozen for a few weeks in an effort to kill off as many pathogens as possible, then thawed and chopped) and mayflies (which could be collected in season by the shovelful and frozen for use). I never included earthworms as these were simply fed individually as treats. I'm sure that store-bought fish or shrimp could be used, but I preferred the idea of using whole organisms rather than just "meat". Also, this was done as a money-saving endeavour, although I admit it was sort of enjoyable as well...smelly, messy, time-consuming, but fun.
I did smaller amounts of a similar mix for herbivores, mainly plecos and a Giant Gourami. Same animal protein, but with a large amount of duckweed making up the bulk of the stuff. I had a couple marine tanks producing armloads of Caulerpa, and I tried adding it but it was mostly water and I gave up using it in the mix, although fed it often as a treat as well. I'm sure that hair algae or other fast-growing plants like Hornwort, Anacharis or others would work. Green stuffs from the grocery store might be worth a try, but again, not as natural and not as cheap. This stuff was cut up into bite-size portions for the Gourami, or just big slabs dropped in for plecos and others to pick at.
Gelatin is very much a less-is-more thing; you want a mass of food that is just barely made cohesive by a small amount of gelatin binder, NOT a big glob of clear Jell-O with a few isolated chunks of food embedded into it. Takes trial and error, and once you find the right proportions of food and gelatin, it's easy and repeatable to make up that amount of mix over and over. Keep it frozen and break off as needed.
This is best done when your wife is out for the afternoon. Even then, you will likely want to get specific containers, tools and a food processor devoted strictly to this job.
FESHMAN
describes above. Mine were intended for use with larger predators and I cut the mass of food into individual cubes or strips that were used in place of feeder fish or earthworms., fed to fish that quickly gulped down the whole chunk. Ingredients varied, but were mainly chopped small bait minnows (caught myself and then frozen for a few weeks in an effort to kill off as many pathogens as possible, then thawed and chopped) and mayflies (which could be collected in season by the shovelful and frozen for use). I never included earthworms as these were simply fed individually as treats. I'm sure that store-bought fish or shrimp could be used, but I preferred the idea of using whole organisms rather than just "meat". Also, this was done as a money-saving endeavour, although I admit it was sort of enjoyable as well...smelly, messy, time-consuming, but fun.I did smaller amounts of a similar mix for herbivores, mainly plecos and a Giant Gourami. Same animal protein, but with a large amount of duckweed making up the bulk of the stuff. I had a couple marine tanks producing armloads of Caulerpa, and I tried adding it but it was mostly water and I gave up using it in the mix, although fed it often as a treat as well. I'm sure that hair algae or other fast-growing plants like Hornwort, Anacharis or others would work. Green stuffs from the grocery store might be worth a try, but again, not as natural and not as cheap. This stuff was cut up into bite-size portions for the Gourami, or just big slabs dropped in for plecos and others to pick at.
Gelatin is very much a less-is-more thing; you want a mass of food that is just barely made cohesive by a small amount of gelatin binder, NOT a big glob of clear Jell-O with a few isolated chunks of food embedded into it. Takes trial and error, and once you find the right proportions of food and gelatin, it's easy and repeatable to make up that amount of mix over and over. Keep it frozen and break off as needed.
This is best done when your wife is out for the afternoon. Even then, you will likely want to get specific containers, tools and a food processor devoted strictly to this job.
