Rinse frozen food!

If you don't mind sharing them in order to keep these little critters breeding in captivity, chuck your hints and tips this way!

urchysj

Rinse frozen food!

Post by urchysj »

Hi. I'm the dum dum that poisened her tank by overfeedning frozen food and not rinsing it first. See the "Big Disaster" thread.
I am still feeding frozen food, but let me tell you what I have observed. I happen to have one of those metal tea strainers for seeping loose tea leaves with. Bought it in a health food store years ago. It has a handle you squeeze, and it opens the round "strainer". It is fine mesh so that tea leave bits do not go into your cup.
Anyway, this is what I now use to rinse my frozen food. Even if it is frozen blocks, you can fit 2 of them in the thing and it will thaw while you are running it under water. You will not BELIEVE how much "juice" flows out! I have seen the water turn red/brown as it's leaving the food. This is what I think killed off my fish in my disaster. Keep the food under the water and turn it over a few times until it runs clear. THEN you can feed. I have had no problems since. I am even using the same food from the same package that wiped out that tank. If you can't find this little "tea" tool, just use a fine mesh strainer/colander. But the tea tool is easier to get the food out of. I also use a large wooden stir stick to scoop out the food to feed it. Ok, my 2 bits.

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Post by DANthirty »

im sure you are right , but wouldnt the manufactureres recomend that you rinse it before feeding????
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Post by Tristan »

I defrost my frozen food in a small pot of tank water and then strain as I don't like the excess juices fouling the aquarium. I used to just chuck the cube in the tank but it was well filtered and I never had a problem with it.

DANthirty I don't think manufacturers would highlight any potential problems with andy product unless compelled to do so by law. Obviously most of us are keeping relatively few zebras in a large tank and therefore the filter is not as used to the large ammounts of ammonia and nitrite that would be present in a well / overstocked community set up hence the problems of all the "juice" that comes off the cubes. - Just a theory :D
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urchysj

Post by urchysj »

Hey Dan30. Sounds like you've never made a mistake. Good for you. I look forward to seeing lots of good advice and suggestions from you so we can all benefit from your superior fish-keeping skills.

I read the package and no where does it say to rinse. Says the same thing all food cans say...stuff like remove uneaten food, feed for 3 minutes yada yada. And no, I'm not going to rinse flake. And I have used frozen foods many times before with no prob like Tristan.
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Post by Adam »

Hey urchysj,

There's no need to flame, vent if you must.

I'm sure that Dan did not imply that you do not read the instructions on fish food. Perhaps what he meant to say was that manufacurers should indicate whether their produce requires a rinse before being used. As for making mistakes I'm sure Dan makes them as do I and probably a lot of other people here. If you don't make mistakes how are you suppose to learn, no one here professes to being a fish guru. We are all in this together and it would be great if we could share information as a lot of us do. How are we to progress in our chosen hobby of fish keeping if we don't share our experiences, I firmly believe that no one individual here knows everything there is to know but as a collective we are a force to be reckoned with.

On the subject of frozen food I lost a couple of hundred cardinals to NTD recently and I suspect that it was down to frozen food. What I've started doing now is rinsing all frozen food and only feeding food that originates from saltwater. My reasoning is that perhaps pathogens that live in saltwater will not be able to survive in freshwater. I'm toying with the idea of using freshwater derived feeds again that have been soaked in a salt solution first and then thoroughly washed before feeding.

Peace out.

Adam
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Post by urchysj »

Umm, I overreacted a bit. Sorry about that Dan.
I am very sick with a bad cold and still upset about my disaster too and not feeling very happy right now, so "peace" and I love ya all.
So sorry to hear of all your Cardinals that died. Frozen food may be the culpret? Frozen food seems to have some very cautionary arms attached to it. I thought it was supposed to be "sterilized". Guess not from what I've read. Live food is almost as dangerous I hear...with dieseses and parasites.
You know how we "dip" plants and stuff in salt solution or whatever to kill off nasties and even snail eggs? Maybe dip the food in a quick "salt dip" to do the same? Would the salt remain behind and be bad for the fish? I don't know, would that be a bad idea to "salt dip" frozen food?
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Post by Adam »

No problem urchysj,

Dan seems to be a nice fella, I'm sure he'll forgive you if he hasn't already. :wink:

Sorry to hear that you're all flued up, hope you get better soon.

