rain-'s shrimpy biscuits

Have you tried some of my biscuits and want to tell how you and your creatures liked them?

Shrimpy Biscuits Guestbook

I have been making my own fish food for years and a special type of dehydrated food for shrimp, snails and fish for a couple of years now. It started as snail food, but I have changed the recipe and the process a few times so it will fit the needs of mostly all the creatures I am keeping. The biscuits are a hit amongst fish, shrimp, snails as well as children*, dogs**, and cats***! I really love making yummy biscuits for my critters once in a while and I think of it as a nice continuation to my aquarium hobby.

It seems that nearly all the shrimp, snail and fish species like these. I've heard that at least these love them: all snail species, all shrimp species (except the ones with fans), guppies and other livebearers, plecos, loaches, South American Puffer (Colomesus asellus), several species of labyrinth fish and even some tetras too. It's good for both adults and juveniles.

I use fresh vegetables, fruits (both preferably organic if possible) and other ingredients. The shrimp biscuits contain whole shrimp, vegetables, fruits, nettle, parsley, spirulina, garlic and all kinds of other nice and healthy things. I've chosen the best ingredients and there's nothing added just as a filler, it's 100% goodness.

The shelf life is rather long, the nutritional value is amazing and they are easy to store.

The biscuits will sink immediately (you can make them float if you place them carefully sideways like a raft) and they will keep their form for days (you can catch snails with these rather easily, just let the snails gather around the biscuit and then scoop them out and put the biscuit back). In rare occasions there's some pieces which will float for a while, but if you squeeze the piece a bit with your fingers or against the tank glass, it will sink. The color and surface texture will vary a bit.

I'd recommend to start with a piece that's about max. half an inch in diameter and see how fast the creatures will eat it. And if it's not eaten within a day or two, I'd take it away and try again with a smaller piece. That way you'll find out the best amount to add. For my shrimp (there's about 200 in the tank) I usually throw in a piece that's about an inch or inch and a half.

I pack the biscuits in plastic ziplock bags. One bag contains about 1 ounce/ 30 grams of biscuits, it's about 1-2 decilitres.

1 ounce doesn't sound like much, but as I said, the nutritional value is great, it is actually equivalent to 7-10 ounces of the raw ingredients used to prepare these. Therefore there's no need to add a lot of this food at one time (and it lasts long, so even a small piece is enough for many creatures). I myself give these biscuits to my shrimp couple of times a week and one bag lasts a long time for the hundreds of shrimp I have. I think this is a nice addition to other foods and my creatures actually prefer these over any commercial food I've offered them.

Here's a picture of 1 ounce of the biscuits in a measure that holds 1 decilitre.

* One hobbyist has a 1,5 years old daughter who doesn't seem to be able to stay away from the drawer underneath the aquarium, and specifically the shrimp biscuits. She doesn't seem to care about the other fish food there, and just munches the biscuits saying "good food, good food". It's a good thing that these biscuits really are good for basically any living being. But I don't recommend these for human consumption, it's easier to eat fresh vegetables, fruits and other healthy stuff.

** Another hobbyist got some biscuits from me and before she came home to open the mail, her dog had already opened the envelope and the plastic bag that was separating the dog from it's yummy snacks.

*** There's been several incidents with cats eating the shrimp biscuits. Might be better to store them in a jar instead of plastic bag. That's harder to tear open.

Instructions

• Store in an airtight jar or bag
• It's best to keep them in dry place and in room temperature or cooler.
• This food is potent, so you don't need to feed a lot at one time. Best starting size is a piece that's about half an inch in diameter. If it's not eaten within a day or two, take it away and try next time with a smaller piece.
• Don't give too small pieces to greedy fish like Bettas. It is best if the food has time to moisten before it's swallowed, so the piece offered should be larger than the fish can swallow in one piece. This doesn't apply to snails or shrimp.
• The nutritional value is great and this is good food also for youngsters.
• Sinks immediately.