Rinsing frozen food?

[RTKBA308]

I've been using Mysis shrimp and Brine twice a week for my fish. I just read that it should be rinsed a few times before feeding. I was just thawing in a cup of tank water, then feeding.

What trouble did I cause by not rinsing first?

[CrystalAZ]

Just added a few unecessary nutrients to the water.

It will cause no permanent damage, but it is a good idea to rinse.

Crystal

[Fermat]

I've heard the juice is a rich source of phosphate. I did the same as you only for a longer period, and ended up with quite a cyanobacteria bloom. It cleared up once I started rinsing.

I thaw in a cup of tank water first, then pour through a fish net to drain all the juice. Then rinse and put back in another cup of tank water.

[mg426]

I rinse mine in ro/di water.

[Fermat]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9596382#post9596382 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mg426
I rinse mine in ro/di water.

I used to rinse with RO/DI water but later decided it wasn't worth the trouble. The amount of tap water that would make its way into the tank would be way too small to affect anything. I also reasoned that any chloramine (etc) that would stick to the food would most likely be rinsed away when I put the shrimp back in a bowl of tank water and stirred around and/or after the shrimp was added to the tank, so the health of the fish wouldn't be affected.

I'd be curious to hear what others are doing and if this has been discussed before.

[Aliie]

I thaw mine in tank water also, same way the LFS does too.

[Paintbug]

i have never rinsed any of the frozen foods. i also usually use Hikari brand foods. they are pre-rinsed, and ready to use. i just thaw the food in a cup of tank water, add a little phytoplankton, pour it all back in.

[tedmc2]

I used to rinse frozen food but don't anymore. I also use Hikari brand mysis and brine shrimp. I thaw in a cup of fresh water from my kitchen water cooler and pour it right into the tank. I've not noticed any changes in the water quality.

I've read somewhere that the tiny pieces of shrimp that usually get washed away when rinsed are beneficial to the coral as food.

[2fishy]

I used to use a plastic measuring cup and put a cheap coffee filter in the cup and drop the frozen food in that, then put distilled water in that. When the food was thawed, I would pick up the coffee filter, squeeze out the juice, and shake the filter out in the aquarium.

But then after awhile it became a pain so I stopped!:lol:

[RumLad]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9598841#post9598841 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 2fishy
I used to use a plastic measuring cup and put a cheap coffee filter in the cup and drop the frozen food in that, then put distilled water in that. When the food was thawed, I would pick up the coffee filter, squeeze out the juice, and shake the filter out in the aquarium.

But then after awhile it became a pain so I stopped!:lol:
That's more work than i do for my own dinner some nights :lol:

Frozen food gets thawed in a cup of tank water, phyto added, poured in, devoured.

[Travis L. Stevens]

I let mine thaw on a paper towel. The paper towel soaks up the water and I can feed a clump of food to the tank.

[woodwonders]

I've never rinsed...and I'm fighting with cyanobacteria. How about some more ideas on how you guys rinse. Thanks.

[RTKBA308]

And I thought feeding would be the easiest part of this hobby:hammer:

[bertoni]

Rinsing a frozen whole animal like some brands of mysid or brine shrimp is okay, but I'm not convinced that it's critical or in many cases even useful. I don't much bother. I avoid rinsing any chopped-up food like Formula 1 because I'm worred about losing nutrients.

Phosphate is a macronutrient and any food is going to have a lot of phosphate in it, rinsed or not.

[gixxer600]

I never rinse. If there are phosphate added to the tank, my Phosban reactors takes care of that.

[awestruck]

A while back I discussed my microalgae problem and was told that one thing, among many, I could do to help eliminate phosphates was to rinse the frozen food. From listening to Dr. Holmes-Farley and bertoni, microalgae will thrive if the phosphates aren't being exported or removed. So, frozen food doesn't have to be rinsed if your tank is balanced and can get rid of the excess phosphates; however, it can help if microalgae is getting out of control.

[puffer21]

Also when you are thawing frozen food you should do it in Ro water because the tank water starts to break down the food, so even more bad stuff is in the tank. The best thing to do is thaw it in Ro water then net it and drop it in the tank that way all the water is out and the food hasnt started to break down yet.

[vessxpress1]

I fill a measuring cup with RO/DI, nuke it in the microwave for 8 seconds and throw a cube in. It thaws out a lot faster. Then I just mix it around with a fork, and then use the fork as a strainer and drain the excess water out in the sink. For smaller foods, this method doesn't work very well.

Even after you think you've drained it all, a little more will come out of the food if you turn the cup on the side. Then I dump that.

Then I might add a little Selcon and/or cyclopeeze, mix it up and let it sit. Then I slowly add it so the cyclopeeze and selcon doesn't get washed off right away ( so they eat it). Whatever's left over, I put in the fridge.

I don't rinse my Rod's food. It's pre-rinsed and has a lot of extra stuff in it for the corals which I don't want to lose. That I thaw out and dump.

[vessxpress1]

BTW, it is a good idea to drain frozen food. It can add a lot of nutrients to the tank, unnecessarily.

It may not seem like a lot at the time you feed, but you have to think about how much of that liquid you're adding to the tank over the long term. Day after day.

If you don't rinse it, you better have an awesome skimmer or you'll have algae taking over your tank in no time. There's already a lot of things poluting a tank without adding more. That's why I'd recommend it.