LF Brine & shrimp (Edmonton)

[Oilers]

I am looking for the Hikari 32 oz brine and shrimp pack. Big Al usually carries them but they don't have any right now. Does anybody know if any LFS in town carries that pack? Thanks.

[Madreefer]

Just so you are aware, there's really no nutritional value in brine shrimp

[Oilers]

No nutritional value? Do you mind elaborating on it? What do feed your fishes then?

[subman]

The general consensus is that brine shrimp may be good as a treat they lack much nutritional value unless gut loaded with vitamins but I don't know of Frozen that are gut loaded. Hence most people feed mysis shrimp. I personally don't feed any frozen foods.

[Madreefer]

No nutritional value? Do you mind elaborating on it? What do feed your fishes then?

I feed my fish only home made fish food. Frozen store bought food IMO is a huge waste of money and full of phosphates. I can make a batch of food that lasts a year for under $80 and I feed twice a day. As for the brine shrimp just Google it and you can get a better answer than what I can give you.

[BlueTang<3]

The only frozen food i feed is the pacific plankton that Steve sells, since i switched to fish wont even look at other brands. I thought there were some import issues with hakari a little while ago so canada was stoping the import of it


http://www.oceanfreshaquarium.com/pacifica-plankton/

[Oilers]

The general consensus is that brine shrimp may be good as a treat they lack much nutritional value unless gut loaded with vitamins but I don't know of Frozen that are gut loaded. Hence most people feed mysis shrimp. I personally don't feed any frozen foods.

Jason,
What do you feed your fishes with then?

[Oilers]

I feed my fish only home made fish food. Frozen store bought food IMO is a huge waste of money and full of phosphates. I can make a batch of food that lasts a year for under $80 and I feed twice a day. As for the brine shrimp just Google it and you can get a better answer than what I can give you.

Wow.. I guess you learn something new everyday. I pay about $28/pack of brine shrimp at Big Al and I usually buy 2 at a time. That lasts me about a month.. lol.
Do you mind sharing with me your recipe? I would love to try it out. Please PM me if you wish.

[subman]

I feed new life spectrum Pellets on an auto feeder and once and a while flakes for a treat. I also give them a New Era Grazer disk once a week.

I'm not against frozen but I have found that once I stopped feeding it my water quality increased dramatically. My fish are fat and healthy and appear more active than before.

[Madreefer]

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=483333&postcount=257

My recipes I posted I cant find. I use a recipes similar to Kiens. I add a few different things like cut up nori sheets.
I use a food processor though and than put in a large ziploc freezer bag and roll flat with a rolling pin.
When it's fully frozen I peel off the ziploc and cut in to small one serving chunks and keep in a container in the fridge.
The mysis I like to use is PE Mysis but it really has to be rinsed well though. Everything should be actually.
Just make sure you buy all raw food.

[Myka]

The most balanced food you can feed is either a good quality pellet or a well planned homemade frozen food.

Brine shrimp have their place - they are great for enticing newly acquired specimens as well as finicky fish. Brine shrimp have very little nutritional value because they have little flesh - they are mostly just exoskeleton. You can buy brine shrimp gut loaded with Spirulina algae which makes the shrimp a useful capsule for delivering Spirulina. :D However, the Spirulina brine shrimp seem to be slightly less palatable in my experience.

Mysis shrimp are high in HUFAs which also means they are fatty. "Healthy fats", but still fatty. For this reason, mysis shrimp should not be a sole food source, and also because they are not a complete diet. Mysis are great for fattening up skinny fish though. Anthias are one fish that really benefit from a significant amount of mysis in their diet.

Pacifica Plankton fall somewhere between mysis and brine shrimp as far as nutritional value goes. They tend to have a tougher shell though, and I have found many small fish will not accept them. Plankton helps improve yellow, orange, and red coloration.

Most fish in reef tanks are omnivorous which means they also need a considerable amount of algae. Along with grazing on the live rock, many fish will eat nori (seaweed) when offered on a "veggie clip", although many fish will not. The best way to deliver algae for fish that won't eat nori is in pellet or homemade food. My fish really love HBH Super Soft Spirulina pellets and they get several feedings a week of this food to help keep them healthy. Spirulina is also useful for constipation which can be lethal if not corrected. I have found clownfish to be particularly susceptible to constipation issues if they are not given a diet high enough in algae.



My homemade recipe includes:

Scallops
Wild Pacific Salmon
New Zealand Mussels
White Shrimp
Pollock or Cod
Squid
Nori
Gelatin
Florida Aqua Farms vitamins
Selcon
Garlic

[Oilers]

Thanks Myka. Thanks everyone for the information. I have just bought a couple mysis shrimp packs from a local LFS for now. I just don't have the time this weekend to make my own food but I will definitely get into it in the near future. It sounds like a cool and fun thing to do not to mention the $$$ I'll save.
I do have a couple 16 oz jars of New Life Spectrum pellet at home. I only feed them pellets once a week since I always thought that brine shrimp is better than pellet :redface:

[Myka]

You're welcome. :) Those are good pellets - provided they are fresh! ;) I write the date on the container the day I open it, and I replace the container after a year if I haven't used it all up. I always buy the smallest jars.

I usually make some extra when I make food and sell it to the local reefers here. I'm moving to Edmonton in the very near future, so if you're not so inclined to make your own if you wait a few months you will likely see me post an ad for some homemade food. ;)

[Oilers]

You're welcome. :) Those are good pellets - provided they are fresh! ;) I write the date on the container the day I open it, and I replace the container after a year if I haven't used it all up. I always buy the smallest jars.

I usually make some extra when I make food and sell it to the local reefers here. I'm moving to Edmonton in the very near future, so if you're not so inclined to make your own if you wait a few months you will likely see me post an ad for some homemade food. ;)
That is a good idea. I'll write the date on the second jar once I open it. I bought those from J&L and since I didn't want to pay for shipping, I bought 2 of everything I need. 2 jars of food, 2 heaters, etc.. Heck, I even bought 4L of Prime one time to avoid shipping charges. I wonder if that ever goes bad.
I might take you up on it if you do put some out for sale. I get first dibs :biggrin: