A safe alternative to feeding fish live food is to feed them freeze dried fish food. Freeze drying is a process where the water is taken out of a meat or plant product at very low temperatures and vacuum sealed to keep the water and air away from the product. This process is an excellent way to protect the products nutritional value while preserving it for a lengthy shelf life. This means that there is no concern about when to throw out the jumbo sized bag of freeze dried bloodworms, and you won’t have to see them sitting next to your ice tray either.
Freeze dried foods are a great supplement to any food that your fish is currently eating. No matter if your fish is strictly carnivorous, herbivorous or somewhere in between (as most fish are), freeze dried options are available. The most popular versions of this type of food are bloodworms, krill, and plankton. They are usually packaged as a single product and you will be hard pressed to find a mixture. This is one of the reasons that freeze dried fish food is best used as a supplement to feedings rather than as a complete diet.
The freeze dried products usually come in a variety suitable for any diet. They can increase a fish’s appetite or re-spark interest in feeding by providing an occasional treat feeding. Fish need variety in their diet for a number of reasons, the primary reason is nutrition. If your fish enjoy and maintain well on a cheaper option like flake food then freeze dried may prove a great way to supplement. Because of the lengthy shelf life it is not a supplement that you will have to worry about throwing away.
The single biggest reason to buy the more expensive freeze dried bloodworms compared to the regular frozen ones is that most people simply do not want to keep frozen mosquito larvae in their freezer. It can be a little stomach turning to open the freezer for ice and have to look at frozen worms or larva. Since freeze drying is nutritionally similar to the frozen option this is a great alternative for those who want to keep their freezer worm free.
Freeze dried fish food closely resembles the fish’s natural diet. A fish would easily be able to find and eat bloodworms and other freeze dried varieties in the wild. They would be hard pressed to find pellets while swimming in their natural habitat. The natural state of this food makes it easier on the fish’s entire system because it is what they are designed to eat.
Freeze dried implies that the food has been dried. As a result when you put freeze dried foods in your tank they can absorb a lot of moisture from the water. This usually results in over feeding by those who are not used to the freeze dried fish foods. One way to avoid the complication of a tank that has seen one too many over feedings is to remoisten the food prior to feeding. This will make the food visibly different in size and will enable you to avoid the overfeeding scenario that is often seen by those who are unfamiliar with freeze dried foods.
The number one thing to remember with freeze dried options is that they are usually used as a variant in a fish’s diet or as an alternative to frozen kinds. It is important that fish have a well-rounded diet filled with the vitamins and minerals that they would get in a natural habitat. Freeze fried fish food can be the long lasting solution to a varied diet.
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