DIY Fish Food Vs. Instant Gel Food - Is It Worth It?

[@GirlTalksFish]

*Need a nifty Girl Talks Fish mug to make your own gel food? 😉* teespring.com/girl-pets-fish-mug?tsmac=store&tsmic=girltalksfish&pid=658&cid=102908&sid=front

[@hampton1315]

Yes!

[@NebulaMK]

I was like wow that camera angle makes it look like she's going to take a bite. Then she does omg xD

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha, I figured since everything was already cooked, I should give it a shot. 🤪

[@jaime8318]

Maybe the fod disolving that way is good for fry? Especially nano fish fry?

[@Abbanellie]

I'm sure filter feeders would like it lol

[@-8_8-]

Same question.

[@noelbrucker135]

Thanks, Irene! So interesting - and I’m glad you did this gooey experiment so I don’t have to 😆 The same thing happens to my Repashy if I don’t mix the “magic ratio” (for me it’s 2.5 tbsp water to 1 tbsp Repashy). If I use 3 tbsp then it is too soft and disintegrates all over (same with too little water). Merry Christmas to you and your family!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha, my pleasure! I think if I had added more gelatin to the DIY fish food, it would have solidified better. I saw that the Fish Man has a pretty good recipe on KZbin, so maybe I'll try that one next time. Merry Christmas to you and your family as well! 🎄

[@caitlinunderwood8447]

If you have extra floating plants you can make DIY algae wafers for shrimp, snails, or plecos by: blending it mixing it with flour (add until the consistency is like a wet batter, but holds together) Using a spoon to make small dollops on a parchment paper covered baking sheet Baking as low as your oven will go for about 20 minutes Leaving to dry for a day or two If you want you could probably add other things like garlic or other vegetables to add bulk and variety. I’ve had really good with this recipe, it doesn’t take too much effort and it stays together in the water. It is also nice not to waste the floating plants

[@ReneesZooTube]

This makes me want to try making DIY food from duckweed... 😊

[@caitlinunderwood8447]

@@ReneesZooTube Do it! It’s fun.

[@FinnRenard]

For those making their own food, fresh ingredients are much better than canned. Alternatively, frozen is also better than canned. Many studies show up to 90% of nutrient loss in canned food. I have no idea why you'd boil the ingredients 1 hour, apart from (maybe) blanching vegetables lightly, there is no need for cooking the ingredients. The more you cook it, the less nutritional it will be. Try blending in foods with natural gelification properties. In my area pectin is readily available in supermarkets. I have also used shrimp, rice bran flour and soy bean flour with success. The food should not dissolve like that. Add way less water than shown here. It will be more difficult to blend, so often times I'll just use a mortar and pestle. Or blend the ingredients with a little water first, but add spirulina afterwards and mix by hand. The spirulina will soak up the excess water.

[@caewalker9276]

If you're interested in keeping brine shrimp, you can feed them the leftover spiralina powder. Thanks Irene

[@GirlTalksFish]

Ooo, I heard that baby dwarf shrimp love it too. Will definitely be keeping it around just in case. :)

[@bellawitz85]

I've done homemade fish food before in the past. You add the gelatin to cool water and allow it to absorb the water first, and then you boil it. It has to reach a full heavy boil to really set up. I never had issues with mine falling apart like that. I also used mini ice cube maker trays so I didn't have to try and cut portions out of the big cubes. That being said, it really does make the house smell lol...

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yeah, I think more gelatin and less water would have made the food stick together more. Thanks for the tips!

[@NebulaMK]

Everyone else: I'm going to make a huge meal for my family Irene: I'm making Christmas meals for my fishies :))))

[@GirlTalksFish]

I know, right? There's KZbin videos on gourmet meals for cats and dogs, but nothing for fish!

[@michaels5705]

I use twice the gelatin, 1/2 the water and use similar ingredients but replace the spinach with spinach powder, replace the meats with bee pollen granules and add powdered egg shells for the snails and shrimp. I don't have the dissolve and make the water cloudy problem. And I NEVER taste it - you're so brave. Plus I can use the same food for my isopods that I use to bioactivate my terrariums. PS: I like the name "Girl Talks Fish" much more than "The Gamer's Wife."

