can you refreeze frozen fish food

[finfayce]

hi
i have 2 blue spotted sunfish and a rainbow darter. native north american fish. they eat frozen fish food. last night my husband took the fish food out of the freezer to rearrange stuff in the freezer. i did not know this. he forgot about it and the food was melted and smelly i had ordered frozen food from Live Aquaria coincidentally a couple days ago. it was first time i used them because they offered a quicker shipping date. today it arrived- no dry ice. all 4 packs were melted. are they refreezeable?
i checked my local petco- they are out of frozen brine shrimp. as you may recall i have complained about living in a small town in arkansas. ughhh. besides local petco, i would drive 3 hours to a big city. those fish prefer that type and they don’t eat freeze dried foods. i looked for places online. i found 3 but they all ship on monday and wednesday. i ordered some and emailed a request to please make an exception and ship the food thursday april 22.
my options are use the the refrozen fish food or my fish will probably starve having to wait until tuesday or wednesday food next week!
please advise.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

hi
i have 2 blue spotted sunfish and a rainbow darter. native north american fish. they eat frozen fish food. last night my husband took the fish food out of the freezer to rearrange stuff in the freezer. i did not know this. he forgot about it and the food was melted and smelly i had ordered frozen food from Live Aquaria coincidentally a couple days ago. it was first time i used them because they offered a quicker shipping date. today it arrived- no dry ice. all 4 packs were melted. are they refreezeable?
i checked my local petco- they are out of frozen brine shrimp. as you may recall i have complained about living in a small town in arkansas. ughhh. besides local petco, i would drive 3 hours to a big city. those fish prefer that type and they don’t eat freeze dried foods. i looked for places online. i found 3 but they all ship on monday and wednesday. i ordered some and emailed a request to please make an exception and ship the food thursday april 22.
my options are use the the refrozen fish food or my fish will probably starve having to wait until tuesday or wednesday food next week!
please advise.

I would usually advise against refreezing food that has thawed but in extreme circumstances....What temperature was the food when it arrived? Still cold like refrigerator temperature or more like room temperature? If it was still cold I would say you could use it until more food arrives. I would throw it out though after the new food arrives and only use it if I was afraid my fish might starve without it. If it was room temperature or warmer when it arrived I just don’t think I would use it. I know most fish can go quite a while without food. Perhaps should repost this under fish emergencies and someone might have ideas for something they might eat that cold hold them over.

 

[Essjay]

If it was melted and smelly I wouldn't use it.

Do you have any prawns in the freezer? You can chop those up or if you want really small pieces, grate it while it is still frozen.

 

[finfayce]

I would usually advise against refreezing food that has thawed but in extreme circumstances....What temperature was the food when it arrived? Still cold like refrigerator temperature or more like room temperature? If it was still cold I would say you could use it until more food arrives. I would throw it out though after the new food arrives and only use it if I was afraid my fish might starve without it. If it was room temperature or warmer when it arrived I just don’t think I would use it. I know most fish can go quite a while without food. Perhaps should repost this under fish emergencies and someone might have ideas for something they might eat that cold hold them over.

thank you. the fish food was cool, but melted. i did enter this under fish emergencies i thought. i’ll check that out. thanks again.

 

[finfayce]

If it was melted and smelly I wouldn't use it.

Do you have any prawns in the freezer? You can chop those up or if you want really small pieces, grate it while it is still frozen.

thanks.

 

[Byron]

I agree, chuck it out. Freezing food--applies to human food as well--is a process to kill bacteria and keep the food safe. Thawing allows bacteria to enter (even through packaging they say) and that contaminates the food, and advise is never eat it. I wouldn't risk my fish any more than me!

 

[finfayce]

I agree, chuck it out. Freezing food--applies to human food as well--is a process to kill bacteria and keep the food safe. Thawing allows bacteria to enter (even through packaging they say) and that contaminates the food, and advise is never eat it. I wouldn't risk my fish any more than me!

i know that was my first thought. i tried soaking some freeze dried food. they might have a different kind of frozen fish at Petco, but those fish won’t eat frozen mysis shrimp- most of it sticks to plants. probably better they go without than get a messy tank?

 

[Byron]

i know that was my first thought. i tried soaking some freeze dried food. they might have a different kind of frozen fish at Petco, but those fish won’t eat frozen mysis shrimp- most of it sticks to plants. probably better they go without than get a messy tank?

Ys, feed sparingly with new foods at first. Not all fish are willing to eat something "new."

 

[finfayce]

Ys, feed sparingly with new foods at first. Not all fish are willing to eat something "new."

if these fish don’t make it, i won’t buy more native north american fish. no local resources where i have to live- for this type of fish. sad and maddening. not my choice to live in such an isolated area. (

 

[finfayce]

hello everyone! i am so lucky!!
Bulk Reef Supply has agreed to send my frozen fish to arrive tomorrow! they read my email and made an exception to the normal delivery days. really made me appreciate a company that cares about their customers.
please give some business to Bulk Reef Supply if you want great customer support.

 

[coriesinhawaii]

Yay! Disaster averted!

 

[Colin_T]

As Byron and the others have said, throw it away. You don't want to refreeze foods that have been defrosted.

A number of frozen fish foods are usually contaminated with bacteria to begin with and the freezing process doesn't always kill the bacteria. Quite often the bacteria simply go dormant and when the food defrosts, the bacteria start to multiply again.

If the fish were well fed prior to this, they should be fine without food for a few days to a week.

In an emergency situation, you can use raw/ cooked prawn or fish (as mentioned by Essjay) that is for human consumption. Or get some bait from a fishing store and use that. If you have roses in the garden there might be aphids and the fish might eat them. Small earthworms can be rinsed and cut up and fed to the fish. Mozzie larvae can sometimes be found in containers of water in the backyard. You can even hard boil an egg and break that into pieces and offer the fish a little bit at a time.

 

[finfayce]

As Byron and the others have said, throw it away. You don't want to refreeze foods that have been defrosted.

A number of frozen fish foods are usually contaminated with bacteria to begin with and the freezing process doesn't always kill the bacteria. Quite often the bacteria simply go dormant and when the food defrosts, the bacteria start to multiply again.

If the fish were well fed prior to this, they should be fine without food for a few days to a week.

In an emergency situation, you can use raw/ cooked prawn or fish (as mentioned by Essjay) that is for human consumption. Or get some bait from a fishing store and use that. If you have roses in the garden there might be aphids and the fish might eat them. Small earthworms can be rinsed and cut up and fed to the fish. Mozzie larvae can sometimes be found in containers of water in the backyard. You can even hard boil an egg and break that into pieces and offer the fish a little bit at a time.

good news. a fish food supplier Bulk Reef Supplies read my email attached to my order and were good enough to send me frozen food tomorrow. they made an exception to the normal shipping days. i am so greatful!

 

[Colin_T]

assuming stuff gets delivered on weekends

 

[finfayce]

assuming stuff gets delivered on weekends

well here it is friday now. but i wrote that message on thursday.
i think we’re about 14 hours apart?