# How to feed frozen foods?



## hgual22 (Jul 18, 2014)

I feed my fish omega one pellets, and frozen bloodworms weekly, but my questions is about the bloodworms. 

How in the world do I get a small peice of the huge blocks they come in? I'm only feeding 2 fish, so I only need a tiny piece of the block, but I dont know how to cut it. How do you guys do it? 

Yesterday I ended up thawing the whole thing, and then using a small bit and then freezing the rest. It was messy and annoying. 

Help?


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## imaal (Aug 10, 2014)

You don't want to thaw and refreeze the cubes, the same way you don't want to thaw and refreeze food for humans. The food goes bad. Just scrape off the amount you want from the frozen cube either with a small paring knife or the course side of a potato grater. Also, SF Bay Brand now makes mini cubes which you can just break into bits of the size you want.


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## Cranly (Apr 14, 2014)

I cut/scrape off a small piece of the cube and throw it in a small cup with some tank water in it then immediately put the frozen cube in a freezer bag designated for frozen bloodworm.
then i am left with thawed bloodworm to feed the fish. pretty easy all in all.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

+1 to the above. 

Do not refreeze food.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

Ive been sticking one block in the fridge... are you saying this is bad?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Sticking a block in a fridge will last 3-5 days after you remove it from the freezer. After that, you should toss it. 

The best way is to cut or shave off a piece of the block and then put the block directly back in the freezer.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

How many worms do you feed a single betta?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

I usually feed about 3-4


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

Ive been feeding mine 6 or so morning and night.

i could keep feeding him and he would keep eating too


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

does this mean you are feeding him blood worms every day?

that is not good. Bloodworms are basically like dessert to bettas. The proper diet is pellets with frozen bloodworms maybe once or twice a week, but not at both feedings that day. 

And of course he would keep eating. Bettas do not know when they are full. That is why you the owner has to be careful how much food you offer them.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

Yip bloodworms everyday, i know of many people that do it and have never had any problems.

"A proper diet is pellets" pretty sure its insects worms and what ever else they can find in the water system they live in..?


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

very few people on this forum would agree with you on this one.

Also the fish we have a betta splendens, they are not wild type bettas. Which means that they are raised and fed with pellets. The water system they live in are whatever cups or tanks the breeder raised them in. 

Just because you've never had problems, does not mean that your betta is getting well fed.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

He has great colour, is very active and currently has a massive bubble nest... i think he is just fine.


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## VivianKJean (Aug 20, 2013)

Bubble nests mean nothing, fyi. even sick bettas will make them. You are free to do what you want but think about it this way. If you at the same thing every single day then you are missing out on a lot of nutrition so your betta is experiencing the same thing. take my advice or not. its your choice. This conversation is over.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

You were just telling me they are raised and live on pellets.... thats pretty much the same thing everyday is it not? oh you also said some desert once or twice a week (bloodworms).


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## spaceyJC (Aug 9, 2014)

dropped said:


> He has great colour, is very active and currently has a massive bubble nest... i think he is just fine.


I remember reading somewhere that your shouldn't use bloodworms as a stable diet because it's giving him the varied diet he needs. By feeding just bloodworms, your betta won't get all the nutrients he needs.


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## kevinap2 (Apr 3, 2014)

In a way, you're both right. Dropped is correct that a natural diet is whatever lives in or on the water the bettas live in. Vivian is correct that pellets give a much better balanced diet than bloodworms alone.

Bloodworms alone do not provide a balanced diet. I see no problems with feeding frozen foods exclusively, but would argue that if you do that, you need to provide a much more varied diet to truly replicate their diet in the wild. You should feed a mix of bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae (if you can find it this time of year), and other types of insects. If you can't do that, then there's no question that pellets are a better option.


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## Kumo (Oct 26, 2013)

Slice off a little bit of the cube with a knife and put it immediately back in the freezer. After doing that, take some tank water and put it in a little cup, and thaw the frozen cube in the cup, and then place it back in the tank to feed the fish.

Personally, I feed my fish once a day, 6/7 days a week. It's good to feed them a good mixture, makes sure they get full nutrition that way. My mix normally ends up being: krill, plankton, bloodworms, shrimp pellets, and tubifex worms.


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## MameJenny (Jun 11, 2012)

I seem to remember reading that bloodworms lose their nutrition when they're dried because their blood evaporates. Most of their nutritional value is in the blood. I'd think that frozen or live bloodworms would have much more nutrition if this is the case...not to mention being easier to digest. Don't take my word for it, though.

I usually just feed frozen foods by breaking up a cube and putting the pieces in a cup of warm tank water. Then I use a 1 ml syringe to squirt the food in their tanks.  I put the leftover blocks in ziplock bags and stick them in the freezer. Sometimes I'll put the defrosted portion in the freezer if I defrost too much - although I don't use them more than a day or two after they were defrosted.


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## dropped (Aug 29, 2014)

MameJenny your right the dried bloodworms i have, the betta find them hard to eat. I find they wont eat pellets unless they have been soaked for a couple mins otherwise they just spit them back out.

But either soaked pellets or frozen blood worms go down a treat for my guys.


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## Tree (Sep 29, 2013)

kevinap2 said:


> In a way, you're both right. Dropped is correct that a natural diet is whatever lives in or on the water the bettas live in. Vivian is correct that pellets give a much better balanced diet than bloodworms alone.
> 
> Bloodworms alone do not provide a balanced diet. I see no problems with feeding frozen foods exclusively, but would argue that if you do that, you need to provide a much more varied diet to truly replicate their diet in the wild. You should feed a mix of bloodworms, mysis shrimp, brine shrimp, mosquito larvae (if you can find it this time of year), and other types of insects. If you can't do that, then there's no question that pellets are a better option.


+1 to that.

and yeah I cut it in a smaller chunk and thaw it in a small cup then use tongs to feed my bettas, I only feed them frozen food once to twice a week


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