# European Shrimp Mix - Please Help



## nagukush (Oct 16, 2008)

Hi Friends !

Friends, it will be a great help if somebody can kindly give me the exact recipe for the shrimp mix. I took the recipe from the internet but it didnt work out for me... Even after letting the mix sit for 6 hours, it is still very liquid.

I'm not sure how much gelatin to use and how exactly to mix the stuff together and how to set it right for a good consistency. Please help me get it right...

Also is there any way that I can use this mix as it is, as I dont want the stuff to go waste. Should I try adding more gelatin or freeze it as it is ?
Kindly guide and help me friends...
Thanks a lot !
Kush


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## padlock 08 (Jul 31, 2008)

i never used it but if you add more blended peas and shrimp as well as gelatin it should work after a period in the fridge


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

Adding flake food can sop up excess moisture.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

you could freeze it and use it as is, breaking off a piece as you need to.

how exactly did you make it?


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## klc9100 (Apr 14, 2009)

i have asked this same question here before. i tried it twice, carefully following the directions posted in the library, and it didn't work. i had the same problem as you, it never gelled. on the 1st batch, i went ahead and froze it, and tried it anyway. the problam is, as soon as you put it in the tank, it turns back into liquid and makes a mess.


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## mddjr5 (Sep 12, 2005)

I've been planning a diy food recipe for the past couple of weeks. I'll be working on it this afternoon and will let you know how mine goes with the gelatin added in. Never done it before so it should be fun :thumb:


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

I bought the ingredients yesterday to make the same recipe, however, I could not find a vegetable base gelatin???? Where can I find one??? and if I can't locate one, can I just use Agar??? I also wanted to know if anyone thought it would be okay to add Garlic to the recipe?? Just an idea. Thanks!! Once I try to make it, I will let you know how it turns out. Hopefully I didn't just waste money on stuff that won't work.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

I added garlic to mine works well.


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

Just wanted to let you know, I was reading up on "homemade" fish foods today, and one article noted in bold at the end of it "*If you use frozen vegetables for this recipe you will not get the desired consistency" * Thought maybe that could be the problem?? I still haven't mixed mine up yet since I haven't found a vegetable base gelatin, but I think I will just go pick up some Agar in a few and see how that works out. Anyone know where I can get a vegetable base gelatin or if Agar is fine??


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

All i did was get all my necessary veggies, shrimp, and used one pack of "KNOX original gelatine" added water, and it worked fine for me. didnt use any agar.


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

Tim-
Did you use one box?? Cause the directions call for 100 g (which I am assuming would be 100 grams) which would equal like 3 1/2 boxes (the box I have has 28g total). I was just going to make 1/2 the recipe in case it didn't work. I'm just curious how you did it since others have had no success. Thanks!


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

I kinda modified the recipe to fit my own. I cut up some brocoli, cucumber, lettuce, spinach, carrots, peas, green beans, garlic all in small portions, and added 4 large unpeeled shrimp, and put it in a food processor. then I mixed one pack with some water in a measuring cup then added it to the processor, mixed again, then poured the mix into some plastic sandwich bags, sealed them, then flattened them out on the kitchen countertop, then let them set. then i popped them in the freezer. To be honest with you, I found the box of gelatin in my cabinet, and there were 2 packs missing out of 4. So i couldve used two packs instead of one. I cant remember exactly. The whole box is 28 grams, like yours. What you should do is just mix a little and see how it goes. The main thing is to mix the gel separately before adding it to the veggie mix. if you see if the water/gel is getting thick, then you should add it to the mix. if it hasnt started going up, add another pack. This yielded me about 4 sheets 1/4" thick. i feed it once a week, and has lasted me about 10 months.


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

Thanks so much! I guess thats what I will have to do....just add stuff till it has a good consistency. I too wanted to add more veggies than what the recipe calls for. I will give a shot tomorrow and let y'all know how it turned out! I will try and keep track of how much of what I use so that if it does come out good, then others will have a reliable recipe to go by. Thanks again! :thumb:


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

just remember, its easy to go overboard on the veggies. the more you add, the more volume you will get. You dont want to make so much that this stuff is in your freezer for a long time where it can get freezer burned. if you do add lots of veggies, add small portions. make it so the consistency is like pancake mix ready to pour on the griddle.


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## Raschael (May 8, 2009)

Thanks again! I will be sure to keep that in mind. Wish me luck!


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## mddjr5 (Sep 12, 2005)

Well, I finally finished my diy recipe on Tuesday night. Today, Thursday, was my first trial on the fish. They love it!!! It took a few of them a little while to figure out that it was food, but once they did, it was gone!

My recipe was similar to Timkat's, but I decided to go big since I have several large tanks, and I have a couple friends who wanted to try the food in their tanks.

mddjr5's Cichlid Fish Food Recipe â€" May 18, 2009
Ingredients:
2lbs tail on cooked shrimp
2lbs	Salmon fillet (leftover from last fall's fishing trips)
1lb	Frozen Brocolli
1lb	Frozen chopped Spinich leaves
2lbs	Frozen peas and cut carrot mix
3	Garlic bulbs from 1 clove (could have done more)
1	64oz. V8
14	unflavored gelatin packets
4	teaspoons Centrum liquid multivitamin/mineral supplement
Blended shrimp and salmon
Blended vegetables 
Blended garlic cloves with Â½ cup water
Mixed meat, veggies, and garlic together and blended again
Added V8 and blended again
Mixed 14 packets of gelatin with 4 cups of water on medium heat
Stirred ingredients into gelatin/water
Scooped about 4 serving size spoonfuls into 16 ziploc bags
laid bags flat (about 1/4" deep) and put in freezer.

