Storing Fish Food Pellets

[Hamish]

Hi all,

I purchased a 15kg sack of fish food pellets a couple of days ago.

Speaking to the guy at the warehouse he said the food will keep for 12 months in a fridge or indefinitly if kept in a freezer.

I only have a small freezer on top of my fridge so I started thinking about how to store this big sack of food.

Breaking it into smaller containers to stack in the freezer seemed like the way to go. Also makes for easier feeding out from small containers.

So again started thinking about what containers to use that wouldnt cost me anything.

Came up with the idea of using plastic milk bottles. I had 2 x 3L bottles that I rescued from the recycling bin - and a few 2L bottles as well. Plus a couple from the cupboard and a couple from the neighbours.

Filled them using a large plastic funnel that I cut down so the neck was shorter (to stop the pellets clogging in the funnel neck).

Use a cup to scoop them from the sack into the funnel until the bottles were all full then screw the lid on.

Then stacked them in the freezer. Neat and tidy - and easy to feed from as well.

Making use of waste bottles is fun. I hope this tip helps someone.

[DaveOponic]

I use bottles to store my fish pellets. The V8 vegetable juice bottle is a good size. I never thought of recycling milk cartons. Probably because there would be too much rinsing involved. I used to use them for seedlings by cutting the tops off and filing them with compost.

I have now started using coconut husks as we have a small stall near our house that sells "kelapa parut" fresh grated coconut. They sell the husks in 20 kg rice bags. Most people here grow orchids in the coconut fibre.

Dave

[Hamish]

I had never thought of using the bottles for seedlings - great idea! And also good idea using the more robust fruit juice bottles. Although I dont buy fruit juice but others will find this useful. Recycling and reusing things is great - especially when you find something that almost seems made for its second use. I also use coconut coir - it is really good stuff.

[djs-sa]

what food are u using hamish?

I wouldnt freeze any pellet food, do u buy it out of the freezer, no !!!

So a cool dry place like what i use is an old fridge (notworking) and i have room for plenty of feed. stable temp too

The lauke pellet tho, they need freezing to stay together because there cheap and nasty.

[Hamish]

It is grobest pellet. I have kept all my food in the freezer since I started in AP and it works well for me.

I purchased direct from growbest so I figure they would know how best to store their product.

They store it in a giant refrigerated container - but say freezing is even better for long term storage.

The farm where I purchased my Jades also recommend keeping the food in the freezer.

[djs-sa]

well I just checked with the grobest label and it has nothing about storage,
At the hatery they have a cool room set-up but it has no refridgeration!
can u please check hamish that they actually do chill their food, or at the fish farm that they do frezze it?

Reason of my doubt is the cost to running freezer's and etc. on that scale.

at the farm where i get my food their storage room is past the tanks and when u enter the storage room it feels cool because the tank area is heated, but no refridge. unit

this is my food supplies

[Hamish]

Yes I saw with my own 2 eyes the fridge and freezers they use at the hatchery. And I spoke to the owner of growbest and he recommended to freeze for long term storage.

But then whatever works for you. I guess it depends how quick you use them as to how fresh they stay.

I am freezing because I dont know how fast I will use up the 15kg bag.

[djs-sa]

hamish i'm wondering if ur climate up there plays a roll with frezzing it?

the power costs would be large for not much benefit, can't saw it vaible to me

[djs-sa]

whos the contact at grobest i might contact him and see

[djs-sa]

well mine is in the fridge and freezer so i'm sweet:) just not plugged in lol:)

did u get a 15kg bag Hamish? I get 25kg bags and guess what size their web says? 20kg bags lol

for ur amount hamish its ok to freeze it but i just can't get my head around the power useage on large scale operations

[Hamish]

Just ring - they are a pretty small operation - they are locate at Beenleigh. You will get to talk to 1 of 2 guys - Only 2 people there when I visited.

My household freezer is running all the time anyway - so for me if anything it will be saving me money to have a full freezer rather than empty space.

A chest freezer doesnt cost that much to run anyway if you needed to keep large quantities. ANd sure is better to keep the food fresh indefinitly rather than having food go off or reduced nutritional value.

