Idea of this is to make a food mixture that will feed everything in a reef tank in one go. Fish (herbivores, omnivores, carnivores), shrimp, large polyped corals, small polyped coral, anemones, brittle stars, fan worms, sea squirts, and so on. It is also very convenient, with a batch lasting a month or two being made at the one time and it just has to be thawed and added to the aquarium.

What actually goes into the food mixture depends on what is available and the type of animals that are in the tank. There is a list of possible ingredients below. The more herbivores there are, such as tangs, then the more vegetable matter you put in, the more suspension feeders then the more small food particles etc. Just adjust to the needs of your reef. As you go along, you will learn what they like, and which you have success with. The great thing about it is that there are so many different foods within the one food source. Therefore there should be something for all the organisms in the reef aquarium, and it also ensures that it is meeting all the nutritional needs of the organisms too.

Assorted frozen items ready to be blended.

Items after blending, note that is hasn't turned it to mush, but "shattered" the items.

 The easiest way to make it up is in a blender, but you could also do it using one of those hand 'Bamix' type blenders. Make sure though, that it is not reduced to a really fine paste, otherwise there will be no larger food particles for the larger organisms in the reef aquarium. So judgement has to be used which ingredients to add at a particular time in order to keep them from being turned into mush. What I have also done is cut up some shrimp meat up after it has been blended, and the stirred this in to give some larger food chunks. So of the foods it is best to add after the rest has been blended, or chopped up before the rest is added. Points about when each should be added are below in the ingredients list. It is a good idea to add a little water to help it form a thick slurry.

The blended mixture ready to be put into the freezing container.

Now you have a wonderful reef food. To keep it as such, so it will last a long time, and can be conveniently used freeze it. There are several ways to do this: in ice cube trays, baking trays, or a plastic bag. The idea is to make it into a size that you can feed to the aquarium for one feeding. Depending on the size of the ice cube trays, you may have to split them in half once they are frozen. Or alternatively just water them down by adding more water to the cubes before freezing. If you do it on baking trays then put down a bit of baking paper first, spread it out around 10-15mm thick and freeze. Then you can either cut it up into the sized required, or break it off as need. With the plastic bag, just lay it out flat and follow as per the baking trays.

Mixture with water in zip lock bag, flat, ready to freeze.

Frozen food from the zip lock bag, being broken up with knife into appropriate feeding sized pieces.

Food ready to use.

This I usually fed once or twice daily to OZ REEF. I place the frozen food into a small glass of water from the aquarium and allow it to thaw. Then using a baster, it is dispersed into the water and then injected into the aquarium. Using the baster it can be directed at specific organisms if the need arises, such as shrimp, corals, shy fish, brittle stars etc.

A list of possible ingredients are as follows, with the amounts that I place in a typical mixture:

Nori

This is dried seaweed, and herbivorous fish absolutely love it. It is used to wrap sushi, so it can usually be found in the Asian section of the supermarket. When you buy it, it is in thin sheets, just a bit thicker than a sheet of paper and is a dark green colour. Get the plain version, not flavoured. The best idea is to shred this first, before adding the other ingredients, when it is dry. And then remove it, blend the other things, and stir into the mixture when it is finished. Add one sheet.

Shrimp

Good stable food for all carnivorous organisms. A few larger pieces are a good idea for larger fish, large polyped corals and anemones to have. This is usually the largest component of the meat part of the food, adding about 10 shrimps.

Scallop

Another good stable food. The good thing about this is that it can be minced up really fine, into a paste. So can be a good suspension and fine food particle feeder to small polyped corals, fan worms etc. Add about 6 scallops.

Squid/Calamari

Most likely cheaper to use squid, but if you can only get calamari then that will have to do. Have to be careful, as this can be difficult for the blender to chop up, and may get wrapped around the blades. Add about 6 rings.

Crab

Another good meat to put in. I have not been able to find any decent crab meat at the market, only the 'seafood mix' stuff, which is really just a mix of cheaper, lower quality stuff.

