Frozen cubes. Thaw and strain? Or just drop them in?

[mpderksen]

The closer I look at my habits, and the more I read, the more I question. My BC29 currently has a Maroon Clown and 2 Spotted Cardinal. I have 1 peppermint shrimp, 3 small Emerald crabs, 6 micro hermits and a tuxedo urchin (plus the typical snails). The corals include big patches of Zoa, a big, healthy hammer and a Duncan.
ALL I do for feeding is chop a frozen block in half and drop it in the tank each evening. It's a mix of various cubes from dark green to red to white, so every two days it's something a little different. I don't spot-feed anything, or add DT (a liquid food I used to use but stopped when I ran out a year ago). Everything seems decent, and the water clears of floating food in a few minutes. I put the MP10 into "feeding mode", which slows the flow for 10 minutes, and the controller shuts down the main pump for 5.
I want to up my game on this, and I wonder if additional, or different food is appropriate. Should I be thawing, then straining the cubes to get rid of the frozen liquid that could be dumping unwanted junk into the tank? Or are the polyps eating it?

[sanababit]

Thaw and strain for me, that helps my glass stay clearer longer

Sana

[nikon187]

def thaw

[mpderksen]

def thaw

Maybe put the half cube in my net and run water over it to rinse?

[Raptor72]

I put cubes in a small round plastic container with RoDi water in the fridge for about an hour. I come back and pour it into a (fish only) tea strainer and pour about a 1/4 cup or RoDi water on it for a final rinse and place it back in the container. I feed from this with tweezers and it goes back into the fridge. It will usually last me a few days then I repeat. I just make sure to put my strainer back with my aquatic supplies.

[shifty51008]

I take a cup of tank water, drop.a cube of food in, wait 5 min for it to thaw and pour directly into the tank.

[Anthrax15]

I've read about this issue before. Im having a hard time wrapping my brain around the impact that this little cubes make if not rinsed. Even using RO/DI water I don't understand.

Is it really that bad or make that big of a difference?

[infamous_6969]

I also thaw and strain my cubes.. No reason to add the excess nutrients from the water they come packaged in when it won't be consumed ..

[ggsteve]

Are there no creatures that benefit from the tiny particles in the mix that you wash away when you strain?

[Newbie Aquarist]

Are there no creatures that benefit from the tiny particles in the mix that you wash away when you strain?

Maybe the snails or other critters if and only if it makes it to them. The reason for rinsing, depending on the frozen food, is because some of the binders or gels might attribute to phosphates.

But I agree with the post above that when I rinse, strain, and then feed my glass does stay cleaner.

HTH.

[BrianB421]

Are there no creatures that benefit from the tiny particles in the mix that you wash away when you strain?

I'm not sure this is right, ggsteve. Why wouldn't the filter feeders in the tank benefit from the "shrimp juice"? My filter feeders get excited when I feed the fish.

[rivvir]

I place the cube in a cup put kents zoa drops on it and wait. When it thaws then in the tank.

[rivvir]

Kents zoe drops. Must have zoanthids on the brain.

[sirreal63]

No real need in rinsing away food, and the minute amount of nutrients in frozen food juice is nothing in the big picture, other than it is food that will be consumed in the aquarium.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

[Miyagi570]

I thaw and strain my cubes..

[mpderksen]

So it seems like this is one of the things that there are successful people doing both.
If I can ask another loaded, but similar, question: my two main corals and zoas are all open, "happy" and growing. Should I assume that what I'm doing is working or should I add something else in there for them?
Hypothetically, if there WERE nutrients that were being used by them, and I start rinsing them away, could a few drops of Kent's, or otherwise, be smart?
I have some GHA but since the tank gets torn down in December for the move to the 75 I'm not too worried about winning that battle. Any rock with a trace of Culupera goes in the trash anyway.

[SteelerMike]

I have a brine shrimp net and I place a cube in the net and then lower it into a specimen cup from a frag purchase full of rodi water. After it thaws, I lift the net out and discard the water and then feed the food to my tank. Not sure if it is necessary but the water I discard is pretty dirty..

[anbosu]

Randy said there is absolutely no reason to rinse and strain so I don't since he tends to know what he's talking about.

