Repashy Superfoods for fish

[tjudy]

Allen Repashy is releasing a new line of his excellent gel foods, and these will be for fish! I think these gel foods are going to change the way we think about feeding fish. I posted a video in my blog about the food: http://tedsfishroom.com/2012/01/13/rapa ... tock-shop/

The lists of ingredients can be found on the product pages: http://tedsfishroom.com/store/products/ ... ent-green/

The only loricarids I keep are bristle-nose plecos. They love any of the formulas I have given them, but I feed them mostly the Community Plus and Soilent Green. I have a lot of cories that go nuts over the food too, especially Meat Pie. Eric Bodrock and Stephan Tanner were also testing the food, and are pretty high on it as well. Stephan is also selling it.

Check out the video... the fish reaction to the food is pretty cool to watch.

[Coursair]

I'm a Beta tester for his new gel foods and my Shrimp and Fish LOVE the food !!

[ars]

Definitely recommend Meat Pie for cory keepers. My corys love this food!

[bsmith]

That looks like a great food for my pleco fry. I see the amounts he sells but how much food can you make from an oz of the food?

[nvcichlids]

There is an explaination on our local fish club by Ted explaining it a bit more.

"I just did a better cost analysis on the food (I found a food scale!!!!). 1 oz of powder using the 3:1 mix ratio makes one pound of food. In my video, those deli cups hold roughly 1/2 pound of food. So a 2 oz packet of food will make FOUR of those deli cups."

here is a link to the club's site with all the explainations.

http://madisonaquatichobby.com/forum/vi ... 4&start=10

[tjudy]

About price comparisons... comparing dry weight Repashy to dry weight of a flake or pellet, the Repashy is going to be more expensive. But imo there is less waste and the the delivery system for getting the food into the fish is more efficient. What I was trying to point out my local clubs forums was that comparing cost of feeding to feeding is comparable, because in the end I feed less Rapashy (dry weight) than a flake/pellet food in a week and still get excellent results.

[bsmith]

About price comparisons... comparing dry weight Repashy to dry weight of a flake or pellet, the Repashy is going to be more expensive. But imo there is less waste and the the delivery system for getting the food into the fish is more efficient. What I was trying to point out my local clubs forums was that comparing cost of feeding to feeding is comparable, because in the end I feed less Rapashy (dry weight) than a flake/pellet food in a week and still get excellent results.

Comparing dry v dry would be silly IMO. I am going to order some, probably the “aufwuchs” packed 'soilent green' since I believe that “aufwuchs” is the German term for the microorganisms that thrive on leaf litter and the drift woods we have in our tanks, and the community plus (unless you or anyone else has a better idea for cories, Sclromystax and L183 Starlight bristle nose plecos).

If I used circular or square containers I could get 16 either pie shaped slices or 9nice cubes. I would think that one of those would last at least a day and if I fed them one ever 2 days that's a bit over a month. But I would be supplementing with the dry foods I have too so it would be a great addition to any feeding regime it seems.

What is the recommended storage for the food after it has been hydrated, how long will the hydrated food last in the fridge/freezer and do you know the shelf life of the powder pre-hydration?

Thanks, this stuff has me excited!

[jvision]

Does anyone know of a distributor for Canada?

[tjudy]

What is the recommended storage for the food after it has been hydrated, how long will the hydrated food last in the fridge/freezer and do you know the shelf life of the powder pre-hydration?

Shelf life of the powder is 18 - 24 months. In a fridge the gel will last a couple weeks, and in a freezer a year. Basically, treat the gel like human food that will spoil.

[andregurov]

Has this food been tested with fry? How long does it stay in gel form (under normal conditions) in an aquarium? I'm sorry if these have been answered in the vids ... my player doesn't function on my computer so I can't watch them.

[tjudy]

The gel takes 24 - 48 hours to dissolve in water. The food is excellent for fry because it is available for them to graze on for hours and hours. The specific application of feeding fry is what caught my attention right from the start.

[pleco_breeder]

What about small fry like tetras? Are they attracted to it, or have to wait till they learn to take it?

Larry

[tjudy]

I have been feeding it to all fry, including tetras. Yes, they have to learn what it is, but that does not take very long. I have also been starting fry on the dry powder sprinkled over the water surface like a micro food or APR.

[tjudy]

Does anyone know of a distributor for Canada?

I do not know of one yet, but I will ship to Canada.

