ghost knives feeding question

[aidenboyjon]

So I want to try and cut down on food waste and I'd like to try doing frozen blood worms instead of freeze dried. in your experiences, is it better to just toss the cube in there or dethaw it by soaking it for xminutes in a bowl of tank water? from watching videos it looks like they just toss the cubes in, but do they actually sink? I mean, i'll still do freeze dried every so often to keep them social and interactive with my hands, but i want to try aand cut it back as much as possible because my last cleaning and water check showed high nitrites, which may be because of over feeding. I have 4 jeuv ghosts in a 64. and one lj poly who eats sinking wafers.
Last time i tried the soaking bit and the wurms just ended up going everywhere anyways...

 

[tlindsey]

So I want to try and cut down on food waste and I'd like to try doing frozen blood worms instead of freeze dried. in your experiences, is it better to just toss the cube in there or dethaw it by soaking it for xminutes in a bowl of tank water? from watching videos it looks like they just toss the cubes in, but do they actually sink? I mean, i'll still do freeze dried every so often to keep them social and interactive with my hands, but i want to try aand cut it back as much as possible because my last cleaning and water check showed high nitrites, which may be because of over feeding. I have 4 jeuv ghosts in a 64. and one lj poly who eats sinking wafers.
Last time i tried the soaking bit and the wurms just ended up going everywhere anyways...

I suggest using pvc pipe and the bloodworms will thaw out and drop down the box pipe. You may get a few that will get kicked up by the flow of the filter.

 

[aidenboyjon]

I suggest using pvc pipe and the bloodworms will thaw out and drop down the box pipe. You may get a few that will get kicked up by the flow of the filter.

so like a 2-3in wide pvc pipe? I assume it will drop it to a corner of the tank?

 

[tlindsey]

so like a 2-3in wide pvc pipe? I assume it will drop it to a corner of the tank?

Yes that will work.

 

[tlindsey]

so like a 2-3in wide pvc pipe? I assume it will drop it to a corner of the tank?

It will drop from area the pipe is held.

 

[fishguy1978]

When I feed frozen to my tanks I place the selections in individual serving containers or what ever I have available to thaw. Once thawed I start feeding. Blood worms and brine shrimp take like 5 minutes.

 

[Fishman Dave]

I feed the cubes frozen, especially if you want them to stay together as a clump when at the bottom. Pipe is a good idea if you have flow or other fish.

 

[jjohnwm]

I usually thaw the cube or piece in a glass full of water. Once thawed and settled, I pour off as much of the water as possible without stirring up the food at the bottom. Then dip the glass in the tank and pour out as much as desired.

Yes, it's a PITA, but only takes a few extra moments. When you pour off the water in which the food has thawed it is cloudy with juices, etc. from the food. No way for the fish to benefit from it or eat it, it's just pure pollution; if you pour this into your tank you may as well just dump in a glass of ammonia while you're at it.

If you also feed freeze-dried foods, you can soak them in this juice to re-constitute them. They soak up the fluid and that way at least some of the nutrient value in it can be utilized by the fish. I also think that it's safer than feeding the freeze-dried stuff dry, as some fish seem to bloat up if they quickly wolf down a large quantity of this type of food and it then swells up in their stomachs as it reconstitutes with water.