[juice79]

I usually throw the unthawed cubes right in the tank. I am not worried about excess nutrients at all.

My only concern is if there may be any potential negative impact to the fish eating food that is frozen or very cold. I havent seen any side effects but curious if anyone with more knowledge about fish has any insight?

[gregrocks79]

Thaw in RODI water. Add a couple drops of garlic. Turn pumps off and add to tank when thawed.

[Raptor72]

"My only concern is if there may be any potential negative impact to the fish eating food that is frozen or very cold. I havent seen any side effects but curious if anyone with more knowledge about fish has any insight?"



Brain freeze?

[aandfsoccr04]

i take a cup of tank water, drop.a cube of food in, wait 5 min for it to thaw and pour directly into the tank.

+1

[Psyops]

No real need in rinsing away food, and the minute amount of nutrients in frozen food juice is nothing in the big picture, other than it is food that will be consumed in the aquarium.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

Posted this before I did. I used to thaw it out, rinse and all that. I just thaw it out with aquarium water and dump it in there. Randy's article has a lot of good info in it. Thanks for finding it Sirreal63. I am bad at locating articles.

Alex

[rogersb]

I thaw and throw in, but I use Larry's reef frenzy so there's not much I would be rinsing away.

[MJNTWise]

randy said there is absolutely no reason to rinse and strain so i don't since he tends to know what he's talking about.

+1

[Sonyardo]

I turn off the return pump so the food stays in the DT and then drop them in and let the powerheads dispense them. Seems to work just fine for me.

[mpderksen]

Yep, my RKL controller has that feature. Will the 5:00 minutes of extra depth cause my skimmer to overflow? When I shut down the return, the sump level will rise by a few inches, above the recommended depth for it.

[Sonyardo]

I turn the skimmer off during the process too. I'm getting ready to set up an auto water change system that will do a gallon or two from the sump, during the feeding down time.

[Sethjamto]

I take a cup of tank water, drop.a cube of food in, wait 5 min for it to thaw and pour directly into the tank.

Exactly how I do mine.

[stevedola]

Thaw and Drain then feed.

I dont advise adding the excess nutrients from food directly to the tank...it serves no purpose other than to increase the waste in your tank. The 20 seconds to drain is well worth it in the long run...JMO.

[noobofthereef]

I put the food in a little cup then I melt it with tank water. I use one of those little medicine droppers and feed a little bit of food at a time until the fish eat it up before adding more so that I won't be adding uneaten food.

[SUPERSTOCKRACER]

No real need in rinsing away food, and the minute amount of nutrients in frozen food juice is nothing in the big picture, other than it is food that will be consumed in the aquarium.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/chemistry

I agree.
and your rinsing away the vitamins that are put in there in the 1st place. All the foods are prewashed and fortified with aminos and vitamins and omega
What you are paying for your just wasting.
If your are rinsing, you might as well just go to the seafood store and buy fresh shrimps,mussels,clams,etc.

[falconut]

In the beginning I used to put tank water in a cup and thaw the cube then just pour in tank. Then, I started doing the same, except I would pour it through a shrimp net, then into the tank. I have since changed back to just thawing and right into the tank.

[dax123]

I asked the same question on a different forum and read on this subject (as I am doing now :crazy1:).

Long story short: Makes little difference so go with whatever routine works for you.

BTW, most of the responses I got from people showed that they originally rinsed and then eventually just thawed and dropped it in. I am one of these people.

[SushiGirl]

My softies love the thaw water, and respond by growing insanely.

[cloak]

I just drop the frozen cubes in the tank. There's is however enough livestock to make short work of these cubes though. Nothing goes uneaten. In a tank that only has a few small fish, I'll usually thaw the cube out in a cup of water and then portion out the food with a spoon. Once I feel they've had enough, I'll toss the leftovers in my freshwater tank.

[Twistofer]

If you've got about $20 for a neat little gadget, shop Dr. Foster and Smith. They have a device which contains a cup, a strainer and a small lid. I fill mine up with water from my tank, drop my frozen food in it, let it thaw for about 3-5 minutes and then sit the strainer (it has a little ledged to prop it up on) on the cup. Once drained, I can swish the strainer in my tank and feed my fish.