Try plenty of brandy, honey and lemon. It never helps when I get a cold but I get so stoned that I forget about the cold. :lol:

It's always sad to lose fish I'm still mourning my 200 cardinals so I know how you feel about your recent disaster.

The gamma irradiated frozen foods are supposed to be safe and that's what I've always used but as some one here said, Des I think, how many times has it been allowed to thaw while in transit? What effect would this have on the quality of the food?

I think that a dip in a strong salt solution, sea salt not table salt, is definately worth exploring. As long as you give it a good wash in fresh water afterwards it should be ok, maybe in dechlorinated or RO water just to be extra careful. As long as the salt dipped food is thoroughly washed I don't think that it should pose any problems to the fish. I wonder what the other guys here have to say about this idea?
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Post by McEve »

Adam wrote: Sorry to hear that you're all flued up, hope you get better soon.

Try plenty of brandy, honey and lemon. It never helps when I get a cold but I get so stoned that I forget about the cold. :lol:
A bit off topic this posting of mine, but the house wife in me can't resist giving the mother of cure for all flu infections :D

One cup of natural youghurt, peel and mash half a garlic (yes the whole thing, not just a clove) and finely chop about 10 cm of cucumber. Mix and eat and stay away from people (because of the garlic smell ;)) for 12 hours. The next day you'll be right as rain. Guaranteed!
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Post by Adam »

That's a new one on me McEve, I've never heard of that cure before. Is it some sort of scandanavian cure all?

It sounds similar to Tzatziki, a greek dip often eaten with bread.

I tell you what I don't know about staying away from anyone for 12 hours, 12 days may be more appropriate after eating that much garlic :shock: . Sounds like that cure would also help with keeping vampires away :lol:.

Would it not make more sense to eat this stuff beforehand so that any one with the flu doesn't come near you in the first place?

Only teasing. :lol:
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Post by McEve »

LOL - you have a few valid points!

It's not a cure all - but does cure the flu ;) We get a lot of those up here, but not in my family 8)

I'm, familiar with Tzatziki - and it does taste pretty much the same, only a *lot* more.
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Post by DANthirty »

"JESUS CHRIST" urchysj

I was only making a remark, and didnt even imply that i know everything about fishkeeping far from it,i think you over reacted me old mate.

And thanks Adam, you are right i didnt mean any bad feelings with my comments.
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Post by Tristan »

Talking of garlic, i have heard that it can be used as a cure for many fish ailments. Has anyone had any experience of such cures?

Just a thought :?:
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Post by Barbie »

Whoa, I hadn't read this thread in a few days! I guess I should have! I'm glad to see Dan didn't go off the deep end when he read that outburst. Maybe it was lucky HE missed it for a few days too!

I've used algae wafers soaked in garlic for fish that were having stringy feces, rather than treat them. It did cloud the water, and I was told that's due to the mucosal lining that the fish sheds part of internally, which is what actually makes it an effective remedy in the first place. It did work though, so I'd assume a few extra water changes to get rid of that cloudiness are worth the cure, IMO, at least.

On the frozen food note, I rarely rinse mine, and have been feeding it that way for years. Rinsing is going to remove any extra "juice" from the cubes, but it they have been thawed out and spoiled, they shouldn't be fed anyway, and the store you bought them at should replace them, no? I feed quite a large volume of daphnia to my pleco fry to encourage optimal growth and rinsing either it, or the frozen cyclopeeze would a serious PITA to figure out. That doesn't mean my way is best, I have always seen sense in rinsing frozen foods. I just don't bother, as I do LOTS of water changes and I'm not worried about a little extra waste in the tanks a few times a week.

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Post by McEve »

It can be used as a preventative measure, and I always add it my frozen home made food.

And... He did say he was sorry already.
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Post by Tom26000 »

Although rinsing frozen food will not harm, I agree with Barbie, if it has already been defrosted and re-frozen, rinsing will not help. Problem is we cannot tell if the food has defrosted is beyond me?

Cheers

Tom
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