should you thaw and drain the liquid from frozen foods?

[MoshJosh]

I have been feeding a mix of frozen foods, usually I thaw and drain some of the "liquid", but is the liquid bad? If I am not using liquid/small foods for corals can they utilize the liquid/tiny bits as food?

to thaw or not to thaw???

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

I have been feeding a mix of frozen foods, usually I thaw and drain some of the "liquid", but is the liquid bad? If I am not using liquid/small foods for corals can they utilize the liquid/tiny bits as food?

to thaw or not to thaw???

I started thawing and using a net to strain out the juice, but I have recently been considering not doing so. It feels to me like the quality might be high enough on the production of the foods that maybe ditching the liquid is only depriving particals of nutrition.

I would also like to know, thaw or not to.

 

[docforestal]

the liquid can be great for corals, but also for nitrates
i tend to put it in a small cup with tank water and other foods, swirl and i use a feeding ring, so as it thaws it drops down, as well as flake and pellets drop over time

 

[Big Smelly fish]

For reef tank with corals I don’t rinse frozen foods. I breed seahorses and rinse always to keep the nutrients down

 

[bushdoc]

Straining, rinsing and discarding fluid from frozen food removes access phosphates. Surely some phosphates will be in thawed food.
So, do you want more or less phosphates in your DT?
Most people have access of Phosphates, but some have low phosphates, so it depends on your tank.

 

[piranhaman00]

Depends on quality of food. PE mysis must be rinsed, rods I don’t but there is very little liquid in that food

 

[mfinn]

I currently don't.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I feed a lot of frozen foods. I simply thaw it in tank water and dump everything in.

 

[Court_Appointed_Hypeman]

This is good news, I've been suffering from very low nutrients, and got a free in tank frozen food thawing ring. Using it today finally.

 

[Gregpetro]

I have never strained my frozen food and it's never been a problem for me. I don't think the effort of straining frozen food is worth it. That's my opinion tho.

 

[MoshJosh]

Straining, rinsing and discarding fluid from frozen food removes access phosphates. Surely some phosphates will be in thawed food.
So, do you want more or less phosphates in your DT?
Most people have access of Phosphates, but some have low phosphates, so it depends on your tank.

I guess this was my concern, that I would be adding nutrients without actually "feeding" the corals/organisms small enough to consume the liquid and tiny bits.

 

[exnisstech]

I don't drain or strain anything including PE mysis. I flood the tank with a mixed sea food mash twice a day so it looks like a snow storm. The corals get fed as well as the fish that eat small foods like anthias. My nutrients are always low so I dont have to worry about excessive N and P

 

[Indymann99]

If you use a net to drain the frozen food and then stick the net in the tank to release the food, a side-affect is that the fish now associate the net with food and netting fish if needed is super easy.

 

[vetteguy53081]

I have been feeding a mix of frozen foods, usually I thaw and drain some of the "liquid", but is the liquid bad? If I am not using liquid/small foods for corals can they utilize the liquid/tiny bits as food?

to thaw or not to thaw???

While I dont strain- the juices are provided for the coral which are Many

 

[Alex's Nano Reef]

Pellet and flake food regularly frozen food on holidays and if u need nutrients dose it

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

IMO, rinsing frozen foods may contribute to potassium depletion since cells generally hold potassium inside intact cells.

Freezing can break the cell membranes, releasing very soluble potassium that might be rinsed away.

Then when the N and P in the tissues are consumed and used to make new cells (bacteria, corals, fish, etc), the organisms take up potassium to fill the new cell interior,

Thus, potassium may deplete in some reef aquaria.

 

[fyrefightr]

I dont ever rinse. I normally thaw some cubes in a container, add some dt water, garlic and selcon to the mixture and let the frozen soak. Then I feed once a day until its gone then make more.

 

[macinf]

I have been feeding a mix of frozen foods, usually I thaw and drain some of the "liquid", but is the liquid bad? If I am not using liquid/small foods for corals can they utilize the liquid/tiny bits as food?

to thaw or not to thaw???

I usually soak the food with selcon and garlic. So, no, I don't drain.

 

[vtecintegra]

BRS said a long time ago that it's a waste of time rinsing frozen in regards to NO3/PO4.

 

[Dave-T]

I don’t even thaw it. Just drop the cubes in the tank. It all gets eaten. Why bother to thaw?