Is gelatin fish safe?

Trigun

Feeder Fish
Sep 16, 2005
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Madison Alabama
I was thinking of making gelatin cubes with a mix of pellet food, worms, various insects, and bits of shrimp suspended in them, but can gelatin be used/feed to fish safely? I've heard of public aquariums using vitamin enriched gelatin, but i don't know if it's the same stuff you get from your average grocery store.
 

NCStateFisher

Polypterus
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Sep 27, 2010
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hmmm... very interesting question, im not sure but im definitely going to follow this - do you want to make gelatin cubes so the food will sink or just for the heck of it to make feeding them easier? because i can't see the gelatin being particularly good for them, and honestly i would think they'd probably break apart the gelatin and just eat the actual food anyways, leaving you with a mess at the bottom of your tank
 

RedDwarf

Gambusia
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Sep 19, 2009
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I think most would use agar agar, you should be able to find it in health food stores and such. It's algae base instead of protein base.
 

Laticauda

Feeder Fish
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Nov 16, 2010
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Gelatin is safe for fish. I wouldn't recommend using pre-fabricated foods, though.
Some people mix agar agar with gelatin to attain a certain consistency, but agar agar by itself is not ideal.

http://thegab.org/Goldfish/gelfoodrecipes.html

I use gel food to feed all of my fish, tropicals and goldies alike. You can make adjustments as to whether you want less greens/more protein, but the general idea is the same.

P.S. gelatin is made from boiling beef bones for the collagen. It's not bad for fish.
 

ar0wan

Epistemologist
MFK Member
May 4, 2007
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It's fish-safe but they have a hell of a time swimming through it
 

Zoodiver

As seen on TV
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Aug 22, 2005
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Yup, we use it all the time to make a 'gel diet' for our fish at the aquarium. Just make sure to have more "food" than gelatin in the mix so it sinks. You can make veggie mix, fish mix, shrimp, squid... or put a bunch of junk together to suit your needs.
 

FishingOut

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 27, 2010
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Is Gelatin buoyant? If I dove into an 8ft. pool would I slam into the bottem and drowned? Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a conundrum.

Knox Gelatine from any grocery store is fine. Has no addetives, Just pure gelatine.
 

Trigun

Feeder Fish
Sep 16, 2005
2
0
0
35
Madison Alabama
do you want to make gelatin cubes so the food will sink or just for the heck of it to make feeding them easier?
Mostly just to make feeding a varied diet easier, but also just for the heck of it.

I'll look for some knox gelatin. Thanks for the replys.
 

Lupin

Viviendo la vida loca!
MFK Member
FO, gel foods are NOT buoyant unless you are using a blender in which case, the blender will simply inject bubbles within the mix. Do not use the blender so the gel food can sink.

I use Knox gelatin. It's what we recommend to all those who wish to make homemade gel foods. They're very firm too once done.
 

Dark Jester

Gambusia
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Jun 17, 2010
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FishingOut;4632315; said:
Is Gelatin buoyant? If I dove into an 8ft. pool would I slam into the bottem and drowned? Ladies and Gentlemen, We have a conundrum.
I bet someone has tried it before.. People have filled bathtubs with pudding..

It's bouyant in it's liquid form, I don't imagine that would be much different than water. It can hold lighter particles in suspension once it's set though, for example an air bubble in the middle of a jello cube will never escape the cube in it's semi-solid state. If you move your arms and legs through it though, it will break up the solid piece into multiple smaller pieces which would behave more and more like a full liquid the smaller they became.

You might be able to swim in it, but I think it would be a lot more effort than swimming through water.
 
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