[@GirlTalksFish]

Awesome! Thanks for the modifications to try next time.

[@MasterPhotographer]

I’d never thought about DIY fish food, and after watching this, I think I’ll opt for the commercially produced. Thanks for sharing!

[@Thegiddyowl]

I’ve been dabbling with diy foods and so far I’ve made a steamed egg “turkey” for thanksgiving and “fruitcake” out of Repashy and bits of fruit and peas. The goldfish had a lot of fun digging the treats out of the food lol. I’m gonna try remaking the shrimp jello salad next so that should be fun lol

[@realmadridfan9416]

Can you please please tell me the recipe? I have goldfish and blood parrot (not in the same thank 😅). Is it OK for both type?

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha, no way! That's so clever and fun for your goldfish. :)

[@realmadridfan9416]

@@GirlTalksFish thank you 🤗🤗

[@ahh-chuu]

So I recently made some diy fish food at home and instead of gelatin I used agar agar and the results are fantastic, if you ever feel like revisiting this idea I highly recommend using agar, it doesn't dissolve as easily in water and sets up very similarly to the repashy. With agar I've been able to make shrimp sticks by dipping a chopstick in the mix as well as food cubes and the shrimp and Otocinclus go nuts for it

[@MehHalfhearted]

Corys and other sifters would really love the diy stuff, cause the food dust will settle in the sand/gravel and they can just slurp it out. Baby fish as well, if you have a tank with tetra/rasbora/danio fry those would be able to eat the ultra fine particles much more easily.

[@marksguitars5617]

great video, I have fed my tortoise and my fish Repashy, what I like about them is that you can mix other ingredients into the repashy powder, like medication for parasites and garlic guard. Maybe blend the DIY food less, but it will probably cloud up the water either way. Excellent job on the video, appreciate all that you do and have a great holiday season!

[@errk25]

Thanks for doing that experiment for us. I know to just stick with Rapashy now! I make Rapashy in larger batches. Cut it into small serving size pieces and freeze them spread out on a cookie sheet so they don't stick together. After they're frozen they go in a little plastic container. Thaw them in the microwave before feeding or else they might float. They keep well for months.

[@alexathehuman]

If you ever diy again, look into agar agar! It’s similar to gelatin but extracted from algae. That being said... I will make repashy any day of the week over DIY 😝

[@GirlTalksFish]

Awesome, thanks for the tip! Haha yeah, despite all the suggestions, I'm not sure I'll try making DIY fish food for a while...

[@RicosBettaWorld]

FYI…I always mix in some decapsulated brine shrimp eggs to the repashy food I prepare. Decapsulated brine shrimp eggs are high in protein.

[@sabentley101]

I love your videos. Thank you for taking the time to make them!

[@meaghanb9118]

Ver6 helpful information! Thanks for showing this!

[@NORIaquaCh]

Spirulina smells like algae, as it is algae. If you ever have taken a melamine sponge and wipe the dust/spot algae off the aquarium glass, it smells exactly the same :)

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

Very useful video! I don't use Sera O'nip for the same reason as this DIY food, it pollutes the tank and I had to do a vacuum-W/C after feeding it. I think it matters too what your fish are used to. Mine get organic flake food with no fillers and they love it. The Rapashy was fine but I had to feed it after the lights were out to get the pleco and oto to eat it.

[@SequoiaElisabeth]

@Le Baguette Yes, and even when it did stick it still eventually fell apart.

[@alexkarasoulos]

I'm lovin this different format.

[@ColossalKoi]

Thank u ❤4sharing.. this was very educational

[@robertfaber6796]

Worth a try, thanks for the demonstration.

[@AQUAPLANET128]

Happy new year from AQUA PLANET guys.

