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Homemade Gel Fish Food

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Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Sat Aug 18, 2012 2:16 pm


This thread will be to keep track of the different recipes I use to make gel foods for my goldfish. These can easily be modified for other fish by adding more or less meat or veggies

Ingredients:

-4 oz baby food. I'm using Earth's Best Organic Squash and Organic Peas, 2.5 oz jars. For fancy goldfish, avoid broccoli, bell peppers and too much spinich. You can also purée fresh or frozen veggies.

-Zuchinni, I think I might chop it up finely and use solid. Either that or purée with a bitnofnwater and sub some of the baby food.

-Yellow squash. Same uses as Zuchinni if I use it.

-1/2 tsp Garlic, fresh and all mushed up

-Pulix Greenwise Kids Chewable Multi Vitamin, one caplet, crushed, per recipe.

-Knox Unflavored Gelatine, 1 1/2-2 TBS.

-Steamed fish, 4 oz (measured raw), or 4 oz low sodium canned/pouched tuna or salmon.

-1 boiled egg, white only. Helps with binding ingredients.

-2 TBS high quality pellets, crushed. Optional, but in the future i plan on using NLS Goldfish Pellets.


Other things that are typically added are pumpkin, probiotics, pretty much any veggie, koi clay, and ideally, Agar-agar would be used instead of gelitine.

Purée veggies as needed, with 1/4 cup of water (per 4 oz).
Prepare pellets, if any, and vitatims, by crushing into fine powder.
Prepare Gelatine/agar in about 3/4-1 cup of water, in a pot with a lid, turned on high. Mix in fish, veggies and egg, stir well, and cover.
Let it boil for around 3 minutes, stirring occasionally, then remove from heat and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
Once warm, but not congealed, mix in crushed pellets, vitamins, and probiotics, slowly but well.
Next pour into baking pan (or container of choice, like an ice cube tray), and cover with plastic wrap, and let sit at room temp for an hour. At this point, it should be nice and gelly, and can be cut into desired sized squares, placed into freezer bags, and desired amount kept in the fridge.



**please note: I have not yet tried this, and it is my project for tomorrow. This is a bit of a conglomerate of recipes I've found. All recipes I've found have probiotics, but since this is experimental, and this recipe is actually a 1/2 recipe. One caplet or pack per recipe should be used. In the next one I make, I will use probiotics. Please also share any variations that you come up with! I'd love to know how they worked out for you!
PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 2:54 am


Alright let's do this!

I cooked up one flounder fillet (and will probably never again use it. Smelled horrible. Might just stick with tuna or something). After cooking, it was about 2 oz. It really seemed like a lot though, so I left it at that.

I boiled some eggs, cracked one open, cut it to remove the yolk, which I fed to the dogs later, and puréed the white and the fish together in about a 1/4 cup of water. I think this amount of water was too much, but it seems to have turned out well, so who knows yet lol I set this yummy smelling mixture aside and using the same cup for the blender (a Magic Bullet) I added one section of garlic, an inch slice of zuchinni and a 1/2 inch slice of yellow squash into my blender, this time no water because of the left overs in the blender and the wateryness of the baby food later. I was making this up as went along, and I think that no water choice there was very good.

So after the veggies were puréed into a thick goop, kinda like salsa, I scooped it out into my scale. It weighed just under 1 oz, so I added a whole jar of the pea baby food. This brought me up to a decent weight near 4 oz, so I left it at that. I scooped it all back into the blender, gave it a few more seconds through the blades, and set it aside.

With all that done, I stated the cooking of the fish-egg nastiness and the gelatin. 3/4 cups of water, and one packet (or just over 2 teaspoons) of gelatin into a cute baby pot with a lid. I poured in the fish and egg, gave it a good stir, and let it sit on high for about 2 minutes before it boiled over after I popped the lid to stir it @.@ Note to self, don't leave it on high! LOL So, I moves it over to another burner, after whipping off the bottom of the pot, and set it to 5 (later up to 7, which was much better). It took about. 8 or 10 minutes to boil, so while I waited, I crushed up the vitamin caplet, and the pellets. I used 2 teaspoons of pellets, and didn't give much detail into crushing them. Figured I'd make it fun :p Make sure to pay attention to the fish and eggs, and stir them every few minutes. Careful not to burn yourself on any steam, and open the lid back first smile

Once the fish and eggs have boiled for about 3 to 5 minutes, take them off the heat, and let it cool for a few minutes. This is a good time to sorta clean up a bit, and tackle that boiled over mess on the other burner :p Once it's cooled a bit, mix in the veggies, and if it's not too hot, the vitamins and crushed pellets. This is a fun time to give the pot a little jiggle and see how thick its starting to get :p

