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Best food there is bar none.

Paul B

NJRC Member
Now I know that I have always said that the best all around food for our animals is whole fish followed by blackworms, but I lied. :(
Live blackworms is actually the third best food.

The absolute best food for our animals, bar none, not even if you go to Mars is Salmon eggs.
Salmon happens to be one of the healthiest foods we as humans can eat because of the Omega 3 oils and other essential fish oils,
But an exceptionally large percentage of that oil is in their eggs.
Yes Salmon Cavior is relatively cheap (as far as fish food goes) and available in Asian markets. It is sold fresh so I don't know if you could get it in the mid west. If anyone lives in the mid west, let me know if you can get it there.
It sells here in NY for almost $40.00 a pound which sounds expensive but it is only about a quarter of what frozen mysis sells for. I just bought 4 ounces for under $10.00 which will last me months.
Each fish only needs one egg which are about a quarter inch across and brimming with salt water fish oil.
My bubble corals, cup corals and any other coral with a mouth just gobbled them up. My bangai cardinal ate four of them and can't hardly close his mouth. They must be target fed.
The large hermit crab attempted to tear the bubble apart in an attempt to steal an egg but I am a little bigger than him and I wrestled it away from him. He was sulking in a corner so I gave him his own salmon egg.
These can only last in the refrigerator maybe two days and must be frozen. I put them in those little plastic trays that mysis come in after they are empty and freeze them.
Asian markets also sell a much smaller fish egg for half that price so depending on the size of your fish you can custom feed these things. I only give this to them a couple of times a week as I do blackworms because they are very rich.
They are even better than worms because besides the oil they supply calcium and every other thing a fish would need. After all, a salmon egg is essentially a compressed Salmon.

:D
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Phyl

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
Great idea, Paul. One I hadn't really thought of! Thanks for the post.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
These are just for a suppliment, not a staple food it is much too rich and your skimmer will overflow so you need to watch it for an hour or so
 

mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
So I start with blackworms and then you throw this at me? :) Just fed the fish blackworms for the first time and it took them a while but they ate them. My duncans and dendro LOVED it. They closed right up and were very happy. How many times a week do you feed the blackworms?
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
Mnat, I feed the blackworms almost every day but I am happy if each fish gets at least one. The worms are not as rich as eggs but neither of these foods should be a staple diet. The goal is to get and keep the fish in breeding condition and these foods provide the fish oil they need for that. Keep feeding what ever else you are feeding and if you can get these foods use them as suppliments, don't get crazy.
 
Hopefully you gpt more that 6 eggs for $10.00... ;D

Oh and Paul...My fish have smaller mouths than 1/4" and you mention smaller eggs. Does it matter what fish roe I look for? Is there any better than others? Any to avoid?
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
I got this many for $10.00 bucks. it's about 4 ounces.
They have much smaller eggs but the store where I go to doesen't have anything in between

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mnat

Officer Emeritus
Staff member
Moderator
I think I am going to start with weekly blackworm feedings. Until I can figure out how to keep them alive for a while, that will have to do.
 
WELL noooo salmon roe for me....My Asian maket did not have it. THey only had if frozen in a LARGE box and it was $80.00.....Oh well I tried....Were is the market you get it at?
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
I get it in H Mart.
But whatever eggs you feed, rinse them well to remove the slime or your skimmer will make you pay
 
Paul B said:
I get it in H Mart.
But whatever eggs you feed, rinse them well to remove the slime or your skimmer will make you pay

Yeah that is were I went H mart.....They don't carry the fresh ones. At least that is what the guy told me....He also told me they don't carry salmon roe but I found it in the freezer section. But the package was large and the cost was $80.00. Were is the H mart you go to? I look in the seafood section were they sell the live talipia and lobsters. Is that the right section????
 
If you have a local fish market, they throw away the roes from a lot of fish, like flounders, when the clean them. They will sell them to you for a pittance if they have them. I have not tried feeding this stuff to my fish. My late father, a man of bizzarre tastes, used to bring them home when he went to the fish store and fry them up. I bet fish would go for that stuff too.
 

Paul B

NJRC Member
I have always fed all sorts of fish eggs including flounder and you are correct, they are thrown out in a seafood market.
You can even get lobster eggs for free in some places
 
whenever I catch a striper or fluke, the fish roe goes in the freezer. I scrape the frozen roe occasionally to give the fish a treat, but it does whack out your skimmer for a little bit. If there's a lot of roe, its good fried too :D

PS don't use the flying fish roe (tobiko) or capelin roe (masago) since they are usually colored and/or seasoned. Salmon roe is also called Ikura.


I think there is an H mart (was it Hanyang years ago?) Asian supermarket (Japanese) in Weehawken or Edgewater in North Jersey- You can also go to any Korean supermarket, there are a few in the bergenfield area.
 
Thanks for some more sage advice all. I knew that the fish in our tanks would eat eggs from mating pairs but never thought to buy (or get for free at my local fish market) some eggs and feed them to them. You think it would have crossed the mind of a guy (me) who's wife created a visual series named "Fisheggs"?

Here's her fishegg blog:

http://fisheggs.typepad.com/forty-fisheggs/

I'm going to ask my local fish market for some roe, thanks!
 
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