Octopus

The small entire octopuses are quite handy. They blend up really nice, and because it includes the entire organism, there is a lot of different nutritional value in it. Add about 4 octopuses.

Mussel

Another good food variation. Add about 4 mussels.

Fry Food

This is the small bottled product that is used to start a culture to feed fry. It is a good food source for the fine suspension feeders, such as clams, sea squirts etc. Add one of the small bottles of this, about 10ml.

Yeast

Another good fine suspension feeder food. About 1 teaspoon per mixture.

Flake Food

This will ensure that they are getting all that they require. Add the flake at the end, by stirring in, it does not require blending. It will absorb all the moisture in the mix before being frozen and disperse into small pieces when it is thawed. Add about half a handful.

Bait Fish

Last time I was at the market, I spotted a small, white bait fish so I gave it a try. It seems like it was a good move, as the fish relish these food fragments in the mix. Add about a handful of this.

Vitamin Supplement

This is just to make sure that they are getting all that they require. It is likely this is not required, but I am just making sure. I use a bird multi-vitamin and it is very cheaper than anything directly for an aquarium. Add about a teaspoon.

Brine Shrimp

I plan to use this in the future. Just stir some in after the mixture has been blended. If it is frozen, then thaw out first. Can also use newly hatched brine.

Fish Eggs

I have heard of a few people using these in their mix, just don't use Russian Caviar. ;-) This makes sense though, as an egg has a lot of nutritional value and it is meant to feed a growing organism and tend to all its nutritional needs until it can feed itself.

Shrimp Eggs

Saw this mentioned around the traps also.

Mysid Shrimp

Fish absolutely relish this food source, so if you can get them they make a wonderful addition. Stir in after the mixture has been blended.

Chicken Egg Yolk

Another good type of egg to put in. Cook the egg yolk, then just add to the blender. Add towards the end as it does not have to be cut up, just stirred well in. Once again, the egg is to act as a source of nutrition for the growing chicken, so it has a lot of vitamins and minerals in it. Another type of food for the suspension and filter feeders again, as will quickly break up apon injection into the aquarium.

Zooplankton

If you have access to this, they are usually sold as a frozen food from the local aquarium store, then another great food to add. Thaw first, then stir in after the mixture has been blended. If you happen to have your own cultures of this type of stuff, then that can be added.

Bloodworm/Earthworm

Many people like to feed these type of things to their tank, personally I don't like feeding anything that is non-marine to my reef. But, if you feed this, or are comfortable with it then it can be quite easily added. Best idea might be to cut it up and stir into the mixture after it has been blended.

Spinich/Romaine Lettuce/Broccoli/Pea

Same as with the last ingredients, I don't particularly like to feed a terrestrial food such as this, but many swear by it. Might be a good idea to shred these up separately, then stir in at the end so that you have more control over the resulting size.

Anything Else You Normally Feed

Add anything to the mixture that you would normally feed to your reef. And use your judgement to deterime whent to add it, how to cut up etc, so that the correct food particle sizes are aquired.

As you can see, this is quite a list of possible foods that you can put it. But you do not have to put them all it, this is just some examples of what to put in, and some is what I personally use.

So give it a go. You will find it very convenient, and your reef inhabitants will love you for it. Let me know if you think of some other foods that you have tried, I will add them to the list, and the success you have had.

Comments

Food for fish Written by on 2006-06-13 11:45:09 Try fish fillet without batter for big carnivorous fish.

Written by on 2007-09-11 09:15:22 good site

Written by Travis Tucker on 2007-12-04 11:44:53 I've been doing this for years. Great way to speed up feeding time. In my more active tanks you don't even need to thaw the cube. Just turn the pumps off and drop it in.

Food for Fish Written by on 2008-01-31 12:11:59 I originally saw this idea in The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert Fenner, but i want to thank you for the more extensive list of foods and when to add them to the mix. When i made my first batch, containing mussels, squid, nori, shrimp, flake food, and a vitamin supplement, i put it all in the blender and it pretty much became a paste very quickly. Dropping the chunk in the tank while it was still frozen eliminated that problem though.

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