[@benjamindebellis6664]

i think repashy is great. For a treat for my fish and shrimp, I'll grab a 6" piece of cholla wood out of the tank and roll it in a plate of thinned down repashy. Wait until it jells a bit and put back in the tank. I like to watch the fish pick at it. The shrimp seem to like the little nooks and crannies too '

[@michaelfox6820]

Great video! I could foresee the outcome at the very beginning when you put up the price tag for the DIY, and also when you had to freeze the mixture to get it to solidify. I would sooner buy the Repashy than make the food from scratch. The question for me is whether the Repashy is worth it, vs the use of a mix of dry food and frozen brine shrimp and bloodworms.

[@youngdumb1867]

After blending it you should put all that food on a foil paper and dryer under the sunlight are you can bake that food will turn into fish flix

[@shesellsfish]

I make snello for my mystery and ramshorn snails. It's pretty simple and doesn't tend to fall apart easily. My fish love picking at it too. Although Repashy is still probably the easiest over all to make up quickly and be able to use the soonest. 👍💓👍

[@jewellgalbreath7793]

I am new to the hobby... so thanks for saving me time great video. 😀

[@stevenheinje181]

i used to make much of my food when i was breeding for income. Beef heart, squid, earthworms live/chopped, i added bird vitamins (quite close to fish) mostly its a vitamin C they miss I understood at time. I used a kitenide grinder

[@sedghammer]

Maybe you could experiment with using "locust bean gum" if you want something akin to Repashy. That's the binder they use. But it was probably just not enough gelatin in the mix.

[@nataliebarroga6682]

What an interesting experiment! Thanks for sharing this! I like to spoil my fish, but maybe I’ll wait until someday when I have some bamboo shrimp to try this out 😂

[@cherie3213]

At least you did the diy food for the fishes once in your lifetime👍👌

[@shadeaquaticbreeder2914]

I always wondered why nobody made fish food using aquatic insect larvae and their adult insect forms when that is naturally what most fish primarily eat

[@caitlinunderwood8447]

It would probably be very difficult to source those ingredients, and very expensive.

[@jbosmith]

That spirulina powder makes great fry and shrimp food!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yes, I've heard that! Will definitely be keeping that stuff around.

[@anthonycolon9012]

I like these type of experiments

[@egoranonymous3223]

Those red fish are beautiful! And you have become my go to person on all things fishy! 🐠😊🐟🙃🦂

[@ReneesZooTube]

I made gel fish food with veggies baby food many years ago, before the pre-made brands became available. It was a last ditch effort to help a goldfish with swim bladder issues I'd adopted that had major swim bladder issues. It could barely swim upright despite medication and being fed peas. It worked! The fish gradually improved until it could swim mostly normally. Homemade gel food and then transitioning to only frozen foods after that kept that Goldie around for a long time. 😊 Now, I agree with you, gel foods are just too messy. I would only feed them if that was the only thing a more specialty species would eat. Even then, I'd rather feed something like a frozen food.

[@GirlTalksFish]

That's so awesome to hear! I hear that Repashy is a huge favorite among fancy goldfish keepers, so I'm glad to hear it worked out for you. :)

[@karac5337]

Thanks for another great video. I've been wondering about diy foods. Think for the cost vs other factors I'll stick to what I know. For my fish I don't need a year or two supply at a time haha. Too messy as well.

[@KyIieMinogue]

Hey Irene would you be willing to try this again if you had a better recipe? Using Agar is a much better binding agent than gelatin it holds up a lot better in water and it can be reheated to a liquid so you can add more to the mix if you find the final product isn’t firm enough. I’ve never been able to keep spirulina from fouling my water when I’ve used it in diy recipes so I substitute it with unsalted nori which also helps bind it all together when it’s mixed into the wet ingredients. I think part of the reason this sort of disintegrated in the water was because the veggies were canned and extra wet so giving them a squeeze to remove some of the water would help a tonne. If you’re out and about and find yourself in a local Asian grocer have a little look for a bag of dried shrimp/krill and dried whole fish. I really hope you give us a second attempt sometime in the future. These kinds of trials and experimenting videos make this hobby so much more fun! Also please bring back the Julia Child “helllloooooo” for these cooking episodes 😂

[@GirlTalksFish]

Lol, I totally forgot to say "helllooo"! Thanks for the tips; sounds like I'll have to try again someday. :)

[@hampton1315]

Love your videos! I hope you continue on your rainbow fish!🐟🐠🐡

[@GirlTalksFish]

That's the plan, once I get enough footage of my top orange fish! Hope you have a merry Christmas. :)

[@hampton1315]

@@GirlTalksFish Thank you! I sent you a letter and a Christmas card. I hope you get it in time!