And yes - I would say our climate being warm and humid the food would go off quicker.

Remember also that feed stores are turning over large quantities of food each week - so they wont get to see it go off - but once it gets to the end consumer then it may hang around for a year or two depending how many fish they are feeding.

This is where longer term storage will come in handy. Also - a fridge or freezer will keep rodents and weevels at bay.

[djs-sa]

i'm happy how i do it so i will stick to that my food lasts bugger all, 2mths worth in the fridge atm

[Jonty]

Hi all,

Contact Andrew (boss) or Darren at Grobest 07 38046630. Both are great to deal with.

I keep my feed in a plastic drum that has a silicone inner lid and a screw on lid. It keeps the bugs out and stops the feed drying out or getting wet and mouldy. Have no problem with the fish eating it til the last or growth rate. It is situated in a cool area.

Just bought P4 Barramundi from grobest on Tuesday. The size has increased from 15KG to 20KG.

Regards
Jonty

[Murray]

Here is a bit of an advertisement...sorry. It is more like an infomercial....:)

We keep in stock 4 different sizes of Grow Best pellets. We pack them down into 1.5 kg bags and have them avbl on our website.
(http://www.aquaponics.net.au/category13_1.htm)I should add, that we don't make a fortune out of it. The time taken to weigh it out, heat seal it into plastic bags and take it off to the post office. It is just a service to our clients who want good quality pellets to feed 50 or so fish.

It is a good idea not to go off buying 15 or 20 kg bags until your fish are well established and you can use that quantity in a reasonable time. Even well stored fish food will go off after a while. Obviously, the better the storage method the longer the shelf life.

[Hamish]

Definitly good advice for people starting out Murray. THe bag I got when I started my system has lasted me almost 3 months. Now my fish are bigger and spring is here they are really chomping through it.

[djs-sa]

i'm feeding 900 mouths, so thats why I have a few big bags in stock and if anyone in Adelaide wants some barra pellets i'm willing to help people out too.
sorry no postage lol

[Jonty]

As Murray stated there are a number of fellow aquaponists who only need small amounts as they have fewer fish. The old size bag of 15 KG can take a while to get through. Luckily I have been able to do a split with a mate when I buy my pellets.

Grobest are upping the size to 20 KG now. Great for the commercial guys with less bags to lug but for people with small amounts of fish the problem of storage and quick use is compounded. Luckily Murray can supply smaller quantities of different size pellets at reasonable prices.

Regards
Jonty

[Hamish]

And for the rest of us - freeze them in 3L milk bottles :D

[djs-sa]

.......??????????????

[Hamish]

I assume the ??????? is directed at my last post?

I still stand behind my inital statement at the start of the thread - if you dont use them quickly and want to buy your own in bulk then as per Growbests reccomendation the best way to store them long term without loss of nutritional value is to freeze them.

[djs-sa]

it's not at you Hamish I cant justify freezing all my food so cant see big operations doing it!!!
what do grobest say, how long doesit lasts without freezing?

[Hamish]

Growbest said that refrigeration will keep it for up to 12 months and freezing will make it last indefinitly. They did not specifically say how long it will last without refrigeration but I assume it would be less than the 12 months that refrigeration would.

As I have mentioned earlier - commercial operations would turn over food pellets so rapidly that they would probably not need to worry about how fresh their food is. My guess is they would be ordering it in monthly or weekly.

I am keen for my fish to have the highest nutrient value possible - and for me that means taking up the excess room in my fridge and freezer to store the pelets. Once you pack 15kg into 3L milk containers or other cheap container it takes up very little room in the freezer.

I only have a 1/4 space freezer on top of my fridge - and I still have room for my day to day frozen stuff. If I wanted I could put some of it in the fridge and use those pellets up first.

Or - as mentioned earlier - for those that have small fish that eat very little - buy it in small packages off someone like Murray.

As I will be moving to a more remote area I will likely be buying a years supply at a time to save on delivery charges - so will be storing it in an efficient chest freezer for safe keeping.