From the pot, scrape it all out into a sheet pan, or whatever it is you decide to use. I used a mini-muffin pan, and to get it all in here without making an even bigger mess than I already had, I first put it in a measuring cup. All in all, this gave me just over a cup of awkward green goop wink Also filled the pan perfectly, 'cause I got skillz like that. wink

I let it sit out for a while, then put it in the fridge. Once in the fridge, it hardened up nicely, and does seem to be of a good consistency. I have 12 little things of it now, and I think 1/2 of each one will be fed to my commons and comets, and 1/4 of each one to the fancies, so this will last me a few weeks smile

Next time, given I don't forget, I want to put in frozen bloodworms and spiralina brine shrimp. smile

Akari_32
Captain


Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2012 4:57 pm


Just fed the first round of the food to my new moors in QT. They weren't sure what to do with it at first but once they tried a nibble, they attacked it like it was the first they'd ever eaten! Needless to say, a big hit with them.

Took some outside, and gave a bit to the fish out there. The fancies weren't sure what to do with it, and the commons and comets were unsure as well. Sometimes new food is hard to get used to.

If I were to change one thing about this recipe, I would have added a bit more gelatin. Maybe buy a kind that I have to measure out, instead of pre-measured packets. The box I bought only has 4 packets anyway, so that's an easy fix later on.

Over all, though, I'm pretty happy with how it came out! smile
PostPosted: Tue Sep 11, 2012 7:41 pm


Just finished making my second round. I concentrated on protein this time, which is good for wen growth in orandas and hump growth in ryukins.

I used 2 oz of fish, one hard boiled egg white, one oz of frozen blood worms, one oz of frozen spiralina enhanced brine shrimp, two spoon fully of New Life Spectrum Betta Pellets (something my fancy goldfish don't seem to have issues with), one 2.5 oz jar of organic squash baby food, one oz of combined fresh yellow squash, fresh Zuchinni, and fresh garlic, one multi vitamin, and about a cup total of water.

I STILL boiled the fish and egg mixture over all over the stove, so I lost about 1/2 of that.... But all in all, I think it'll be ok.

I also added 1 1/2 packets (which equals about 3 teaspoons) of gelatin.

The whole thing is really a nasty color, but given the mixture of yellow, green and red ingredients, that's to be expected LOL

In the morning, I'll find out if I managed to do it right a second time XD

Akari_32
Captain


Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Wed Sep 12, 2012 9:16 am


Alright, just took out the tray of food out of the fridge. It's not as hard as I'd have liked it to be, but it's work able. I don't know how much of the initial amount of gelatin was lost when the pot boiled over, nor do I know how well the second amount of gelatin I added worked out. Either, I lost so much gelatin when the pot boiled over that only that little second bit that I added worked, OR, I lost some of it when the pot boiled over, and then the second addition gelatin didn't do squat lol who knows.

However, the plus side is, my bettas can eat this food, and they love it lol
PostPosted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 2:55 pm


Ok, my third try seems to have worked out really well! This time I used:

-2 oz (frozen) fish, steamed
-2 oz squash, zucchini, and garlic (used a bit extra garlic and squash than usual)
-2 oz of frozen bloodworms, beef heart, and spiralina brine shrimp (mostly bloodworms because I wanted to use the rest of what I had)
-1 vitamin tablet
-1 1/2 packets of gelatin
-2 teaspoons of pellets
-NO egg white. I didn't have the energy to boil the dang things lol


I steamed the fish, and while that was cooking, I puréed the veggies, and crushed up the vitamin tablet. After it was cooked, I puréed the fish in 1 cup of water, and dumped the whole thing into a larger pot than I had been using, with no lid. Because the fish was still hot, it boiled quickly, and I let it boil for 3 or 4 minutes. Towards the end of the boiling, I started mixing the gelatin, veggies, and frozen foods in a cup to help them thaw some before adding them to the fish. The gelatin says to add it to the cold, sit for a minute, then add it to the hot and mix for 5 minutes.

After a minute of stirring the veggie/frozen food mix, I turned off the fish, and moved it off the heat. I let it cool, and mixed the frozen gunk up more so that it wasn't so chunky, then mixed it straight into pot with the fish. I mixed it up really well, then added the pellets and powdered vitamins. After mixing it up really well, I poured into a double stacked paper plate, and set it in the fridge.

Later tonight or tomorrow, I'll check on it, and cut it up and bag it and put it in the freezer.

Some pics, just for fun :p


Veggies and frozen food mix

User Image


Fish purée in the pot

User Image


The plate. Only spilled a little :p

User Image

Akari_32
Captain


Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 7:26 am


This one I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Its decently hard, and cuts well, but it shouldn't be so hard that the smaller fish can't eat it. I'm happy with my decision to not use that smaller pot, thats for sure! I'd like to see if I can't track down some Agar Agar for the next time around, since I'm now out of gelatin.
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 10:24 am


If you don't mind my weighing in, for those of us (including myself) who are too lazy to take these steps in making food, Repashy Superfood is a great gel formula, no preservatives in it or anything, very good stuff. I get it here

Good info on the food making, though. I can barely cook for myself, so I'd be a little worried about putting my "skills" to use on my fish.