[@GirlTalksFish]

@@hampton1315 Oh thank you! I'll have my husband check the PO box today.

[@krg9942]

Wouldn't the heat from boiling destroy the vitamins and nutrients? Just got my Rapashy, making it today!

[@jfdd43]

You can add the vitachem after it cooled down. I tried it, and it worked fine. Just do it before it sets

[@ayemf9285]

I heard a similar voice on the radio today and it took me a while to recognize that the woman sounded just like you! I enjoy your videos (: Happy Holidays 🎄

[@Drifter0001]

What if one was to dehydrate all the ingredients first with non-flavored gelatin or agar and make that into a powder... like super fine powder, like super super fine powder and then do the hot water thing. And you can add stuff that is fish specific with out any other "land based organisms". Also you can make that in bulk and freeze the powder and only use what you need.

[@mjh00124o]

Never really have the time for DIY food but have always wanted to try making my own flake 🤔

[@GirlTalksFish]

Ooo, I may have to try that next time! Thanks for the suggestion. :)

[@siobhanhopkins9881]

Is a 10 gallon with a betta and 3 albino corydoras ok

[@RobsAquariumRoom]

A cool mug nice picture on it. 🐟🐟

[@aquariumplantman]

Am waiting on my mail man to deliver my order or repashy, first time trying it in my tanks. 🌱

[@Thegiddyowl]

It’s so good! Also you can make fun shapes with it if you have silicone molds (I have one that looks like little Bundt cakes)

[@jigokutsuushin]

I made DIY food in the past but I fed it to large-mouthed fish like cichlids as well as turtles. For smaller fish like livebearers, it's too messy since they pick it apart.

[@khol3167]

Try blending raw veggies and add a bit of raw liver as well. The texture will be much different and the liver will make the fish eat it faster.

[@jordanbabcock9349]

You tasted the diy. That made me look to see if I was subscribed. I wasn't but now am. So at least one +1 from it!

[@GirlTalksFish]

LOL! Then it was totally worth it. 😂

[@cheryllong995]

I make my own ggel food but do 3 envelopes of gelatin to 2 cups of the blended food & does not disintegrate but I remove uneaten in about 4 hrs & it's still intact, try that, repashy is way to expensive & my fish really like mine Worth a try.

[@kyokyo1188]

can you please share your recipe? been looking for a good one. thank you

[@georgeioanbungau3079]

My diy food its exactly like repashy no mess în my aquariums :) fish love it and dont eat no more comercial food they refuse it !!

[@IanScuff]

What is your recipe?

[@tondasunshine8343]

I would like to know too!! What is your recipe?

[@kyokyo1188]

would you be so kind to share your recipe? I have a very fuzzy pleco and tetras that would not eat properly. thank you in advance!

[@deadfred821]

When I made the snell-o mix by Rae’s Aquaria, I found it needed a bit more gelatin & assumed it was due to the brand I was using. But more gelatin & it became more cohesive. Could be worth considering should you try again in the future … Of course; you got to do something with this batch first…😅

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yes, I think less water and more gelatin is warranted for the next time I try making DIY fish food!

[@SlickNick3]

You’re brave for trying the diy food 😂 glad I watched this gonna try some repashy! Never tried it yet... And I will not be trying diy!!

[@GirlTalksFish]

Lol, yeah Repashy is a LOT easier and my fish love it. Great for getting corydoras to breed.

