Just wondering since the duckweed is so small to begin with if anyone thinks I should bother to grind it into a paste before using it in gel food.
If anyone has used this in gel food before please let me know how you prepared it.
Full Version: Duckweed In Gel Food
I didn't make gel food but just put the whole duckweed itself in the water--my goldy loved it and had no trouble eating it that way.
Anytime you are planning on using green matter in gel food, it is advisable to "blanch" it. This breaks down the enzymes that will make the food "go slimey". You cannot feed fresh produce without blanching - and you should not refrigerate or cook it into foods that will not be eaten within a day or two at most if you do not blanch them.
After blanching, the leaves will soften and be easy to munch on - in or out of gel food.
The duckweed that I feed is usually fed fresh - just sprinkled on the water's surface. The fish LOVE it.
If you cannot keep it alive and wish to incorporate it, blanch it before use. This means, in the case of a thin leaved, tiny leaved plant, simply pouring boiling water over it and then using it. Thicker, more substantial plants may need a bit more - up to 2 minutes of boiling for a large vegetable. (I put up all my vegetables from the garden each year - and just start a large pot of boiling water. The veggies are plunged in a basket into the water, the timer set for 10 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the size and variety of veggie, then they are pulled out and plunged into a bath of ice water to stop the cooking. This results in a bright greed (or colored) veggie that retains all of its healthy food value even when frozen.
After blanching, the leaves will soften and be easy to munch on - in or out of gel food.
The duckweed that I feed is usually fed fresh - just sprinkled on the water's surface. The fish LOVE it.
If you cannot keep it alive and wish to incorporate it, blanch it before use. This means, in the case of a thin leaved, tiny leaved plant, simply pouring boiling water over it and then using it. Thicker, more substantial plants may need a bit more - up to 2 minutes of boiling for a large vegetable. (I put up all my vegetables from the garden each year - and just start a large pot of boiling water. The veggies are plunged in a basket into the water, the timer set for 10 seconds to 3 minutes depending on the size and variety of veggie, then they are pulled out and plunged into a bath of ice water to stop the cooking. This results in a bright greed (or colored) veggie that retains all of its healthy food value even when frozen.
Thanks Daryl. I am feeding it to them fresh too, but 2 lbs is a lot of this stuff. And my fry dosent know what to do with it bacause it has the tiny roots that dangle. Actually the big fish took about 10 minutes before they figured out that their food was not sinking yesterday. I opened the lis and put it in and all the fish started going through the gravel looking for it...it of course was floating all around the top of the tank 
.So I figured I would turn some into gel food.
Planning 2 batches one just veggies, the other using frozen shrimp and worms with the veggies.
.So I figured I would turn some into gel food. Planning 2 batches one just veggies, the other using frozen shrimp and worms with the veggies.
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