Freeze Dried Foods... really so bad?

[turbotiber]

I was just wondering, I can't get any live foods here (well I can get Tubifex worms but I don't think it's very clean ) but I did find some freeze dried worms (Tubifex and Blood) from Wardley and Tetra. Are they really as bad as many people say? You know that they really mess up the insides of your fishy? Right now all I'm giving my fish is pellet food and that's not a really good diet

 

[cation]

I just won't use them for my bettas, but I know some folks do. What about frozen food? That's mostly what I use.

 

[turbotiber]

I've never seen frozen here.... I'm guessing they would be in a refrigerator at a store right??

 

[cometcattle]

The only freeze dried food I feed my fish is Hikari bloodworms. 2 of my bettas won't eat any pellets, so when I'm not feeding live, they get Hikari freeze-dried.


I bought it for my Gold Wonder Killi, but all my bettas love it. It's loaded with vitamins.

http/www.hikariusa.com/fd_blood_worms.htm

 

[Koda]

I sometimes use freeze dried bloodworms because my goby loves it so much.But I soak it in a bit of tank water before feeding as I understand that helps somewhat.


(the goby also gets frozen bloodworms and bbs)

Koda

 

[f250fisherman]

I mix freeze dried with flake foods. My flake mix probably has 7-8 different types of food crumbled up together. They get this once a day. I usually feed the flake in the morning, and the frozen at night. For growouts, I add a third feeding during the day of BBS, and MW. This would be after about 2 months old on the flaked foods.
I believe the more varied the diet, the healthier the betta will be, and anyone who gets a betta from me has no trouble getting them to eat anything.

 

[Inchworm]

I was just wondering, I can't get any live foods here (well I can get Tubifex worms but I don't think it's very clean )

Hi turbotiber

Don't pass the live tubifex worms by; they are excellent live food.

I have often heard people comment on the fact that they are raised in nasty environments, but since you will clean them well before serving them to your fish, that doesn't matter. Some people will not eat pigs,crabs or other scavengers for the same reason, but as you can see, what animals eat has no real relationship to the quality or wholesomeness of their meat.

I prefer blackworms for most of my fish, but also feed them tubifex. Because they are smaller, I prefer the tubifex for my cory fry that are large enough to eat live food. It saves me the additional work of chopping the larger worms up. I have never had health issues relating to them.

When you buy them, or any other live food, get them from a reputable lfs and only buy ones that look healthy. Since some lfs employees do not like to do their daily cleanings, it's quite possible that any live food could be in poor shape when they are sold. If they do not appear active and/or if their color does not look right, pass them by.

When you get them, buy small portions rather than large ones because since they are not eating (just living off their body weight) when you have them, they will not live long.

When you get them home, give them a good cleaning. To do this, put them in a cup or other container, and rinse well with cold water. Fill the container and swish them around with a fork to separate them. Pour the water off and repeat this process until the water runs clear. Then pour off almost all the water leaving just enough to cover them. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator.

You should give them another cleaning each day before you serve them. This will remove their waste products and prolong their life span.

Your fish will love them!

 

[turbotiber]

Thanks guys! I'll check out the live tubifex this weekend and maybe pick up a small jar of freeze dried tubifex.. just to see how that goes.

I didn't know flakes were more nutritious! I just bought some by accident, the Tetra brand, I thought they were little pellets. I put them in and my betta ate it... then just floated there and swam away. Don't think he liked it to much! Weird thing is that the betta I coudn't get to eat the pellets eats the flakes... so yeah I really need to vary their diet.

Oh Inchworm, what color should the tubifex be, I mean the more healthy ones?

Thanks a bunch guys!

 

[cation]

I mix freeze dried with flake foods. My flake mix probably has 7-8 different types of food crumbled up together. They get this once a day. I usually feed the flake in the morning, and the frozen at night.

Do you crush down the freeze dried before you mix it in?

 

[Synirr]

I don' know whether or not this has already been said, but you might try asking your LFS if they carry frozen before assuming that they don't. My LFS carries frozen foods as well as crickets, but both the cricket container and the freezer are kept out of customer view.

 

[Inchworm]

Oh Inchworm, what color should the tubifex be, I mean the more healthy ones?

Hi turbotiber

The tubifex worms will be a dark red, and will probably have knitted themselves together into a thick mat laying in the tray of water the lfs will be keeping them in. Because they are kept cold they will not appear too active. Look at the water they are in too. It should be clear, or at least not very cloudy. Some cloudiness is hard to avoid when there are a lot of them kept in one container.

If they look pale or limp, or if there are very many white (dead) ones visible, or if the water is very dirty or tinged pink, avoid them. Also, ask the lfs when they get their shipments of live food in. Since they are not eating from that point on, the sooner you buy them, the better off you will be.

 

[turbotiber]

Awesome, I'll definitly ask if my lfs carries frozen, could be hidden as well and check out their shipment of worms, white bad, dark red good, thanks!

 

[fourplayfishy]

hey mine are fed fd blood worms and pellets and they just fine... cept for the odd freak out

 

[D Chia]

I find freeze-dried food okay, but it's important to give your fish a varied diet.

My bettas are fed a daily diet of either freeze-dried bloodworms or Hikari® Betta Bio-Gold pellets. Occasionally, they are fed live brine shrimps (Artemia) for variety and to reduce the possibility of constipation.

If you intent to use dried food, do ensure that they are properly stored to prevent them from turning mouldy.