Re[2]: Spawning mats and frozen fish food

GWLANG at ccmail.monsanto.com
Mon, 16 Sep 1996 14:01:05 -0500

When making food it can't hurt to add vitamens just so long as you don't overdo
it. Studies have shown that a lack of vitamen C, Ascorbic acid (no I don't have
the references) isn't good for our fishes. A few years back they also showed
that in most dried foods it was quickly lost during storage. Companies then
started to use the "locked" vitamen C or I believe sodium ascorbate. This form
of vitamen C didn't break down as quickly. I guess the same thing may be
applied to the Calcium form of ascorbic acid.

<snip>

I would try to stick to fish, prawns and other seafoods, freshwater shrimp &
crustaceans, krill etc.etc. also dont feed the food frozen - thaw to room
temperature before feeding (despite early advice to the contary on this list)

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Thaw first -
I think for the most part I agree with Adrian on this.  I actually go one step
further and thaw, then wash my bloodworms and my frozen brine shrimp under cold
running water in a fine mesh net.  It is certainly fed within 15 minutes after
thawing so you would be extremely hard pressed to say that this food was
spoiling during this thawing process.  Likewise for loss of vitamens.  Knowing
the hogs rainbowfishes are I have seen them swim off with an extremely large
piece of food in their mouths.  I think someone else mentioned here on the list
before about a bow messing up their mouths by swallowing or grabbing too large
of a piece of food.  I have had to remove 1/2 of a pea from the mouth of a big
bow that went after the "pleco" food.  So by thawing frozen foods I avoid any
problems with too large of a chunk being placed into the tank, I also remove a
lot of the pollution that the fish wouldn't be eating anyway.  One other point
to consider especially if your frozen food sinks quickly - they will often leave
it at the bottom of the tank where it will foul quicker.  Feeding a baster full
of thawed bloodworms seems to get utilized quicker than the same size chunk
tossed into the tank.

Gary Lange RSG