[jvision]

PMed

[CanadaPleco]

All my fish have been going crazy over the foods. I am also selling it now because my fish love it so much http://www.canadapleco.com/store/

[Shane]

I have ordered some to try out, but initial responses from my local club members is that it stinks to high heaven during preperation. If I mix this up in the kitchen... am I going to be sleeping in the doghouse? I would be curious to hear if others are finding the smell to be an issue.
-Shane

[megacat]

Does anyone know of a distributor for Canada?

Here is the distributors site.

http://www.northerngecko.net/wholesale- ... ities.html

[jvision]

Shoot me a PM for a 10% discount at Ted's Fishroom

[Jools]

If I mix this up in the kitchen... am I going to be sleeping in the doghouse?

Mix it up in the doghouse then? I have some coming to the UK (I hope) so very interested too.

Cheers,

Jools

[tjudy]

Shane.... I have not noticed a horrible odor, but I mix it differently than the directions on the package (which tell you to mix it while the water is cold and microwave it until it boils). I put the powder in a bowl and then ad boiling water to it while whisking. Standing over it I do not get a horrible odor. I suspect that boiling it in a microwave would release a lot more gases as it bubbles. Maybe that is the source of the stink.

[verbal]

Shane.... I have not noticed a horrible odor, but I mix it differently than the directions on the package (which tell you to mix it while the water is cold and microwave it until it boils). I put the powder in a bowl and then ad boiling water to it while whisking.

I did the same and the odor was strong but not horrible. I then baked brownies and my wife never noticed there was a smell

[NorthernGecko]

Does anyone know of a distributor for Canada?

I am the distributor for Repashy Superfoods in Canada: Northern Gecko Specialty Pet & Pet Products. We are looking for more Canadian Resellers or you can buy direct from us.

Go to www.northerngecko.net and look under Repashy Fish Food Gels. You can also check for authorized Canadian resellers in your area on the Repashy Resellers list.

Thanks,
Mark.

[bsmith]

So is everyone making 1oz (powder) then just keeping the prepared food in the freezer/fridge in a Tupperware/baggie and this is working out well?>

[tjudy]

I mix up 1 oz or so at a time and store it in the fridge. It is good for two weeks or so, but it only takes me a few days to feed it all. If you are mixing very small amounts, it works better to mix the powder with cold water and then heat it until boiling in a microwave. Use a container that has plenty of room, or it will boil over. I have done a total volume of 1 oz (water and food combined) this way, and it only takes about 15 seconds to boil... so watch closely!

[bassgenie]

Ted, I ordered the Solient Green from you All my plecos took it. The ABN's, Syndosis and Flash plecos especially loved it. Thanks for getting it to me so quick!

[kev]

I ordered 2oz of the meat pie last week, just waiting for it to arrive.

Think I'm going to pour it into ice cube trays and keep it in the freezer

[Barbie]

It honestly goes fast enough there isn't much need to freeze it, at least at my house. I have tried all four of the formulas now, and my fish really love it. I think it will be a great way to potentially medicate fish, by getting them to eat small doses of metro or what have you in food they easily recognize.

My husband claimed the smell was enough to gag him and I prepared it by adding boiling hot water to the dry ingredients and stirring. It smells like a multivitamin, IMO, but I think that's a good thing for the fish. It's definitely a great idea and I'm getting the little nano fish at the store to eat more regularly than I ever did trying the micro foods. My display tank fish are evenly gaining weight instead of a few that look rotund and a few that are obviously struggling, also. All in all, I'm pleased so far .

Barbie

[tjudy]

I have had some feedback on using Repashy to medicate. The trick is to add the medications when the food has cooled enough to not negatively affect the medication. Metro is pretty heat tolerant, so it can go in after the mix has only cooled slightly. Antibiotics are less heat tolerant, so what users have been doing is mixing a batch continuously stir it as it cools. When the food starts to set they add the antibiotic and keep stirring until it starts to resist stirring.

I would like to learn more about dosing. If anyone is using REpashy to administer medications, please share how much medication you are using in how much food, and what your rate of feeding is. Logically, we should be able to use less than a full tank dose because the food is (hopefully) being ingested.

[pleco_breeder]

I can personally vouch that adding antibiotic only after it has cooled dramatically does work, and does work wonders. I dosed Kanamycin for an internal bacterial infection that ran rampant through one of my racks. Dosing the system did practically nothing, but only two fish refused to eat the gel. One of them is no longer alive, but the other does seem to be improving at it's own pace in a stand alone quarantine.

There was some concern about whether it would be possible to treat the gel with antibiotic because of the high temperature. It is definitely possible, but don't rush adding the medication.

Larry