Feeding marine food to loaches and other freshwater fish...

[Jim Powers]

I discovered some new foods the other day for saltwater fish and wondered if there was any problem feeding them to freshwater fish.
Instant Ocean brand has some interesting new foods.
They have a line of gel foods (brine shrimp, ocean krill, cyclop-Eeze, etc) that I have been using for my hillstream loaches as well as other freshwater fish. For the hillstreams, I spread the gel on a rock and for the other fish I just drop little globs of the stuff into the tank. It seems to be popular.
There are also some seaweed gel grazing blocks available that I have been thinking of trying for the hillstreams.
Has anyone else seen or tried these products?
http://instantocean.com/sites/instantoc ... 4&cid=5376
http://instantocean.com/sites/instantoc ... 4&cid=5389

[Menu]

Hi Jim
I have not tried these products, unfortunately, but I think you can safely feed them your freshwater fish.
They seem to be very interesting products for hillstreams!
The new gel and gel block products of Tetra i have already tested on my Sewellia and Gastro and they like it, but on the other side its very expensive.
But i do not know if it is currently on your side of the world is available?

http://www.tetra.de/tetra/go/7B34D551FB ... &lang_id=2

[Hokum]

Which one of the Natura products do you use?

Jim, most of those i think can be bought in the UK too, but i was worried about salt content?

[Menu]

I use the Bloodworm Mix and the Cyclops Block, the remaining varieties were also worth a try!?

In these products for saltwater fish is certainly not contain salt!

[andyroo]

for hillstreams- how about putting a sludge of ground lettuce/carrot/zucchini etc... into a syringe and running lines along the lee side of a rock?
Thinking aloud.
A

[Diana]

I do not think there would be salt added to marine tank foods.
The animals in the ocean have the same blood salt levels as fresh water animals, so anything along these lines, collected for food, should be safe for fresh water fish.

I am not sure about the algae (kelp), but reading the ingredients in some fresh water foods, they do contain kelp and other marine algae. Not as a single ingredient, to be sure, but in high enough levels that if the salt was a problem they probably would not use it.

Many of us already feed our fish brine shrimp (I have a big container of it and feed it regularly). This is a food that is raised in salt water and is safe for fresh water fish.
Many sea going fish are made into fish food for fresh water fish. Read the label on the Omega One and New Life Spectrum products, for example.
Salmon, Herring, Black Cod, Krill, Shrimp and many other ocean things are in these products.

Even foods that are made from 'fish meal' are made from ocean going fish, not fresh water fish.

[Hokum]

I managed to get some of the Algae mix and I can't get it to stick to the rocks? I just drifts off in the flow of the tank? How do people apply this stuff? The WCMM and Danio's enjoyed it though..

[Jim Powers]

I try to put it in an area with lower current so that doesn't happen.

[Emma Turner]

Jim, did you know Tetra bought out a new range of gel foods called Natura? Not sure if you can get them over there? I thought of you when I saw them as I know you used to be able to get a gel food to put on the rocks in your hillstream loach tanks.
http://www.tetra-fish.co.uk/tetra/go/7B ... lang_id=20
There are a few different types such as bloodworm, brineshrimp, and algae.

Emma

[Jim Powers]

I checked their website and its not available over here, unfortunately.
So far, the Instant Ocean product is popular, particularly the Cyclopeeze.
Its a good thing, too, since I am on my last few packets of the old Tetra gel.

[Hokum]

I've tried the Algae mix by putting it on a dry rock then letting it dry a little, it sticks better.

Btw re Cyclops block how do people stop their small fish picking it apart? My WCMM's pick at it and it ends up sliding off the rock it’s on...

[Jim Powers]

I really don't do anything about the loose cyclops. I just let the choprae and rubescens danios eat it. They love it!

[Iris76]

It's been 2 hours ago since i fed them the algae gel block from Tetra.
My first impression is that i'm not convinced. It was mushy instead of solid. I smeared the gel on a stone but it was not what i expected it to be. My fanshrimps and Stiphodons liked it and also my Gastromyzons and Beaufortias tried the new taste but i am not happy with the substance. I like it when a food tab or gel sticks to the surface so that the hillstreams can graze the tablet or surface but this food is more gel than block. Next time i will try to let it dry before putting it into the tank and see if that does the trick.

About the veggies for hillstreams, i put a fresh piece of cucumber or zucchini in the tank once to twice a week. I take the end part of the veggie and slice it in half. Then i scrape the skin lightly with a knife and wash it thorougly. Then i pierce and pin it on a suctioncup and stick it to the glass. I leave it in for maximum 24 hours. My hillies and Stiphodons graze it and the fanshrimps keep their sticky fans in the current to catch some of the leftovers. I haven't used carrot before. It contains Vitamine C, B1, B2 and Carotene, so it might also enhance their colours. I'm gonna try blanched carrot and leave the algae gel block in the refrigerator for a while ...

[Menu]

Natural food is, in my opinion still the best.
The gel products are not bad if you have no frozen food at home.