[scapes]

I have had a 180 set up for about 5 years. My fish are now big. I grab about five cubes, throw them straight in from freezer. I run my own biz, take care of two kids, homeschool them, and clean house all day. I don't have time anymore to thaw.....fish haven't died yet.

[letoan]

From freezer to tank, no thaw and strain for me.

[mpderksen]

Okay, so the votes are pretty much in with about 2/3 not straining.
Back to my OP, assuming I go the route of thawing, but not straining, I have only limited coral at this point, and they seem to be doing well. Should I supplement with something other than the frozen mysis, or whatever? I only add a half-cube/day to keep the three fish happy. Like I said, I used to add a tsp or so of DT until my LFS stopped carrying it. But back then I had only a 10g nano (my first tank). I never really looked into a replacement. "Spot feeding" is a mystery to me. Since I have so little in my 75 right now, anything I add generally will be vastly diluted. So I'm concerned about nutrition for the hammer, Duncan etc. in a fully stocked tank, I would feed enough that there would be enough to circulate. If I add that much now I'd be over-feeding.
I want to keep my hands out of the tank, but with some polyps about 24" down, I'm not sure that they will get what they need from the general feeding in the water column with only the half cube. If I had my full livestock and put in2-3 cubes, perhaps the liquid from them would feed the softies. Or am I totally off base with my understanding of soft coral feeding?

Am I being clear at all? Lol.

[SushiGirl]

I don't keep my hands out of the tank LOL. I have 2 pistol shrimp in 2 tanks I have to feed mysis with tweezers or they'll get nothing. I also feed my hammer a piece of mysis with the tweezers. Acans and other LPS (hammer & Duncans are LPS) like the frogspawn & bubble coral get either a piece of mysis or some brine shrimp with a turkey baster.

[dkeller_nc]

I want to keep my hands out of the tank, but with some polyps about 24" down, I'm not sure that they will get what they need from the general feeding in the water column with only the half cube. If I had my full livestock and put in2-3 cubes, perhaps the liquid from them would feed the softies. Or am I totally off base with my understanding of soft coral feeding?

Well, one thing to realize is that "soft coral" is way too broad a category to generalize a feeding recommendation. Zoas have different nutritional needs than NPS soft "carnation" corals, to use an extreme example.

If you want to specifically feed your zoas (they will still grow without any feeding, albeit much more slowly), then you're going to need something in the appropriate size range that they can capture from the water column and that the fish can't/won't eat. This last part is important. While in theory zoas/palys can capture anything up to the small fish range, trying to target feed them with mysis/brine shrimp can be an exercise in frustration as the fish just continuously swipe the food you put on the colony.

So what I'd suggest is something smaller - copepods (sometimes labeled "Cyclops"). I happen to use the San Francisco bay brand of frozen copeods in addition to adding live ones occasionally from cultures, but many others like Piscine Energy's Cyclop-eeze. You can add a cube of these frozen tiny crustaceans to your tank, and while the fish will get some of them, there's no way they'll get a substantial fraction.

Another couple of foods you can try along the same lines - big enough to feed zoas/palys/LPS but small enough to ensure some are left over from the fish are Reef Nutrition's R.O.E. and Arcti-Pods. Nutra-mar's Ova product may also be useful - it's crustacean eggs rather than Reef Nutrition's fish eggs (the R.O.E. product).

If you want to target feed, and do it quickly and conveniently, you may want to try "Julian's Thing" by Two Little Fishies. Essentially, it's an ergonomically designed syringe, flexible tubing and tip. You can make your own, but by the time you buy the 40 mL syringe and a package of plastic pipettes to make tips out of, you may as well just pay the $24 asking price for the Thing.

[jbraslins]

One of the store owners in the area always has some of the most healthy plump looking fish i've ever seen. I've asked him how he does it. He said to never thaw food. He simply cuts cube in half, brakes it apart a lil with his hand and feeds fish. When fish swallow small frozen chunks, they get all the vitamins and nutrients they need.

He said when you thaw and rinse, all you feed them is meaty/fibery substance stripped of most nutrients.