By George Davis
Tired of spending megabucks per pound for fish food?
The way I figure it, if it’s good enough for the U.S. Government, it’s good enough for my fish. If I can eat it, it has to be OK for them, and there’s no chance of bringing in the problems from Tubifex or other live foods.
Clams – Minced clams at the grocery store sell for about $4 a pound. Run them through the food processor, then freeze them. When you want to feed, slice with a razor blade and feed the flakes. For some reason my rainbows don’t seem to relish it, but most others do.
Mussels – $1 to $2 per pound live. Stick the whole mussels in the freezer. take them out one by one, open with a screwdriver and slice with a razor blade. My killies haven’t complained yet. You probably could harvest all the meat, dice and freeze, but I haven’t tried that method yet.
Squid – $2 a pound at the fresh seafood shop. Skin the squid, pull out the beak and cartilage, and chop finely with a sharp knife. Freeze, then shave off small pieces. Don’t run it through a blender, as it makes a muddy mess.
Soft Shell Crab – Left over fish bait? Those soft shelled crabs make excellent fish food, and one of the most enjoyed by my fish. My reef tank enjoys left over minnows, but I’m out of those and haven’t had the opportunity to try them ground up for killies.
Earthworms – I haven’t tried this myself yet. Collect the earthworms from a clean, organic garden area, wash off the dirt, freeze, and slice with a razor blade. Your fish will love them. I have heard that you can purge the worms of dirt with cornmeal, although I haven’t tried it.
Blue Crabs – Some crab get a little too old for you to enjoy it? Even cooked, the fish seem to love it. For other foods, I would definitely recommend raw.
Others may disagree with me on the above, but my fish are happy and I’m not spending $25-$50 a pound for fish food. I feed this stuff to my Africans, mollies, catfish, whatever. I wouldn’t suggest it for any of the vegetarian fishes. — G.C.K.A. Newsletter, May 1997