[@twunderaquatics1770]

I tried making my own shrimp food. Found out through other people is they can eat fish food and do well. I do get the snowflakes and give veggies but pellets are a money racket. I have bought repashy but can't stand the smell of it. Lol

[@Nugget-yz2uk]

Hello! I have a betta fish names Sushi and he is in a 10 gallon tank with a couple tank mates. But I was just wondering if you had any idea why he enjoys wrapping himself around the filter intake tube to sleep... I just want to make sure it's okay not harmful for him but he seems to enjoy it for some reason. 😂😂

[@theredchaser]

Thanks for doing this. I think the DIY recipe needs more gelatin / agar to make it more solid at room temperature. That being said, would you continue with the Repashy, or is it still too messy in your opinion?

[@GirlTalksFish]

I totally agree - more gelatin/agar would have helped a lot. Repashy is still my favorite, as long as you have bottom dwellers or scavengers that will consume all the crumbs. My dwarf chain loaches and platies keep my substrate spotless. 👍

[@pleaseleavesarayualone]

Hey irene! I don't mean to be nosy but I haven't seen you in an aquarium coop video for a long time...?

[@shadeaquaticbreeder2914]

Check the aquarium co-op blog article posts

[@pleaseleavesarayualone]

@@shadeaquaticbreeder2914 thank you

[@Streach26]

question did you put a y gelatin in the diy if not that's why it disintegrated

[@-8_8-]

Doesn't seem like the fish appreciated the effort. But both of them make me wonder about feeding to nano fry, particularly the DIY one since that seemed to dilute into solution. Any thoughts?

[@Pow3rOut]

Had high hopes for repashy community plus. Made first batch nice and easy, fish wont eat it. Red eye tetras,glowlight tetras,green tiger barbs,gold barbs,teardrop barbs,ottos,Chinese algea eaters,mystery snails,amano shrimp none of them will eat it $15 bucks wasted.

[@mjh00124o]

Most fish won't eat the community blend not sure why try mixing it in with one of the other flavours

[@setapartforHim]

Keep trying. Eventually they will. I smash the food into smaller pieces for smaller fish. At first they didn't know what to do with it but eventually learn that it's food

[@RobsAquariumRoom]

Bite bite bite!😂😂😂

[@andycarter4581]

Thanks for doing this... it means I don’t need to!

[@michaelmachos8969]

IRENE! Great job!

[@4chappels]

Interesting video. I've been taking care of a sick betta for 6 months. He has good weeks and bad weeks. Can you tell me what's going on when he does this crazy spastic swimming? I know when the GH is high, he feels miserable. I've been using your level 3 aquarium salt in conditioned distilled water, which seems to be helping. I also add in BettaFix. I never knew that keeping a betta fish happy could be so complicated. Pinky is in a 5 gallon aquarium with a bubble filter and a heater set at 80 degrees along with potho roots. I just don't know what else to do for him? 🤷‍♀️ I also add one almond leaf each week. I've used Expel-P three times over the past few months. Any advice will be appreciated. Tammy in N AL.

[@IanScuff]

I think freezing DIY food is a bad idea if you use gelatin or agar. I've read that the structure is damaged by freezing. Another reason to use Repashy!

[@MarcoAntonio-tb4gx]

I have never tried repashi. I make my own frozen food, and I dont even use gelatin, I use salmón, shrimp, some veggies, spirulina, nori, paprika and some garlic,, I just take the frozen portion im going to feed my fish, and I try to slowly feed them trying to make sure that what I put on the tank is almost inmediately eaten, my guppies live in one of those "patio tubs", with Lots of water hyacinth, no filters, no aireator, been feeding them this food for more than a year, and I do partíal water changes almost every 3 or 4 months

[@thehornwortofhornwort9832]

NICE CHRISTMAS TREE

[@GirlTalksFish]

Thank you! Not exactly Pinterest-worthy, but it's full of memories. :)

[@naegwut]

You got kids with scales now 🐟

[@robertplumer]

You convinced me Fish Girl; forget DIY fish food. 😉🙏

[@ScooterFXRS]

Hmmm, as far as the instant melting of the food, perhaps a bit of dehydrating is in order.

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yeah, I think if I tried making the recipe again, I'll use less water and more gelatin to see if it will solidify more.

