How to Make Your Own Tropical Fish Food

Tropical fish are vibrant in color when healthy and fed the right combination of foods.

Tropical fish do not all have the same nutritional needs. Fish require a varied diet to ensure proper nutrition. Predator fish also eat algae and plant matter, making it important that aquariums provide this needed nutritional element in their diet. Herbivore fish eat plant matter and plankton, but also need tiny insects to feed on, even in captivity. To prepare tropical fish food, you need to meet all of the nutritional needs of the fish.

Things You'll Need

• 1 lb. salmon
• 1 bag frozen peas
• 1 lb. FD brine shrimp
• 3 hard-boiled eggs
• 2 cups duck weed
• 1/2 cup spiulina powder
• Cod liver oil (enough to make a paste)
• Food dehydrator
• Plastic bag
• Rubber mallet

Instructions

1. Select a whole salmon that is red in color. The brighter the color the higher the DL-methionine level, which is an amino acid that fish need. Salmon is also a source of carotene.

2. Get some frozen peas and FD brine shrimp. Frozen products contain the highest level of vitamins and minerals for store-bought products.

3. Boil eggs until they are hard. Purchase some duck weed and spiulina powder. All of the ingredients need cooking, if raw, and then dehydrated. Purchasing a dehydrator makes the process easier than if you try and do it in the oven. A dehydrator uses warm air to dry out the food mixture evenly. An oven uses heat that may be uneven.

4. Coat the dehydrated foods with cod liver oil. Do not saturate; simply mix until the dehydrated food is moist. Put the paste back into a dehydrator. Leave room in the dehydrator for the air to circulate and turn the dehydrator on. The warm air circulates and after 6 to 8 hours the food paste becomes a dehydrated sheet of food matter.

5. Break the dehydrated food matter into chunks and put in a plastic bag. Use a rubber mallet to crush the chunks into a coarse powder. Pour the homemade tropical food into a sealable glass jar for storage..

Tips & Warnings

• When making food for tropical fish you can add wheat germ powder to the mixture.

• Some tropical fish are gluten intolerant. When these fish eat gluten they bloat, which causes them to have difficulty holding a position in water. Fruit-based cereals are a substitute replacement for gluten products.

References

• Aquatic Community: Tropical Fish Food
• Tropical Fish Expert: Making Your Own Fish Food
• Carl Strohmeyer: Home Made Fish Food; How to Make a Nutritious Fish Food for Tropical Fish, Goldfish, and Carnivorous Fish

Resources

• Aquarium Universe: Homemade Tropical Fish Food