Frozen food choice and have you had any issues?

[Invictus]

This might be a dumb question, but would these be ok for both Salt and Freshwater? My wife uses brine shrimp for her 37 gallon that is tetras, corydoras, and danios.

Yes, they have quite a few different options and can be used to feed freshwater.

 

[MichaelB]

I'll be placing another group buy order with Brine Shrimp Direct within the next month or two.

Reach out when you do please.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

And broccoli and different nori sheets

 

[clownvan]

since i only have an anemone and one peppermint shrimp, i feed the anemone a tiny piece of salmon or mackerel from my own food. I feed the shrimp a tiny bit of Ocean Nutrition flakes once every 3-4 days. i was going to ask how often I should feed the one shrimp =)

 

[Darkxerox]

So my guess is that I might have had an issue from this last batch of food we did the group buy on since it thawed and refroze during distribution despite @Srt4eric 's best efforts to get more ice. SWA and LRS ship with dry ice to prevent this. Watch this (start around 11 min in) and listen to what Larry says:

Felicia from Biota mentioned to me in an email that the heavy amount of vibrio found in lower quality frozen food is why they stick with dry as much as possible with their facility. I'm going to try to make sure that my foods stay frozen and don't thaw/refreeze.

 

[Patio]

Felicia from Biota mentioned to me in an email that the heavy amount of vibrio found in lower quality frozen food is why they stick with dry as much as possible with their facility. I'm going to try to make sure that my foods stay frozen and don't thaw/refreeze.

Is there a way to determine which frozen foods are considered "lower quality"?

 

[Darkxerox]

Is there a way to determine which frozen foods are considered "lower quality"?

I would think price and smell are probably the only ones you can easily go by. Ones that contain a lot of freshwater or terrestrial foods probably are undesirable.

I'd like to hear what @BAYMAC thinks about how we can get reliably consistent foods and what brands have the shortest supply chains and "age" on the foods before they get processed.

 

[Patio]

I would think price and smell are probably the only ones you can easily go by. Ones that contain a lot of freshwater or terrestrial foods probably are undesirable.

Man if fresh water sourced foods are undesirable that mean most mysis brands. I believe Hikari sources theirs from salty water.

 

[Kensington Reefer]

I have "seen" more frozen foods over the years than most here...
To the best of my knowledge, I have NEVER experienced frozen foods that have spoiled and become hazardous to the fish.
@Patio, different mysis come from different waters...some are FW and others are SW.

 

[BAYMAC]

I would think price and smell are probably the only ones you can easily go by. Ones that contain a lot of freshwater or terrestrial foods probably are undesirable.

I'd like to hear what @BAYMAC thinks about how we can get reliably consistent foods and what brands have the shortest supply chains and "age" on the foods before they get processed.

LRS is the top for this (short supply chain) in the frozen category. He takes care of the other brands he sells as well.

Mysis are the anomaly in terms of being from freshwater. They are great saltwater feeds due to their nutritional profile.

Hikari's are grown for them, not wild harvest

HIkari is not low end.

The biggest issue is thaw-refreeze and that can happen at any point in the supply chain so who ever ships the best, use them.

 

[BAYMAC]

I have "seen" more frozen foods over the years than most here...
To the best of my knowledge, I have NEVER experienced frozen foods that have spoiled and become hazardous to the fish.
@Patio, different mysis come from different waters...some are FW and others are SW.

I for sure have, and I have seen them for sale at stores. The Bay area, not so much.

 

[Darkxerox]

Man if fresh water sourced foods are undesirable that mean most mysis brands. I believe Hikari sources theirs from salty water.

I think that's why you want to mix foods right @BAYMAC ? Since you can't get every vitamin and amino the fish need from a freshwater only mysis? Or is it a complete food?

 

[Turkeysammich]

The biggest issue is thaw-refreeze and that can happen at any point in the supply chain so who ever ships the best, use them.

I was actually reading up on this a few months ago. I hear it’s common practice for companies to ship with ice not dry ice because it’s expensive or no ice at all if they are trying to save on weight. If the food gets thawed then refrozen the food breaks down. That is supposed to be the test. Whole pieces or mush. I bought some Canadian mysis and I think it was refrozen compared to local brands. It’s got like smaller parts floating in the water. This is what Dong Zou explained in a podcast. Supposed to be common practice on the east coast.

 

[tribbitt]

Does anyone have any experience with this product? It seems interesting to me. Downside being it needs to be constantly frozen: shipped fast in dry ice -> freezer immediately

Raw-No-Thaw Capelin Roe, 32 oz

Raw No Thaw Capelin Eggs direct from your freezer to your tank. The fish food is ready to use when you are ready to feed. These tiny fish eggs are a natural food source for your reef tank.

www.brineshrimpdirect.com

 

[Darkxerox]

Does anyone have any experience with this product? It seems interesting to me. Downside being it needs to be constantly frozen: shipped fast in dry ice -> freezer immediately

Raw-No-Thaw Capelin Roe, 32 oz

Raw No Thaw Capelin Eggs direct from your freezer to your tank. The fish food is ready to use when you are ready to feed. These tiny fish eggs are a natural food source for your reef tank.

www.brineshrimpdirect.com

I used their cube racks of that roe. In the early 2000s I used to get the egg sacs from the actual fish at Ranch 99. Not sure if they're as easy to find now.

 

[BAYMAC]

I was actually reading up on this a few months ago. I hear it’s common practice for companies to ship with ice not dry ice because it’s expensive or no ice at all if they are trying to save on weight. If the food gets thawed then refrozen the food breaks down. That is supposed to be the test. Whole pieces or mush. I bought some Canadian mysis and I think it was refrozen compared to local brands. It’s got like smaller parts floating in the water. This is what Dong Zou explained in a podcast. Supposed to be common practice on the east coast.

Dry ice requires better handling practices, and costs more, but not as much as a lost customer or ruined product that you have to replace.

Last I knew, there are two companies working the Canadian mysis harvest, PE being the one that has invested the most in post harvest handling. He ships direct to LRS, so if you get from LRS, you can feel confident in proper handling. LRS sells Hikari and PE.

Mysis are like the canary in the mine.... if your mysis are in pieces, they got too warm, plain and simple. They were harvested whole.

When buying cubes, look at them if you can. They should be flat, no ramped up one side of the cube

Capelin roe is awesome. I'm sure Tim's is just fine. You can buy local at Ranch 99, etc.

When RN was developing ROE, capelin was one we looked at. Sourcing was an issue though.

 

[Darkxerox]

Dry ice requires better handling practices, and costs more, but not as much as a lost customer or ruined product that you have to replace.

Last I knew, there are two companies working the Canadian mysis harvest, PE being the one that has invested the most in post harvest handling. He ships direct to LRS, so if you get from LRS, you can feel confident in proper handling. LRS sells Hikari and PE.

Mysis are like the canary in the mine.... if your mysis are in pieces, they got too warm, plain and simple. They were harvested whole.

When buying cubes, look at them if you can. They should be flat, no ramped up one side of the cube

Capelin roe is awesome. I'm sure Tim's is just fine. You can buy local at Ranch 99, etc.

When RN was developing ROE, capelin was one we looked at. Sourcing was an issue though.

In the video, they showed how LRS and SWA ship with dry ice @Turkeysammich

That's a good tip on telling if things thawed @BAYMAC ! Appreciate the insight.