[@IanScuff]

@@GirlTalksFish Don't freeze it.

[@setapartforHim]

Hmm. I don't think its supposed to simmer for that long. Wouldn't it destroy all the nutrients and vitamins? And maybe not blend it so much. Idk, just my thoughts

[@hyunjinscheoeumiraseoda4639]

SHE POSTED AGAIN OMGG ILSYM IRENE

[@GirlTalksFish]

My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed my cooking episode. 😉

[@bo_392]

my experience too with a similar recipe. dissolves too fast.

[@melon412]

Hey today I put some warm water in my fish tank my betta fish started acting weird it was breathing heavily then he stopped he keeps hanging around the same corner I gave him some food but he keeps refusing and hangs around the same corner he doesn’t move please help I’m very scared and concerned for him 😰

[@melon412]

The water wasn’t to warm it turns out he had a temperature shock he’s ok now he’s still recovering from the shock poor fish I’m sorry for him :(

[@josephstanley200]

I don’t think I would like a diy food that uses wet or fresh meat lol. I do make many diy foods for my fish shrimp and snails but I dry or start from dried. I have a designated spice grinder so from fine powder it’s much easier.

[@alt-swe5503]

Fry food?

[@tinadorminy4086]

Are you still with Aquarium Coop?

[@GirlTalksFish]

Yup, I am! You can read my weekly blog posts on their website, and I'm going to be coming out with some new videos for their channel next year. :)

[@jamesgreen9372]

On the taste test, your facial expression says it all. I gather it looked like lentil soup but did not taste like it. It reminds of the days we tasted baby food before risking it on our son. :) Do you think the DIY food would be a better fry food? The staff at Bulk Reef Supply have a nice video on DIY food also. Depending on where one starts and stops in the process, one gets carnivore, herbivore, coral, or combination food. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gmLUlIWNi7SMnc0 They augment freezing with some powders soaked in vitamins and amino acids as binders. However as a parent with a life and little free time, I'll take a que from you and try Repashy. As always thanks for your wisdom, insight, efforts, and common sense, Jim

[@GirlTalksFish]

Ooo, thanks for the link; I'll definitely have to check it out! Haha yes, it may be a while before I have to the free time to cook more fish food. P.S. Thank you for becoming a member recently! I'm so sorry I haven't been seeing your many comments until now. Hence, all the backlog of replies in one go. 😅

[@jamesgreen9372]

@@GirlTalksFish Thanks for the kind note. However, we realize you are a devoted Mom and consultant, using what little time you have to pass along your wisdom and insight is appreciated.

[@brianp6180]

Funny. I love the look on your face when you tasted it 🤢. DYI way to much trouble

[@johnwood738]

Thank you for the video but I think I will stick with Repashy.

[@matthewbivens5395]

Idk why, but I love taste tests! Great video, thank you.

[@miquelwrld4452]

Please 🥺🙏,may u make some other fish breeding

[@killerdemon3555]

It's fish food Or 👇👇👇 Human food

[@sidthamunkayone4819]

Otto is thinking.. glad I dont eat that stuff!

[@hansols1727]

At this point for all that hard work, i might as well eat the fish food i made. Sorry fish

[@TankTastic]

I go opposite of diy, cuz im lazy lol

[@shonchadwick007]

👍👍

[@goldfishyman7701]

Must be good she's not going to share with fish. lol

[@andystokes8702]

What's the matter with you lot cringing when Irene tasted the mix? What were the ingredients? - salmon, shrimp, spinach, peas, carrots, gelatin, garlic, and some vitamin supplements. All this came from the grocery aisle, why would you shudder at the thought of eating any of them? The only other thing is spirulina powder - well that's just green vegetable matter, if you dehydrated the peas then ground them to a fine powder you probably could not tell them apart.

[@GirlTalksFish]

Haha, at least the seafood wasn't raw! 🍣

[@andystokes8702]

@@GirlTalksFish Even if it was, so what? Have you never eaten sushi?

[@beachaddict7653]

Gorgeous woman 😘

[@Smokeyddth]

I love seeing full belly otos