The food seems to have good consistency and stays together when in the tank. The fish actually take bites out of it  Hope this helps!


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

Wow, sounds tasty. glad it worked for you.

I was thinking for my next batch Id put some salmon or some type of fish with the shrimp mix.

What made you go with a V8? fish needed a pick me up? You know just looking at your recipe, if you ate that on a regular basis, (minus the gelatin) youd probably never have to worry about cholesterol, or any other ailment we humans suffer.

Its funny how our fish eat better than we do.

Have YOU had your V8 today?


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## mddjr5 (Sep 12, 2005)

I'm not sure about tasty :drooling: but it's definitely more healthy than what I eat!!! I actually had a lady in our office suggest that this might be a great new diet food :lol: I think she was joking.

I decided to use the V8 for a couple of reasons. I had read a couple different recipes that suggested using carrot juice or clam juice to add more moisture into the mix. Also, auratum (a fellow cichlid lover) suggested that V8 might be good. I couldn't find carrot or clam juice at the store, so I picked up a V8!

And yes, I had my V8 this morning as well :thumb:


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## Stickzula (Sep 14, 2007)

does your mix float or sink? I need something that sinks cause my fish ignore floating food.


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## auratum (Jul 6, 2006)

mddjr5 said:


> I decided to use the V8 for a couple of reasons. I had read a couple different recipes that suggested using carrot juice or clam juice to add more moisture into the mix. Also, auratum (a fellow cichlid lover) suggested that V8 might be good. I couldn't find carrot or clam juice at the store, so I picked up a V8!


Glad to hear they like it! Can't wait to try some in my tanks :wink:

Nice job!


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## mddjr5 (Sep 12, 2005)

Stickzula said:


> does your mix float or sink? I need something that sinks cause my fish ignore floating food.


"YES!" :lol: It depends on what state of consistency it is. When it is just out of the freezer and I break it into small chunks it will float. As it thaws it will begin to sink. This usually takes about 1 minute. I have some fish that aren't too sure about it when it is floating, but once it's on the bottom they attack it!

auratum, I'll bring you a few bags tomorrow!


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## auratum (Jul 6, 2006)

mddjr5 said:


> auratum, I'll bring you a few bags tomorrow!


This stuff is great!!! The fish love it! Thanks man!


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## auratum (Jul 6, 2006)

mddjr5 & auratum team up for another batch!

mddjr5 & auratum Cichlid Fish Food Recipe â€" August 25, 2009

Ingredients: 
2lbs tail on cooked shrimp 
2lbs Salmon fillet (leftover from last fall's fishing trips) 
1 med/large beef heart deveined
1lb Frozen Brocolli 
1lb Frozen chopped Spinach leaves 
1lbs Frozen peas
1lbs Frozen cut carrots
1 head of Garlic 
2 48oz. vegetable juice - like V8 
16 unflavored gelatin packets with 6 cups water
~6 teaspoons Centrum liquid multivitamin/mineral supplement 
~2 Tbsp spirulina Powder
~2 Tbsp freeze dried Cyclopeeze
~ 1 Tbsp astaxanthin powder - similar to NatuRose used in Dainichi

Processing:
Used meat grinder to process all meats and veggies
Blended shrimp, salmon, & beef heart 
Blended vegetables 
Blended garlic cloves with vegetable juice, vitamins, & powdered color enhancers
Mixed meat, veggies, garlic mix, & V8 together and blended again 
Mixed 16 packets of gelatin with 6 cups of water on medium heat 
Stirred ingredients into gelatin/water

Packaging:
Scooped about 4 serving size spoonfuls into 24 ziploc bags 
laid bags flat (about 1/2" deep) and put in freezer

Observations:
The consistency was similar to last batch. The color was very different as the astaxanthin mixed with the spirulina (red plus green makes brown) made it look like chili with no beans or as my wife said, it looked like diarrhea. The process took about +3 hours including clean-up.

The batch is in the freezer and plan to test feed tomorrow!


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## mddjr5 (Sep 12, 2005)

My first feed was a success! I hand fed it into the tank and about had my fingers bit off  I am going to use this food exclusively in one of my tanks so I can visually compare the coloring and health of the fish with my other tanks.


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## Timkat4867 (Jan 11, 2008)

I thought feeding beef heart was risky for malawis? I wouldve stuck with just the shrimp and salmon.


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## auratum (Jul 6, 2006)

Timkat4867 said:


> I thought feeding beef heart was risky for malawis? I wouldve stuck with just the shrimp and salmon.


Pure frozen beef heart - yes! In this recipe, the beef heart is 15% to 20% with lots of veggies mixed in. Also, the Mbuna are the more sensitive Malawi's - the only Mbuna hanging around are electric yellows...


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## mightyevil (Oct 23, 2008)

Cool thread! opcorn:


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## auratum (Jul 6, 2006)

Looks like we should have added a bit more gellatin - maybe 4 more packets? The food works well, but it breaks up a little too quickly in the water...


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## Stickzula (Sep 14, 2007)

yep more geletin should help with it breaking up.


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