Noble Onidrase

Timid Man-Lover

7,550 Points
  • Timid 100
  • Tycoon 200
  • Mark Twain 100

Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 11:59 am


Noble Onidrase
If you don't mind my weighing in, for those of us (including myself) who are too lazy to take these steps in making food, Repashy Superfood is a great gel formula, no preservatives in it or anything, very good stuff. I get it here

Good info on the food making, though. I can barely cook for myself, so I'd be a little worried about putting my "skills" to use on my fish.



This is a bit cheaper then Repashy, and you don't have to have it shipped in, but it is more time consuming. Its fun and customizable though! LOL The hardest part is steaming the fish and boiling the eggs lol I don't think I ever steam the fish all the way, but since it's briefly boiled, too, I don't think it maters too much. I typically steam it for 10 or so minutes, on high. The egg boiling, I suck majorly at. Can't say why. Probably because you can't ever tell it they're done just by looking at them... I'd love to try Repashy some day, though.
PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 12:19 pm


Akari_32
Noble Onidrase
If you don't mind my weighing in, for those of us (including myself) who are too lazy to take these steps in making food, Repashy Superfood is a great gel formula, no preservatives in it or anything, very good stuff. I get it here

Good info on the food making, though. I can barely cook for myself, so I'd be a little worried about putting my "skills" to use on my fish.



This is a bit cheaper then Repashy, and you don't have to have it shipped in, but it is more time consuming. Its fun and customizable though! LOL The hardest part is steaming the fish and boiling the eggs lol I don't think I ever steam the fish all the way, but since it's briefly boiled, too, I don't think it maters too much. I typically steam it for 10 or so minutes, on high. The egg boiling, I suck majorly at. Can't say why. Probably because you can't ever tell it they're done just by looking at them... I'd love to try Repashy some day, though.


My cooking skills consist of throwing things in microwaves and asking for a 6 inch teriyaki chicken on flatbread with extra sweet onion sauce and cheddar cheese 3nodding

I order the majority of my stuff online when it comes to fish keeping, filter pads, heaters, filters, substrate, pretty much everything but the tanks themselves. So It's not too big of a deal for me, but I see where you're coming from. Just felt like I could weigh in an alternative. Not saying it's better, though.

Honestly, the only thing better than repashy is home made food. I just don't have the time, will, or skill to make anything besides hamburger helper and mac and cheese when I'm feeling extra productive wink

Noble Onidrase

Timid Man-Lover

7,550 Points
  • Timid 100
  • Tycoon 200
  • Mark Twain 100

Akari_32
Captain

PostPosted: Sun Oct 07, 2012 1:31 pm


Noble Onidrase
Akari_32
Noble Onidrase
If you don't mind my weighing in, for those of us (including myself) who are too lazy to take these steps in making food, Repashy Superfood is a great gel formula, no preservatives in it or anything, very good stuff. I get it here

Good info on the food making, though. I can barely cook for myself, so I'd be a little worried about putting my "skills" to use on my fish.



This is a bit cheaper then Repashy, and you don't have to have it shipped in, but it is more time consuming. Its fun and customizable though! LOL The hardest part is steaming the fish and boiling the eggs lol I don't think I ever steam the fish all the way, but since it's briefly boiled, too, I don't think it maters too much. I typically steam it for 10 or so minutes, on high. The egg boiling, I suck majorly at. Can't say why. Probably because you can't ever tell it they're done just by looking at them... I'd love to try Repashy some day, though.


My cooking skills consist of throwing things in microwaves and asking for a 6 inch teriyaki chicken on flatbread with extra sweet onion sauce and cheddar cheese 3nodding

I order the majority of my stuff online when it comes to fish keeping, filter pads, heaters, filters, substrate, pretty much everything but the tanks themselves. So It's not too big of a deal for me, but I see where you're coming from. Just felt like I could weigh in an alternative. Not saying it's better, though.

Honestly, the only thing better than repashy is home made food. I just don't have the time, will, or skill to make anything besides hamburger helper and mac and cheese when I'm feeling extra productive wink



Haha, I'm not bad at cooking. It's cooking it long enough that gets me LOL Once it's fully cooked, it usually tastes pretty good :p

I've got several local and chain stores around, as well as craft stores and home improvent and hard ware stores. I have lots of choices locally, so I don't usually have to order stuff in. If I lived out in the sticks, I'd certainly order more things lol Situational, for sure! smile

I love alternatives! There's a thread around here somewhere with fish-related uses for commonly found household things :p I love experimenting and playing around with my options. Cheap, but effective is what I like!
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