Rinsing frozen foods?

[copenhagen_cowboy@live.co]

I have always just defrosted my frozen cubes and fed them and havn't had any spikes yet but I got to thinking should I be rinsing them so I'm only feeding the shrimp not the juices around them? Or is the juices help feeding my things like feather dusters?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I always rinse my frozen foods.

The juices can be high in phosphates and other nutrients.

[Craigdillman]

I never rinse my food, i figure the extra juice feeds all my corals. Be sure to watch levels tho cause it is extra waste if nothing is using it and if you have a small tank it can make a difference

[Madreefer]

I always rinse my frozen foods.

The juices can be high in phosphates and other nutrients.

+1
Better yet if you have a food processor, a patient wife who won't snap about the mess and smell in the kitchen than make your own. You'll save a lot of money and know what your fish are actually eating.
Once again. Those juices are adding a crap load of phosphates

[Magickiwi]

I'm starting to get the hint to rinse my food before I feed. I've been fighting the phosphate war for a few weeks now and I'm still losing. Gotta start taking care of details like rinsing the food and doing weekly WC now.

If you have a lot of filter feeders I wouldn't bother but if it's FO or just staring up I would rinse.

[mike31154]

I used to rinse, but not any more. Now I simply let the frozen stuff thaw on a plastic tablespoon and drain off the excess, which is usually juice from brine shrimp, not the mysis shrimp. I feed a combo of both every evening. Here's a thought, although I'm guilty of not doing so myself.... read the packaging to see if there's any info there on ingredients besides the actual shrimp/brine shrimp/protein. It might even be that you are paying for extra nutrients that benefit your livestock & you could be sending them down the drain. Some folks pay an arm & leg for Selcon to soak their food in before feeding. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that the juice many of us so diligently rinse away contains no phosphates at all. How do we really know?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

My friend Chin tested his mysis (I think it was PE Mysis) and it was high in phosphates.

[Aquattro]

To be clear, the mysis itself contains PO4. All food does. But it gets eaten and processed, whereas the juice does not. It's just free floating nutrients. I would never dump the juices in my tank.

[neoh]

I use a coffee/tea strainer. Drop a cube in there, run it under the tap until thaw, then put it in the tank and shake it all out.

[Simmy]

How long should one keep thawed mysis or any frozen food if you've thawed out too much? Can it stay in the fridge for 2 or 3 days in fresh water?

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

How long should one keep thawed mysis or any frozen food if you've thawed out too much? Can it stay in the fridge for 2 or 3 days in fresh water?

Yes. I usually thaw enough for 2 or 3 days at a time. Fish just gobble it up, even on the third day in the fridge.

[Spyd]

I get the 40 oz packs of mysis and just chop it up into cubes while frozen. When feeding, I just throw a couple cubes into the squeezable end of my turkey baster, connect it to the dropper end and suck up some water from my sump and let it dethaw for about 15 minutes or so. Once dethawed, I just shoot the mysis and water into a fish net and let it drain. I put the shrimp back into the turkey baster end, suck up some more water from my sump and feed using the baster.

Sounds like a lot of work, but really, it takes a minute or so to prepare. Plus, it is neat to see how the fish react when the turkey baster hits the water. My Foxface attacks the end of it and chews on it trying to get the mysis out.