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[anchar]

Frozen Food
by David Midgley

Prepared frozen foods bought from aquariums are a great source of nutrition for your fishes. However these foods have a single major drawback, price.

I have used homemade frozen fish foods for many years. The fish love it, it is extremely low in cost and judging by the sucess I have had breeding various species it seems to be good for the fish.

Small ice cube trays are ideal for making small pellets.ice cube trays for making it

I use fresh prawns/squid/various fish/beefheart and a variety of vegetables (squash, peas, nori etc). The most important consideration when making frozen fish food is to consider the species you intend to feed. For most omnivorous cichlids a mixture of 1:1 of animal to vegetable products is advisable. If you are making a mixture for Tropheus or even mbuna which are predominantly herbivorous species you might make the a mixture to the following specifications:

* - 50% zuccini slices
* - 15% peas
* - 15%spinach
* - 20% whole uncooked prawns

The final product is easy to use and very cheap, around $15 AUD for 3-4 kilos.
It is important to ensure you use the freshest possible ingredients. I then blend the mixture in a food processor till it is a thick pulp. I add a mixture of hot water and gelatine (to bind the mixture together) until I achieve the right consistancy which is similar to that of thick lumpy porridge. Pour the mixture into small ice cube trays and freeze. When it is frozen, empty the ice cube trays into an air tight container, keep it in the freezer - and the food is ready to use.