# Anyone create own food?



## Guest (Nov 28, 2004)

I wondered if anybody creates their own P snack out of a number of different foods. I remember reading a book on marine fish once that recommended creating your own. Cut up loads of fish and add other things and seal it all together with Gelatine.

Thought it may be a good way of ensuring a decent diet. Could use small pieces of 3 different fish to make it smell and taste tempting. But also add flake/pellet foods and stick, crushed up maybe. Glue it together with gelatine and freeze. A sort of all in one snack made to measure in bite size pieces!


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## weezplz (Oct 18, 2004)

whats gelatine/where do i get it?

yeah sometimes i just smash beefheart and shrimp up together...


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## ILLdose13 (Nov 25, 2004)

gelatine is jelly!









you can buy it at almost any grocery store


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2004)

Yeah I suppose it is jelly like. You see it at home baking type sections at super markets. Err I don't do too much baking like.

I'm guessing its completely harmless to fish because I have heard it being used on Discus too. They are a lot more fragile than P's!

Anyone do this?

I may give it a go if people reckon it will be safe.


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## CaminoMan78 (May 25, 2004)

I usually mix all my foods together in an ice cube tray. This makes it convenient to dispense and it rounds of there meals because I can add things like pellets and flakes.


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## ILLdose13 (Nov 25, 2004)

im gonna try making my own food for my p's RIGHT now


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## Guest (Nov 28, 2004)

Do you use something to bind it all together then? Like gelatine? Anything else you could use other than gelatine?
Yeah that was the plan, mix a load together and freeze it in ice cube trays. Bit like a Piranha ready meal!


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

i have heard of people using gelatine to combine food. go for it, if your p's won't eat it, try adding some garlic extract to it. the garlic is $17 a tube at my lfs.. but supposedly, your fish will eat anything with this on it.


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## Phtstrat (Sep 15, 2004)

SpAzZy said:


> the garlic is $17 a tube at my lfs.. but supposedly, your fish will eat anything with this on it.


 SeaChem makes a thing called Garlic Guard which is a liquid flavor enhancer. It is a hell of a lot less than $17 though. I know that you can get it at Petsmart for sure.


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2004)

It was less the fact will they eat it or not, more will it contain anything that disagrees with them. But like you say SpAzZy I have read this too so I guess it won't do them any harm. The smell of the fish should overpower anything else, so I think they will eat it. Can always starve him a couple of days till he does.


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## Lonald (Jan 10, 2004)

hmmmm, this sounds kinda interesting, let us know if they eat it and how you made it if you do


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## Death in #'s (Apr 29, 2003)

pm als
he only feeds his home made foods
and he has the biggest pygo's in a home aqauruim


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## compton ass steve (Nov 12, 2004)

ya.... please tell us if it works out and what not.... i would love to try it, would have no idea how to go about doing it though


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2004)

Yeah as long as nobody believes gelatine holds anything nasty for my P i will give it a go and let everybody know!


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## Sam (Mar 18, 2004)

I used homemade gelatin cubes for my natts when they were 1" until they were about 4". I now use them for my baby rhom.

I use smelt, shrimp with shell, cichlid pellets, flakes, tetra colour bits, brine shrimp, fish fins, bloodworms, a little beefheart...sometimes I'll improvise and add a few ingredients at hand.

I think it's important to get some fish bones and/or fins in the mix, or just make sure to use whole fish (like smelt) as the main ingredient.

In the first batch I made, I put a little vegetable (carrot, peas, spinach) in as well. 
In my last batch I put a tiny bit of pureed garlic in the mix...imo it does help attract the p's, and I've heard it's good for internal parasites too.

Blend all the ingredients with a food processor, then follow the directions on the gelatin package. You need to use more when gelling solids...just follow the instructions. I use unflavoured Knox gelatin, which is high in protein and has no fat. (I think most gelatins are the same)

I then put the mixture in a big tupperware and let it set in the fridge for about an hour. Once set, you can cut it into whatever portions you think appropriate, and freeze.

The gel cubes can be messy...they can cloud up your water. Frozen cubes (thawed out, of course) are better for some reason...they don't break up as much.

My baby reds fed on these cubes exclusively for the first few months with great results, imo. Good growth and colour. And they loved them too, no problems with acceptance.

My baby rhom is on them now...he doesn't like them as much, but the garlic did help get him to accept them.

I don't use them with my pygos now, cause they're much bigger and eat a LOT more than before...I'd need to make a ton of gel cubes to feed them. I'm sure it can be done though.

Start off with a small batch to test it out. If your p's like the cubes and they don't mess your water up too bad, you can make more later.


