Let your Zebra Dine like Royalty!!!!!

[Rob]

All credit to McEve for giving us a little inspiration!!!

Don't forget the candles and Serviette's!!!!

Several people have asked me to write down the recipe for the homemade food I use. I have so far used the "gefuhl" method, and not been very scientific or precise when I make it, so I was planning on writing a bit about how much I use of the different ingredients the next time I make a batch.

But, the major ingredient is prawns. I use the cooked ones with the shell still on it, and cut part of the tail, the spear and the legs off in one diagonal cut before throwing them in a blender. Let the blender run until the prawns are as finely ground as you can get them. Then add whatever veggies and other seafoods you have. I use crab, fish, mussels, calamari - cooked or uncooked. for veggies, parboiled carrots, squash (zuccini, gorgettes), peas, spinach, capsicum - whatever I have, and blend it together with the prawns until I have a fairly solid mix, and everything is finely ground. Add a couple of capsules (open the capsules and use the powdered spirulina only) of spirulina, and then put the mix in a plastic freezerbag.

Pat the bag flat, making sure there's no bubbles left in the mixture, and put in the freezer - on a flat surface.

Then you can carve pieces of it, and feed

Don't be scared to experiment. As long as you would eat the ingredient it's going to be good for the Zebra as well - within reason - don't put chocolate in the mix just because you like it Anything marine and veggies - not fruit, you know - common sense

I'll get back to you about the exact amounts if you like, but.. it's really no big deal, as long as the mix isn't runny - which will make it messy to feed, then you can't go wrong really....

[INXS]

Rob,
I think the standard cichlid shrimp mix is half shrimp and half green peas - from there you can modify. Many people use either spirulina, vitamins or some enriched flake/pellet food.

I have heard of anything from mango and bananas to garlic.
Many people blend in growth and color enhancers too.

As Rob mentioned it is important to make sure the air is out of the mix or it will just float in the tank and eventually decompose.

With shrimp, mussels, fish , calamari, etc. you HAVE TO BE CAREFUL! and remove the leftovers in a few hours to daily as it spoils rapidly in a 82-86 degree tank.

Another thing I have discovered is that you have to make sure the shrimp and the peas (or other ingredients) are fully defrosted before blending it - otherwise the mix will often float.

I did notice that some fish like it and others will not touch it - worth a try though.

[khblock]

This is similar to some of the discus recipes I've seen around and have made. Some folks also blend in pre-natal vitamins & Knox gelatin. The gelatin keeps the mixture together keeping it from polluting the tanks as much and helps it sink to the bottom. Anything left over can be easily removed before it can spoil in high temps.

I also use this to administer meds to discus but not to plecos because some meds are too strong for plecos. I'm not a believer of growth or color enhancers or hormones because its been proven to negatively effect spawning and the over all health of the fish. Fish color up younger but they tend to breakdown metabolically and die early. Adults who have been “juiced” also tend not to spawn. IMO some breeders in other species of fish (don't know about plecos) juice their young so they can sell larger and more colorful fish earlier increasing their profit margin. Sorry for the rant folks, this is a hot topic for me. If anyone is interested in reading up on this topic on another forum for in depth comments on this subject PM me.

But, the major ingredient is prawns. I use the cooked ones with the shell still on it,

Rob, you are the expert so I must ask…I’ve heard stories of shells causing blockages in the digestive track in some fish. Their systems can’t break it down. I’m assuming you are not seeing this in zebras. Do we know the nutritional value of the shells?

[Aiptasia]

This diet sounds so similar to Ocean Nutrition's Cichlid Vegi formula. I feed a 1:1 mix of Cichlid omni to cichlid vegi flakes to a lot of my small to medium sized African cichlids. Check out the ingredients list:

"A fresh Seafood Mix, including (Salmon Fillets, Euphasusia pacifica Plankton, Squid, Salmon Eggs and/or Salmon Egg Oil, Euphasia superba Plankton and/or Krill Hydrolysate, Marine Algae, Sea Clams, Kelp, Herring, Adult Brine Shrimp, and Brine Shrimp Nauplii), Wheat Flour, Corn Meal, MPAX™ (Marine Protein Amino eXtract: Fish Meals, hydrolysates, and Select Amino Acids (Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Cystine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, and Valine)), Egg, Lecithin, Magnesium Sulfate, Vitamin Premix (Ascorbic Acid, Stabilized Vitamin C, dl-Alpha Tocopheryl Acetate, d-Pantothenic Acid, Riboflavin, Niacin, Menadione, Folacin, Cholecalciferol, Biotin, Thiamin, Retinol, Pyridoxine, and Cyanoccobalamin), Carotenoid Pigments (Canthaxanthin and/or Astaxanthin), Artificial Color, and preservative (Ethoxyquin)."

Between the Cichlid Omni and the Cichlid Vegi mix, the ingredients are still the same, just the ratios of protein ingredients to vegi ingredients. The only two ingredients I don't like are the corn meal and the preservative ethoxyquin, which has been shown to be a carcinogen in birds and other species. I think the European Union has banned it, although it's still being used in some human foods such as paprika.

I'm really leaning towards making my own fish foods with a gel binder in the blender similar to ya'll recipes above. Pound for pound, it's far cheaper to make your own fish food than to buy prepared fish foods wholesale or retail.

It's good to know that my zebra mix should be adequate for my haps as well.

[McEve]

Salmon Eggs and/or Salmon Egg Oil

They don't know..? Yet another reason to make your own I guess. There's litterally houndreds of recipes to be found on the net. As long as you use common sense regarding what you know the fish needs, then homemade is a good choise in my opinon

[eklikewhoa]

is this the knox gelatin used to bind the food together?

http://www.drugstore.com/products/prod. ... T-0-SEARCH

[midnight pearl]

Hi-All,
Just wondering if anyone in here have fed their Zeb's "Beefheart" or "oxheart " ?

[McEve]

Very few fish have the right digestive system to be able to utilize the nourishment in beef/oxheart. Discus can. As far as I know Zebras can not. I would assume Pirahnas can too

[chillired]

Thank you I will try this

[animalfreak]

Salmon Eggs and/or Salmon Egg Oil

They don't know..? Yet another reason to make your own I guess. There's litterally houndreds of recipes to be found on the net. As long as you use common sense regarding what you know the fish needs, then homemade is a good choise in my opinon

I think that it varies from batch to batch, not that they dont know.