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## KrazyCrusader (Oct 26, 2004)

Sam said:


> I used homemade gelatin cubes for my natts when they were 1" until they were about 4". I now use them for my baby rhom.
> 
> I use smelt, shrimp with shell, cichlid pellets, flakes, tetra colour bits, brine shrimp, fish fins, bloodworms, a little beefheart...sometimes I'll improvise and add a few ingredients at hand.
> 
> ...


 Wonderful information thank you


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## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

pretty detailed. it sounds like your making a concoction for fear factor









i'm thinking about trying it later, but i'm not sure yet. my beefheart has stuff added in it, and i don't really like feeding my p's it, because it breaks apart. maybe one day though.


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## Guest (Nov 29, 2004)

Just the sort of response I was after, very informative. Cheers Sam









Next time I go shopping I will try and collect some stuff to give it a go.

Whats the deal with spinach? Don't people cook veggie stuff they put in? I wanted to add a wee bit of spinach and/or peas.

I was planning on dropping a cube of something like this in every few days as a sort of multi-vitamin!


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## Venumstylez (Oct 30, 2004)

is veggies that healthy for your p?


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## Sam (Mar 18, 2004)

I really don't know if vegetables are healthy or not for p's. There's a lot of conflicting info out there. 
Some say having veg in their diet is good, others say it's not necessary. I have yet to hear anyone say that they are bad for p's.
All I know is that I used them, and they didn't kill my p's.
Vegetables I've used in the past without problems: Peas, Spinach, Carrots, and Lentils.

If I had to use one vegetable, I'd use RAW carrots since they are high in carotene, which is good for colour. 
Using raw vegetables is probably better if you want to keep all the nutrients. 
Whether you p's will benefit from these nutrients or not...that's a question for the FAQers. Some say p's don't digest vegetable well enough to actually use the nutrients.

Also I forgot to mention one thing in my last post. Regarding shrimp shells...don't use too much. Shrimp shells do not blend well in the food processor and you'll be left with some chunks that your p's might not like...and thus will be left behind in your substrate. 
If you really want to blend the shells in, use a knife to make the shells as fine as possible before adding them in the blender.

Hope that helps.


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## MR.FREEZ (Jan 26, 2004)

look at this sh*t


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## Guest (Nov 30, 2004)

mr.freez said:


> look at this sh*t


 Ahh, I never found anything whenI looked. I am going to have to give this a go. He seems to have put everything but the kitchen sink in there! Talk about varied diet!?


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

Hey, I am making up a new batch right now. That first test batch lasted me this long. I am going to try some smelt and some pellots in there this time. Fruit and vegatibles are very healthy for p's, nuts as well. Problem is, it's like trying to feed a fat kid brocolli when all they have had to eat their whole lives is chocolate cake. Thats why I mix it together.

The cubes hold together very well in the water, much like a beefheart cube would. I am going to make a larger batch this time to feed my GT as well.


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## Sam (Mar 18, 2004)

> I then put this in a double boiler, stired it till it seperated (3-4 minutes) and got warm enough to add the gelatin. I mixed in the Knox unflavored gelatin (great source of protein) I then poored this onto a cookie sheet, let it cool in the fridge for about 2 hours


94NDTA...do you dissolve the gelatin in water before adding it to the mixture? Or do you just add the powder into the mix?

I have a real problem with getting the cubes to hold...I think it might be cause I use boiling water to dissolve the gelatin.


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

I added mine to the mixture. The mixture allready has about 1 cup of water to it. You need to add it when the mixture starts to seperate, or else it will not hold. It takes about 5 minutes on the double boiler, till I added the gelatin (no water)


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## Sam (Mar 18, 2004)

Hmm...interesting. 
I'll try your method next time...thanks.


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## 94NDTA (Jul 14, 2003)

Sam said:


> Hmm...interesting.
> I'll try your method next time...thanks.


 No problem. I just finished making a batch, and it turned out great!


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## moeplz (Feb 21, 2005)

What is this gelatine stuff called?

Like I know its not jello, but is its name just like gelatine?

anyone have any brand names they use or anything?


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## sassyO (Jan 30, 2006)

wow, how irronic you guys are doing this. I just sat down to tell you guys what I was doing with the food and you already were doing it today. 
My boys would not eat the krill I bought frozen from lfs. So, I dissolved it in boiled water and through in some chopped garlic. I put it in the tank and they went nuts. They ate everybit. My guys are picky eaters and I want them to have a good diet. I also bought a liver the other day and chopped it into little bite size pieces. I put it in a baggy with water and garlic. I then drained the water and zipped up the bag and froze it flat. That is going to last me a long time and it only cost me 1.74 at the grocery store. 
ps.The gelatine is found near the baking section it is also used to make jam


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## Pyri (May 26, 2005)

I did while ago food to an oscar. (Including raw fish, shrimps, peas, bananas, carrots, eggs, spirulina powder, lemon juice and ADE-vitamins.) My oscar loved it but red belly didn't like it.


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